NYTimes.com: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest musical project, an adaptation of the Jack Black movie “School of Rock,” will have its world premiere on Broadway in November at the Winter Garden Theater, Mr. Lloyd Webber and other producers said on Thursday. The show will feature songs from the film as well as original music by Mr. Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater (“Sister Act”) and a book by Julian Fellowes, the creator of the television series “Downton Abbey.”
6 comments:
I'm both apprehensive and excited to see what Lloyd Webber and The Schuberts come up with for a Broadway version of 'School of Rock'. The Jack Black movie has been a favorite of mine since I watched it in theaters in 2003. I'll be interested to see what musical numbers they claim they will add to the performance; the movie seems to work better as a 'show with music' rather than one's typical 'bursting into song musical'. It will also be difficult to replace Jack Black as the lead character Dewey Finn; I wonder if they'll ask Black to reprise his role, or if they'll find another comedic musical theater practitioner (like Josh Gad, for example) to take his place. The influx of movies turning into Broadway productions declares to me a lack of creativity in the writing hemisphere of the theatre world. These comedies and tragedies pull crowds from all over the world, which proves good for the money but nothing else. People used to go to the theatre to see something new to challenge their perspective on life; now, people go to see theatre to watch a rendition of their favorite Disney musical live. Anyways, I hope the best for the 'School of Rock' team, and I'll be checking up on the Broadway reviews to see what the critics say about the musical.
Can the entertainment industry please focus on creating new and original experiences instead of taking adaptions of other works and making them their own? Can they just leave that to the educational and repertory theatre's that are meant to recreate and reproduce amazing works of art that are put on by films and theaters? I am sick and tired of seeing my childhood torn apart by these new "spectacle" adaptions of original pieces that should be kept unique and untouched. I hate this whole idea of making musicals into movies and movies into musicals. They were what they were for a reason and shouldn't be changed. No matter how much it teaches us that "music empowers children", it shouldn't be recreated by someone else because is was a good nostalgic movie. If they want to emphasize on this lesson to teach kids, then maybe they should create a new piece that can be remember. It's undoubtable that artists can recreate the same emotions and feelings that audience members have had on School of Rock by generating a total new spine on their themes. And with all of the new mind blowing technology that we have, I don't understand why these producers, engineers, and designers don't mold a work of art that came from their own innovative minds. I mean they have a degree and are in this industry for a reason, why don't they use that talent?
My big question in response to this article is, “is this even necessary?” I’m all for movies becoming musicals, but I really don’t think School of Rock should be a Broadway musical. It was a decent movie, but I just don’t think it will have the same effect on stage. I say this because one of the key story plots is that the band sucks until Jack Black’s character shows up and saves the day. That means that at least fifty percent of the show is going to have really awful singing and other musical things. That is also dependent on if they are true to the characters in the movie. I don’t know about you, but I am not interested in paying sixty plus dollars for a ticket to a show that is going to have only half decent performances for a portion of the show. That’s just my honest thought.
I've always loved School of Rock ever since I first saw the movie on TV growing up. It’s a fun comedic film with great personalities and some pretty entertaining songs. Yes, School of Rock was a great movie, for its time but a great movie does not necessarily translate into a good live show. As much as I wish I could be excited for this production, Broadway’s track record of turning movies into productions has me fearing the worst. This production is being used to replace the Winter Garden’s last musical, Rocky, another film turned into a show which only became a fast flop. The fact that Andrew Lloyd Webber is creating the music and that Julian Fellowes is writing the book gives me hope for the show as Webber has record of making successful Broadway shows like Phantom of the Opera and Jesus Christ Superstar, while Fellowes seems to be an experienced writer, having won an Oscar for best original screenplay in 2002 for Gosford Park, and currently writing for the popular series Downton Abbey. While this impressive team does make me hopeful, some movies will only ever work as movies, just like some plays are only effective as plays. Yes, there are some works that can translate successfully but it’s not a fool proof plan. I think Broadway needs to get out of the habit of trying to reimagine already successful films into musicals and instead produce new original work intended for the stage that is created to thrive in the media it’s intended to.
I'm excited. This is going to be a fun musical. School of Rock continues to be one of those movies that I can watch time and time again and I hope that Andrew Lloyd Webber captures that essence in writing the musical. I'm also pretty excited to see the kids onstage. Not only are these kids going to be able to sing and dance before the tender age of twelve (or however old they are in the movie), but they're going to play instruments onstage. So rad! I'm all for having kids onstage. When I saw Matilda last March, I was incredibly impressed by the quality of the performance. Were there even adults in that show? I don't remember. As a firm believer in music education, I'm delighted that kids are getting a chance to audition. I really hope this doesn't suck, because this will be one wild ride of a musical.
I don’t know how exactly I feel about School Of Rock making it big on Broadway. I agree that the film itself has made an impact on children and how they relate to music and can be inspired by it. However I still feel a little iffy about it and I don’t know why. The movie was a big hit when I was younger and I feel like my age group will contribute greatly to the audience. I just don’t feel as if it has the opportunity to get out of the box office what they are expecting. I could be completely wrong though. By the looks of the article the show can be great! I’m scared for how much they are going to be changing from the original and how big of a success it will amount to.
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