School of Rock
Marie Coltman
21 September 2026
School of Rock the Musical is based on the film starring Jack Black, which has been made into a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Glenn Slater and Julian Fellows. It follows a rock singer and guitarist Dewey Finn who was kicked out of the band 'No Vacancy' leaving him struggling to find a job, who mistakenly is offered a temporary post as a stand-in teacher at a prestigious prep school. He discovers the musical talents of the children in the class and gets them to form a 'School of Rock' band and enters them into a Battle of The Bands contest with $20,000 prize money. What follows next is a great story, good music and comedy.
Director Becky North and the other production team, have a great cast with this production, everyone plays their part well and are totally believable, with some great characterisations and facial expressions. The set is good and works well, I liked the way the drums were hidden. Musical Director Stuart Darling has also worked well with the vocals. Lighting and sound is just right.
Damian Quinn plays Dewey Finn and is great in the role, he gets to live his dream, teaching his students music and making a band, and getting a purpose back in his life. The build up to the contest with the kids is great, lots of fun lines and magical moments. Tamsin Barnes plays Rosalie Mullins the school Principal, who likes everything just right, Dewey persuades her to let him take the kids on a school trip by taking her out for a drink or 'several' where her true personality appears. Tamsin has some great songs and is just right for the role. Scott Douglas plays Dewey’s best friend & house mate Ned Schneebly, who is an actual temporary sub teacher, and a former band member. I loved his Rock get-up when he finally put his nagging girlfriend Patty Di Marco played by Phoebe Heron in her place. She too was great in her role. The children's cast of students and band members was excellent, each one played their part so well, they all had great facial expressions, and really got into their individual characters. They were all great. The four band players were very good and will hopefully continue playing in the future. I loved the 2 lads that played the security guards. The rest of the junior ensemble and adult members filled in with all the other parts, students, teacher, parents and the other band 'No Vacancy'.
The staging of School of Rock the Musical is an ambitious project, and you should all be really proud of yourselves, making this show a real success. Well done to you all.
