What happens when a musical film earns over $131-million on a $35-million-dollar investment? If you are Andrew Lloyd Webber, you buy the rights and turn it into the stage musical, SCHOOL OF ROCK, with lyrics by Glenn Slater and book by Julian Fellowes.
What happens when a lead actor experiences an accelerated heart beat mid-production and can’t continue in the show? In the case of Porthouse Theatre, you pause the show, ask the audience if there is a medical person in attendance, then 20-minutes later, following the old theater adage, “the show must go on,” continue the staging with another actor, script in hand, acting and singing to the delight of the audience and wonderment of this reviewer!
So, what’s it all about?
The musical starts with a performance by the No Vacancy Band. Dewey Finn (Douglas F. Bailey II), who has an ADHD-type personality, has difficulty pulling back his exuberance and keeps upstaging the lead performer. Enough is enough, and he is kicked out of the group.
With no income, he moves in with and mooches off Ned (Morgan Thomas-Mills), his long-time easily manipulated college band buddy, and part-time teacher, much to the irritation of Patty (Kiara Sylvie Durbin), Ned’s domineering girl- friend.
When a call comes for Ned to substitute at Horace Green, a prestigious prep school, Dewey accidentally answers the phone and sees a chance for some much-needed money by posing as Ned. Despite the doubts of Rosalie Mullins (Audra Casebier), the uptight principal, he gets the gig.
The kids are wary of him, especially the uber-organized Summer (Parker Towns). He also has to confront the problems of Tomika (Ava Kimble), the extremely shy daughter of gay men, who turns out to be a superstar singer; Zack (Elliott Wancata), the son of an uptight businessman who doesn’t realize his son is a musical prodigy; Lawrence (Josh DiSantis), who has no confidence, but is a keyboard wizard; Freddie (Axel Schmidt) who everyone thinks is intellectually slow, but once he gets a pair of drum sticks in his hand, he shows how talented he really is; and Billy (Mason Cooper Brosch), who is flamboyant, has an interest in fashion design, but is not appreciated by his macho father. Each of the other kids also has untapped talent which the creative Dewey brings out through non-traditional means.
Dewey decides to enter them in the Battle of the Bands. They get to the tryouts after sneaking out of school, but they arrive after the deadline time to play in the qualification round. Summer, the brainiac, tells the casting director that all the children have an illness called “stickittothemanis,” pleads for some mercy. The manager lets the kids perform.
What follows is a series of manipulations, implausible coincidences, and some out and out stretching of dramatic license. The result? Farce running wild and the audience having a heck of a good time.
Do they win the Battle of the Bands? That’s not important. What is significant, is that Dewey and the kids find love and self-respect and new parental understanding for these geeky kids.
The musical score, which includes iconic songs from the film, adds well-crafted additional theatrical melodies. Among the show stoppers are, “You’re in the Band,” “Stick it to the Man,” “Math is a Wonderful Thing,” and “School of Rock.” Throw in “If Only You Would Listen” and “Time to Play,” and you have the makings of a solid score.
A positive staging of SCHOOL OF ROCK requires adorable music-talented kids, an uninhibited slacker dude to portray Dewey, an on-point rock band, and creative staging.
Fortunately, theater director Terri Kent and choreographer Martin Céspedes have found most of the right ingredients.
In the original production, most of the kids played musical instruments to the awe of the audience. In this staging only four of the munchkins actually play, with Jennifer Korecki and her off-stage band providing back-up.
Considering how hard it is to find 5th graders who can proficiently play musical instruments, it is an acceptable method of meeting one of the scripts challenges.
Even with this needed solution, begging the question, why?, several of non-instrumental kid cast members are way too old to be elementary students, and some of the Ensemble are too young to be playing the parents of the kids.
Douglas F. Bailey II did the role of irrepressible Dewey in excellent production of SCHOOL OF ROCK at Cain Park several summers ago. He was “slacker perfect” in that presentation. Therefore, I was a little off-put in early scenes when he dialed down the broad farce in this production. Now I realize why the characterization was somewhat off when, during the second act the show was halted and we eventually found out that Bailey was ill and couldn’t continue to the final curtain. (Morgan Thomas-Mills, did the last scenes, sing and acting” with script in-hand. (BTW…he was quite good and, if the director hadn’t wanted to have a look-alike of Jack Black, who played Dewey in the film version, Thomas-Mills would have creditably played the role.)
Special kudos to Josh DiSantis, Parker Towns and Ava Kimble for well-crafting their roles and to all the rest of the kids in the cast for their nicely textured performances.
As is usually an issue at Porthouse, due to the open walls of the tent-like theatre, the sound was an issue.
The last scene where the kids and Dewey really break loose should have found them in funky rock costumes, not in assorted garments which looked like they were scarfed together.
In the long run, at-least not on the rain-filled Sunday matinee, where many of the audience brought bouquets of flowers to give their children after the standing ovation curtain call, did anything matter except for the fact that the show went on.
Capsule judgment: SCHOOL OF ROCK is a fun-filled show with a moral message. The Porthouse production was nicely done, in spite of some age-casting problems and a mid-production medical issue. The music rocked. The cast entertained. It’s the kind of show that audience’s love.
SCHOOL OF ROCK runs through August 3, 2024 in the Porthouse Theatre on the grounds of Blossom Music Center. For tickets call 330-672-3884 or go online to www.porthousetheatre.com.
