Review of School of Rock at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

I was very excited to be attending the School of Rock Press Night at the Wolverhampton Grand, especially as I am a rock music fan who saw and enjoyed the film way back in ‘the day’.

The evening was full of surprises. The atmosphere was electric even from the moment I walked through the Grand entrance! Everyone was genuinely uplifted to be there and appreciated it… and that’s even before the show started!

My next surprise was discovering that the book to this Andrew Lloyd Webber Touring production was written by none other than Julian Fellowes of ‘Downton Abbey’ writing fame!

As an introduction, a recording of Andrew Lloyd Webber tells us all of the instruments are played live by the children in the cast. This is absolutely amazing, especially when you hear the fantastic standard of them and find out for some it is their first time on stage!

All I could really remember of the premise of the film starring Jack Black is that he basically tricks his way into becoming a teacher, discovers musical talent amongst the children and forms a band with them. This production takes the original premise, but enhances it so much farther than I was anticipating.
There are so many hilarious lines, and the 14 extra songs work so well and have a natural warmth and relevance to them.

Jake Sharp oozes talent as Dewey Finn in a very Jack Black inspired performance. You can tell he genuinely enjoys the role and this rubs off on the atmosphere in the audience.

I also particularly rated the performance of Rebecca Lock who plays suppressed Principal Rosalie Mullins.​

It was so uplifting and heartwarming to be part of this audience and I fully recommend this fun, warm show. Catch it at the Grand until Saturday 25th September 2021

Karen Hill



www.grandtheatre.co.uk


schoolofrockthemusical.com