Lexie Dorsett News

Audiences at 'School Of Rock, The Musical' (now playing at the Kansas City Music Hall) are in for an evening of fun.  This production is pure entertainment highlighted by a dozen songs from the reigning King of musical theater, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.  'School Of Rock' onstage offers a lot to admire and  much to enjoy including a ridiculously talented cast of mostly pre-teenagers.  

SCHOOL OF ROCK had its first success as a movie starring Jack Black and everyone routed for the underdog, Dewey Finn, as he fumbled his way through life. Fast forward to 2015 and SCHOOL OF ROCK becomes a rock musical on Broadway with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater and a book by Julian Fellowes. It's still based on the life of underdog, Dewey Finn as he fumbles his way through life.

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.

Of course, in doing a review of School of Rock: The Musical, I have to make comparisons to the movie from which it was adapted. That endearing smash hit, where Jack Black overturns the old Hollywood adage, "Never work with animals or children," though fifteen-years-old now, still holds up. So, does the Andrew Lloyd WebberJulian Fellowes musical stage version? For the most part, the answer is yes, though the kids overwhelm the stage adaptation of Dewey Finn, the Jack Black character. Webber says the message of the story is about "the empowering force of music," but what the musical misses from the movie is how Dewey and his students discover the real power of education: the bond that forms between teacher and students as they discover the joy of learning.

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.

If you think you have seen musicals with talented kids in them before, you have not seen anything until you see the current National Tour of SCHOOL OF ROCK playing this week at the Schuster Center as the opener of the Victoria Theatre Association 2018-19 Premier Health Broadway Series.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's smash hit School of Rock - The Musical has announced new casting for the 2018-19 season. Merritt David Janes, previously from the original Broadway company and the Dewey Alternate on tour, is taking over the role of Dewey. Also joining the cast are Madison Micucci as Patty, Layne Roate as Ned, Gary Trainor as Dewey Alternate, Brian Golub as a swing and Jonathon Timpanelli as an ensemble member.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit Broadway show, School of Rock the Musical, is based on the 2003 movie starring Jack Black. It tells the story of Dewey (Rob Colletti), a down and out rock n' roll guitarist, who has just been kicked out of his band. Under false pretences, Dewey gets a gig teaching at Horace Green, a snooty preparatory school headed by Rosalie (Lexie Dorsett Sharp). Dewey is unprepared (and unlicensed) for the job and has no interest in it apart from financial - that is, until he hears the kids' talent in music class. Inspired, he begins to give them an education in music. This is entirely self-serving, as Dewey still wants to compete in an upcoming Battle of the Bands and sees the children as his ticket there.

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!

Actress Lexie Dorsett Sharp remembers very clearly when the father of a former castmate came backstage after an opening night during a national tour in which the two women were performing to wish them well and to express how much he enjoyed the show.

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.

With back to school season upon us, students young and old are eagerly anticipating their first day of classes. But, for two handfuls of miniature musicians, the major assignment this school year is rocking around the country in the first national tour of SCHOOL OF ROCK, now onstage at the Music Hall at Fair Park, which concludes Dallas Summer Musicals 2017-2018 Broadway series. And even when the star teacher fails to make the grade, the kiddos pull together to ace the group project.

When it comes to seeing a fresh new show with low or even non-existent expectations, nothing is more pleasurable and satisfying than walking out at the end of it with a huge, beaming smile on your face. That was the giddy communal feeling that I and an ecstatic audience experienced recently during the highly enjoyable Orange County opening night performance of SCHOOL OF ROCK - The Musical, the charming 2015 Broadway musical now continuing its national tour stop at Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center for the Arts for two weeks through August 5. While certainly not a groundbreaking, game-changing musical by any means, the nonetheless engaging SCHOOL OF ROCK is a definite crowdpleaser worth checking out. The kids in the show? Spectacular!

SCHOOL OF ROCK is a fleetingly affable evening composed by Lloyd Webber for lyrics by Glenn Slater (Sister Act) and a book by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey). The kids are more than alright, saving the night and earning an 'A' for natural talent and a refreshingly unaffected stage presence.

Rocking performances by super kids and Rob Colletti make the National Tour of SCHOOL OF ROCK a riproaring good time. Now at ASU Gammage through June 24th.

Over time, we have come to a point where the musical theater genre is as identifiable as any other genre. In today's age, we have come full circle in that the line between musical theater and other genres is thinner than ever. Lin Manuel's Hamilton is a perfect example of the next generation of musical theater, as is DCPA's latest touring production, School of Rock

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is pleased to bring the second of two brand new Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals to Orange County: School of Rock - The Musical. Following two weeks of packed houses for Webber's Love Never Dies, this high-octane Broadway and West End hit comes to Segerstrom Hall July 24 - August 5, 2018. This hilarious musical features all the original songs from the 2003 film plus 14 new songs written specially for the show by Andrew Lloyd Webber and musical theater's first-ever all-kids rock band.

As kid musicals go, SCHOOL OF ROCK isn't half bad. It falls somewhere between ANNIE and MATILDA on the Richter scale of stories about downtrodden kids overcoming obstacles to win in the end. It's got enough emotional oomph to tug on your heartstrings and it gives you plenty of reasons to happily cheer the underdogs on. It's also making stars out of its young cast members, right and left.

Andrew Lloyd Webber has become a household name and he is having a resurgence in popularity of late. His 1970 JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR garnered great accolades this past Sunday in it's TV presentation. Buffalo audiences will have no less than 4 of his works to see in the next year in the Shea's Buffalo Broadway Seasons with PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, LOVE NEVER DIES, and CATS all in the lineup. But his latest musical to hit Broadway is SCHOOL OF ROCK and the slick new touring production is in town for the week.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's smash hit School of Rock - The Musical will welcome eight new cast members to the national tour on Tuesday, March 13, 2018. Rocking their way across the country will be Alyssa Emily Marvin as Marcy, Grier Burke as Tomika, Vincent Molden as Zack, Huxley Westemeier as Billy and Iara Nemirovsky as Summer. Jack Suarez Kimmel, Cameron Trueblood and Jesse Sparks will join the kid's ensemble. Headshots of the newest students at Horace Green can be found here.