Sammy Dell News

Rocking the roofs off theatres across the country are a group of mega talented kids who have traded their time in the schoolroom to an adventure touring the country. Leanne Parks plays Katie, the classically trained cellist turned bass guitar genius.

Broadway legend Andrew Lloyd Webber's high-octane Broadway and West End hit SCHOOL OF ROCK - THE MUSICAL coming to Madison's Overture Center for the Arts Tuesday, Nov. 20 - Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.

There is a moment during the closing scene of Andrew Lloyd Webber's School of Rock when the show transforms from a mere crowd pleasing musical, to a pure and unadulterated celebration. Having witnessed the young students of Horace Green Preparatory School fully evolve from disenfranchised, rule-following and generally unhappy children, to confident rock stars willing to 'stick it to the man,' the audience cannot help but leap to its feet and join the party at the top of Mount Rock. More than a local battle of the bands, it is a celebration of the importance of arts education, the power of inspiring teachers, the joys of finding one's voice, and of the mind-blowing capacity for so much talent to exist in such small bodies and at such an early age. Judging by the standing ovation that began before and continued throughout the curtain call, it is clear that the Orpheum audience was fully invested in these young characters, and that School of Rock had therefore done its job. Indeed, this culminating scene is the ultimate payoff that makes the two and a half hours that precede it entirely worth the investment. The only disappointment was that there was no after party on Beale Street. Armed with their instruments and boundless talent, something tells me that the students of Horace Green Preparatory School could most certainly have brought down the house.

Make no mistake about it: School of Rock isn't your mum's - nor your nan's - Andrew Lloyd Webber musical extravaganza. There are no massive chandeliers to come crashing into the orchestra, no fascist dictators to fear, no silent screen divas yearning for a comeback, nor are there are any human-sized felines staring at you across the footlights. Nope, Sir Andrew (as he's known across the pond) has crafted an energetic rock musical that's based on a movie that starred Jack Black and it will rock your freakin' socks off!

Andrew Lloyd Webber's smash hit School of Rock - The Musical will welcome eight new cast members to the national tour on Tuesday, August 28th in Ft. Worth, TX.