There is something undeniably delightful about watching people have a wonderful time. At its heart, that is the experience of seeing “School of Rock”, the infectious musical at Farmers Alley Theatre.
Based closely on the 2003 Richard Linklater film that made Jack Black a star, the 2015 musical, with book by Julian Fellowes, lyrics by Glenn Slater, and new music by none other than Andrew Lloyd Webber, effectively improves the story about Dewey Finn, a likable, ambitious loser, a wanna-be rocker who’s been kicked out of his lousy band and, to make rent, impersonates his roommate to take a job as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school only to turn his fifth-grade class into a kick-ass rock band to compete in the Battle of the Bands—and along the way he shows them there’s much more to life than school and rock and roll is about so much more than music or being cool.
And with 16 talented local kids amid a terrific adult cast, Farmers Alley Theatre opened the show to their largest audience in history and nearly brought the Kalamazoo College Festival Theatre house down. Despite sound problems that affected mics, amps, and overall balance, they still managed to put on a dazzling rock show that brought the crowd to their feet and left them literally screaming for more.
This is a huge part of what makes this show succeed well beyond the film: in essence it’s a joyful story made musical, culminating in a live concert that transforms community children into rock stars, much to the excitement of their families and peers as well as anyone else who thrills at witnessing overly-scheduled and stressed young people “stick it to the man”, also the title of one of several wonderfully resonant songs that captures the spirit of rock and roll that, once caught, greatly improves everyone’s lives.
But let’s talk about these kids, who are fully committed, and convincingly come across as kids who, under impressive direction from Richard Roland, legitimately play instruments and sing and dance their way to becoming rock stars. With little to no play acting and really fun, boppy choreography from Melissa Sparks that grows sharper and more defined along with the characters’ skill, they’re an impressive bunch who can really move—and they look and sound especially good in big ensemble numbers (with musical direction from Chris Gray who leads a live band off stage) particularly “You’re in the Band” and “If Only You Would Listen”, their angsty kid version of “Stick it to the Man” for their parents. Truly standout performances include Daniel Schubkegel as Freddy, who’s astonishing on the drums, and Lila Teall as Summer Hathaway who nails the overachieving goody two shoes character and sings tremendously.
And the professionals who lead them are no schlubs, either. David B. Friedman as Dewey navigated the preview performance’s sound problems with graceful improvisation, missing nary a beat. He eschews imitating Jack Black’s schtick to even better effect, connecting with the kids honestly, never pandering, and showing up as a real person rather than a caricature.
An improvement in the script from the film is a more evolved relationship between Dewey and his roommate Ned, and here Ned is fully fleshed out by the wonderful Jeff Meyer who brings terrific comedic physicality to the role and shows the complexity of his internal dilemma as well as his downright silliness.
And Hannah Elless is a revelation as the stern principal Rosalie Mullins. She righteously commands attention as only a career school marm who represents “the man” to an elementary school can; however, she also perfectly embodies the vulnerability implicit in what a woman who longed for more must sacrifice to please everyone around her and achieve such excellence. She hits all the operatic high notes as the music teacher but also really rocks—and emotes beautifully—in the lovely and poignant ballad about aging and loss “Where Did the Rock Go?”
Visually the places and spaces of the show are made clear with excellent projections by Kevin Abbott, and with Dan Guyette’s scenic design the classroom seamlessly transforms into a stage with moving platform pieces that hold the instruments, while the entire space explodes into a rock concert with lighting design by Gayla Fox as well as sound design from Carter Rice. Grace Santamaria’s costumes shift with the characters, from grey and maroon plaid uniforms that grow wilder and more individual as the characters let loose to other fun surprises that shape and define characters.
“We’re not here to win, we’re here to rock,” Dewey declares with gusto, and the same could be said for this production. Not only are they here to rock, but who and what they are is so catching they get everyone around them to rock. Because it’s impossible not to enjoy yourself when you’re watching people have the time of their lives.
School of Rock
Farmers Alley Theatre
July 17-28
https://www.farmersalleytheatre.com/shows/school-of-rock
