‘School of Rock’ star bonds with the kids in the band for Broadway musical tour
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Rob Colletti had never heard of W.C. Fields’ warning to “never work with animals or children.” The star of the national tour of “School of Rock” will be at the head of the class, working with musicians ages 9 to 12 in the Broadway series opener at the Benedum Center, Downtown.
Oh, and he travels with his dog, a Welsh corgi named Chewy, after “Star Wars’ “Chewbacca.
“I’m a little bit of a ‘Star Wars’ nerd,” he admits. “And if I had a chance to work with a dog, that would be great.”
He also admits to loving his work with his talented co-stars, a bit of a different crew than the last time he was here in Pittsburgh.
Mr. Colletti toured in “The Book of Mormon” as Elder Cunningham, a role he also played on Broadway. “Mormon,” despite its raunchy and un-PC subject matter, is a more traditional musical theater piece than “School of Rock.”
The new musical based on the 2003 Jack Black film has all of the infectious fun of its screen inspiration and, as in the movie, the kids play their own instruments. Mr. Colletti joins them on guitar to play music by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, in a show featuring a book by Julian Fellowes (“Downton Abbey”) and lyrics by Glenn Slater (“The Little Mermaid” and “Love Never Dies” with Mr. Webber).
To prepare for the stage role of Dewey Finn, Mr. Colletti researched Jack Black’s movie portrayal as the wanna-be rock star who poses as a substitute teacher. Just wanting a paying gig, he instead unleashes When: 7:30 p.m .TuesdayThursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $30-$111, trustarts.org or 412-456-6666. the inner rockers among a group of straightlaced, straight-A students. The actor found that his predecessor — also a Grammy-winning hard rocker as Tenacious D — incorporated moves reminiscent of Mick Jagger, Robert Plant and other rock stars.
“Jack Black was brilliant in the way he created this person from historical analysis of other rockers,” Mr. Colletti said. “I have to do justice to his performance and bring that same level of attention, but also making it my own while staying true to what he set into motion.”