‘School of Rock’ sticks to the lesson
Musical delivers classroom full of charm, inspiration
The movie “School of Rock” was a charming middlebrow hit by Houstonian Richard Linklater. The touring Broadway musical “School of Rock” is just as charming and just as middlebrow — a lovable showcase of kids playing live rock music that sticks to the predictable, yet entirely effective, emotional beats of its source material.
Starring Rob Colletti as the Jack Black character Dewey, a Led Zeppelinobsessed schlub who accidentally inspires a classroom of 10-year-olds through the power of rock music, this musical is hard to dislike.
Colletti is amusing as he interacts with the children of the show, shoving guitars and basses into their hands and demanding that they “Stick it to the Man.”
These preppy school kids, used to bowing to the conformist demands of their parents and teachers, are drawn instantly to this overgrown toddler who acts less mature than them but somehow has found a way to accept, and even celebrate, his loser self. It’s the kind of setup of individuality versus conformity that’s familiar for anyone who’s seen “Dirty Dancing,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Dead Poets Society” and so on.
But what’s not expected is how the younger actors of the cast dive into their brief shining moments: Gilberto Moretti-Hamilton, as Freddy, offering up a drum fill that’d make Neil Peart proud. Gianna Harris, as the shy vocal prodigy Tomika, belting out “Amazing Grace” like in one of those unexpected (but in fact entirely premeditated) viral videos from “America’s Got Talent.” Ava Briglia, as the class president Summer, shrugging off her bozo teacher’s mildly sexist in-
sults and remaining the Little Hillary Clinton That Could who, with little effort, got a Tuesday night audience roaring with a reference to the gender pay gap.
And even adults, like Lexie Dorsett Sharp, as the uptight principal Rosalie, and Emily Borromeo, as the uptight girlfriend Patty, transcend the gendered limitations of their roles with an effusive energy that says: “I’m way more fun than you think I am.”
Too bad Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new music doesn’t do justice to Rosalie’s moment of redemption, in which she lets her hair loose during an impromptu date with Dewey. Barely two beers into the night, Rosalie starts dancing to Stevie Nicks, her gyrating
shoulders and hips shattering her responsible principal veneer. But then the music softens up, transitioning to a formulaic musical theater number, “Where Did the Rock Go?”
The musical could have given some complexity and perspective to Rosalie that was missing in the film, but Webber’s melody sounds safe (the opposite of what the moment should have felt), and so much less exuberant than a Fleetwood Mac song.
The overall pacing of the musical, however, is a triumph. The transitions from talky dialogue to “Rock of Ages”-style musical showcase were seamless and satisfying. One joke to the next, one musical number to the next — “School of Rock” barrels along toward its joyous finale. When the children don their purple hair, sequins and KISS-inspired makeup for one last show, I felt proud of them.
No, this isn’t a brilliant story, but it’s good enough at being relatable that by the end I was rooting for the ragtag group of 10-yearolds to win the Battle of the Bands. That’s proof the musical did its job: It made me feel like a dad cheering from the sidelines.
wchen@chron.com twitter.com/weihuanchen