There’s been a lot of good buzz surrounding “School of Rock,” the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that begins previews on November 9 at the Winter Garden Theatre. The musical is an adaptation by Julian Fellowes (“Downton Abbey”) of the 2003 film of the same name, directed by Richard Linklater and starring comedian Jack Black, about a wannabe rock star who whips prep-school kids into a competitive rock band. A workshop this past summer in New York received great response; a first-of-its-kind 3-D music video of a number from the show, “You’re in the Band,” has just been released; and last week, Lloyd Webber, who is also producing the show, took the unprecedented step of releasing the rights to schools to present the musical prior to its Broadway opening in December.In a statement, Lloyd Webber said, “This musical is entirely about empowering kids to rock out, so what better way to herald its arrival and celebrate its themes than to allow youth performances from coast to coast.”The show, directed by Laurence Connor (the current “Les Miserables”) and with lyrics by Glenn Slater, will be the first Lloyd Webber musical to have its world premiere in New York rather than in London — unless you count “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which was first a concept album — and it also represents a return to the composer’s roots. His extraordinary body of work, arguably the most successful in Broadway history, began with his collaboration with Tim Rice on “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” which began as a 15-minute pop-cantata at London’s Colet Court School in 1968 and was later produced at Cathedral College in 1970 before reaching the Young Vic and the West End a couple of years later.In an interview, Lloyd Webber said that the musical “… was written entirely for children and schools and I decided very early on with this piece [“School of Rock”] that we really must get it out to schools and colleges. I think it’s important because the attraction to me of the story is the idea that we’re trying to get music to children and let them discover themselves through music. Look where extremism is being bred at the moment. It’s not for nothing that in the strict Islamic schools music is banned.”But while Lloyd Webber cautioned that his new musical is not in any way a political statement — “It’s just about the joy of music” — he’s keen to acknowledge that it can have as salutary an effect on the young as it had on him as a student at Westminster School. “I had wonderful teachers,” he says.According to a survey published on the Educational Theatre Association’s website these are the top ten musicals produced by high schools for the school year 2014-2015. “T” indicates a tie.The top the musicals1. “The Addams Family,” book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa2. “Shrek”, book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, music by Jeanine Tesori3T. “Legally Blonde,” book by Heather Hach, music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin3T. “Cinderella,” book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, music by Richard Rodgers5. “Little Shop of Horrors,” book and lyrics by Howard Ashman, music by Alan Menken6T. “Anything Goes,” book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman, music and lyrics by Cole Porter6T. “Guys and Dolls,” book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, music and lyrics by Frank Loesser8T. “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” book, music and lyrics by Clark Gesner8T. “The Wizard of Oz,” various adaptations from L. Frank Baum8T. “Hairspray,” book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman
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