School Of Rock, pre Broadway showcases- Page 2

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 6/4/15 at 4:57pm

Was he wearing a name tag?

[Mr Smith]

Posted: 6/4/15 at 5:07pm

"The buzz is already crazy for this show!! I saw Something Rotten last night and ironically the senior editor of broadwayworld came up to me and my friend and told us how much he loved something rotten. He was coming from School of Rock and said its his favorite show right now, and one of the best things he's ever seen!"

 

http://www.themusicallyrics.com/b/225-the-book-of-mormon-musical/1302-making-things-up-again-lyrics.html 

 

Updated On: 6/5/15 at 05:07 PM

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 6/4/15 at 5:08pm

"The buzz is already crazy for this show!! I saw Something Rotten last night and ironically the senior editor of broadwayworld came up to me and my friend and told us how much he loved something rotten. He was coming from School of Rock and said its his favorite show right now, and one of the best things he's ever seen!"

 Hello salt, meet grain!

The forums are really the main draw of this site, most of the news that gets picked up comes from these boards.

[Phillypinto]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 1:46am

No he didn't have a name tag, he told me!! I don't make things up people! But yeah I'm super excited for School of Rock!! Ive always said that i saw this becoming a huge hit since everyone knows it, but now with the buzz, i definitely think it will have a nice run. That just leaves me with this question. Which house will Cats go in next fall if not the Winter Garden? 

[chernjam]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 1:48am

kind of surprised we've not gotten more detailed reports...

Anyone know if there will be any additional performances?  I thought I had read that these were going to be happening through the summer

[Phillypinto]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 1:50am

I know people at broadway.com LOVED IT! and its not because of the fact that ALW's daughter works there. They were all so genuinely jazzed about it!! 

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 9:10am

I'm also wondering why we haven't heard more. I'm going tonight and will post when I get back this evening or first thing tomorrow morning. 

Webber was was my favorite when I was a kid so my 12 year-old self is very excited. My modern day self is going in with low expectations.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 9:17am

It's possible audiences are being told not to share opinions on social media, as it's a work in progress.

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 9:29am

"It's possible audiences are being told not to share opinions on social media, as it's a work in progress."

LOL Because that is something audiences pay heed to. I think social media completely spoiled that notion, besides I thought the purpose of this experiment was to drum up positive word of mouth.

I'm concerned that the only news we are getting is from Phillypinto, who is full of all sorts of wild stories and lacks any sense of credibility due to his frequent lies.

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 9:35am

I'll post my opinions on this tomorrow evening. 

[Kad]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 9:53am

"LOL Because that is something audiences pay heed to. I think social media completely spoiled that notion, besides I thought the purpose of this experiment was to drum up positive word of mouth."

It's really, really not an absurd notion and a common practice.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 9:57am

A friend of mine saw it yesterday, so I asked him and he said there was no mention about not discussing the show. 

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 10:21am

""LOL Because that is something audiences pay heed to. I think social media completely spoiled that notion, besides I thought the purpose of this experiment was to drum up positive word of mouth."

It's really, really not an absurd notion and a common practice. "

I know it is common practice to ask, my comment had more to do with modern society not caring about being asked to not discuss a work in progress, and instead immediately turning to Facebook and Twitter to share all the details so they can be the first to do so. 

 

[chernjam]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 12:27pm

"A friend of mine saw it yesterday, so I asked him and he said there was no mention about not discussing the show. "

 What did your friend think?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 12:40pm

He said it was ok. We're going to talk more after I see it.

[gstrus2]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 1:08pm

Anyone have a running time?

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 9:11pm

I left at intermission which let out about 20 minutes ago. This is pretty boring. The kids don't start playing instruments until at least 30 minutes in and the adults definitely can't hold my attention that long. 

The lead is just impersonating Jack Black so there's really no need for me to see the show when I can watch the movie. 

The kids are all very talented but...it's not enough for me. The narrative is too conventional and trite. As my friend once said, "I'm sick of precocious children." This story just isn't for me. Then again, I didn't like Matilda and the creators of this are definitely aiming at that crowd.

Also, I wish the music was better. Overall it was pretty bland. "You're in the Band" was the highlight but mainly because it was the first time the kids let loose. 

Andrew Lloyd Webber spoke at the top of the show and that was a pleasant surprise. I am impressed by this whole presentation. I think it's a good model to test out a show. This one just doesn't sit well for me and I don't think I'm the right audience for it.

[chernjam]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 12:52am

Hey Theatregoer - thanks for the review (and your being honest about it not necessarily being your type of show)  I haven't seen Matilda yet and have resisted simply because I'm not sure I'm interested in a show focusing on growing-up-angst.

I am a big ALW fan, so I was disappointed when I heard he was choosing this as his next project.  But am curious to see what he comes up with and most likely will go to see it when it opens

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 3:44pm

"He said it was ok. We're going to talk more after I see it."

 Jordan when do you go? 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 5:06pm

We got out about a half hour ago. I'll post my thoughts in a bit. We left later than we planned, but Andrew Lloyd Webber was just hanging around chatting/signing/taking pictures with anyone who came up to him so we hung around for a bit. :)

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 5:46pm

So let start by saying that I truly dislike the film, SCHOOL OF ROCK. A large part of that is due to how much I dislike Jack Black, as an "actor". But this musical was spectacular. It was just SO good, I don't know how else to describe it. Alex Brightman, obviously was influenced by Black's performance from the film but toned it down to a level that proved he didn't need to be grating and constantly annoying to make this role his own and play it perfectly.

I don't know where they found this group of kids. I mean, they hit the "kid actor" lottery with this group seeing as how there is not one of them who, at any time, shows any of those annoying child actor (especially child musical theater actors) habits that drive me crazy. These kids are just insanely f*cking talented and I bow down to them for only after 5 weeks of rehearsal (as ALW said before the show started), being able to bring more heart to their characters than I'd expect after months and months of rehearsals. When this cast hits the Winter Garden, they're going to blow New York away.

The rest of the cast is great, as well. I think someone said how it bothered them that the female characters weren't ever fully fleshed out but that wasn't an issue for me, seeing as how this wasn't a show about them. Maybe one or two extra scenes with Sarah Chase and another song for her would be good and that very well might happen. After the show, I spoke to ALW and he said the show still has a lot of work to do and lots of changes still to make. And that so impressed me that he wants to change so much of what I saw today since, if this were on a broadway stage, I would totally have not known it was only the 4th workshop it had ever had. But I can't wait to see what he changes so I can compare and get an idea of how his mind works on these things.

As far as the score goes, this is a very strong score with some great (and hummable!) music ranging from some lovely ballads to (obviously) rock, something he knows a thing or two about. And I can already tell that next season at the Tony's, they'll perform their audition song for Battle of the Bands- that just brought the house down.

But really - this show just f*cking rocked. I loved it.

Updated On: 6/6/15 at 05:46 PM

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 5:56pm

Amazing to hear your thoughts, Jordan! Thank you for your insightful review. I am really excited about this show. 

[darquegk]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 6:04pm

I think this project is very interesting, because it's a series of things that should not go well together, that seem to be going well together. Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote his first defining show in a funk/jazz/rock/classical idiom, revised Joseph into a tamer version of the same, then essentially rejected rock music to blend classical and pop stylings, which he made a huge career out of. Especially at his age and level of success, he's the last person I saw creating a show about a loser in a garage band turning a school of kids into rock gods.

 

And yet, if the buzz is to be believed, that's what he's successfully done.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 6:08pm

He truly has. But what he's also done is written perhaps the most "traditional" musical theater score he's ever written. 

Updated On: 6/6/15 at 06:08 PM

[darquegk]

Posted: 6/6/15 at 6:46pm

Traditional how so? Consider me curious.