School of Rock Celebrates First Anniversary on Broadway
(© Matthew Murphy)
Andrew Lloyd Webber's School of Rock celebrates its first anniversary on Broadway today, December 6, at the Winter Garden Theatre.
Directed by Laurence Connor, the musical features a Tony-nominated score by Lloyd Webber and Glenn Slater and a Tony-nominated book by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. The production boasts choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter, scenic and costume design by Anna Louizos, lighting design by Natasha Katz, and sound design by Mick Potter. The Really Useful Group, Warner Music Group & Access Industries, the Shubert Organization, and the Nederlander Organization serve as producers, with Nina Lannan as executive producer.
Nominated for four 2016 Tony Awards, School of Rock tells the story of a down-on-his-luck wannabe rock star named Dewey Finn, who poses as a substitute teacher at a prep school and enlists his fifth-graders to form a rock group and conquer Battle of the Bands. The film was directed by Richard Linklater and written by Mike White.
The company is headed by Eric Petersen as Dewey Finn, Jenn Gambatese as Rosalie Mullins, Steven Booth as Ned, Becky Gulsvig as Patty, Brandon Niederauer as Zack, Rachel Katzke as Katie, Raghav Mehrotra as Freddy, Walden Sullivan as Lawrence, Olivia Chun as Summer, Bobbi MacKenzie as Tomika, and Luca Padovan as Billy. The adult ensemble includes Emily Cramer, Natalie Charle Ellis, John Arthur Greene, Michael Hartney, Merritt David Janes, Nehal Joshi, Lulu Lloyd, Jaygee Macapugay, Cassie Okenka, Patrick O’Neill, Morgan Rose, Jesse Swimm, Josh Tower, and J. Michael Zygo. The kid’s ensemble features Paul Luke Bonenfant, Ava Della Pietra, Gabby Gutierrez, Gianna Harris, Jason Kisare, and Jersey Sullivan.
