Local cast wows with ‘School of Rock’ at the PACE Center
Musicals don’t get much bigger or complex than this: 29 players, two live bands, more than 30 musical numbers, a plethora of scene changes and a challenging rock score and choreography relying in large part on local youth talent to pull off.
The musical is School of Rock, based on the 2003 Jack Black film that cemented the actor’s status as the lead keeper of rock lore while launching the career of a little-known actor/writer named Mike White (who later created The White Lotus). The story was turned into a musical in 2015 with an accompanying score by none other than Andrew Lloyd Webber. A Broadway touring version blasted through the Denver Center in 2018, but other than one production last year in Colorado Springs, School of Rock hasn’t been seen locally since.
The cast of ‘School of Rock | Noah Begley, Paper & Light Photography.
Taking on the project for Parker Arts in their first-ever show is Veritas Productions led by Nancy Evans Begley and Amy Condon with Katie Reid Milazzo in the director’s chair. It was an enthusiastic and packed house for opening night Jan. 19 at the PACE Center, and despite a few opening-night bumps here and there, it was a roaring success.
Key to the show is the lead character of Dewey Finn, and Veritas tapped Caleb Reed to play the Jack Black role. Reed is a bit of a rock-musical veteran with local credits including Rock of Ages, Godspell and American Idiot. His Dewey is a bit less of a jerk than the film version, portraying a social misfit trying to pursue his passion without much concern for how he gets there and who he steps on. Reed is perfect as an energized schlub handy with an axe who only wants one thing: to win a local battle of the bands to pay the rent.
A pivotal plot point comes when Dewey picks up the landline phone in the apartment he shares with his old band buddy/now-substitute-teacher Ned Schneebly (a spot-on Erik Thurston) and his shrewish girlfriend Patty (scene-stealing Miranda Byers). The call is from the principal of a fancy-schmancy private school desperate for a sub to fill in for an injured teacher. Dewey hears the pay rate and claims he’s Ned, setting up the action for the rest of the story as he implausibly maintains the charade among a host of experienced educators.
At the School of Rock
We’re introduced to the faculty and students of stuffy Horace Green school in a musical number telling us exactly what kind of place this is. This is followed by “Here at Horace Green” from the school’s seriously uptight principal Rosalie Mullins. Sara Metz has a wonderful turn filling out this role with a powerful voice and just the right balance of anxiety and acceptance of what Dewey is soon up to.
Sarah Metz as Miss Mullins in ‘School of Rock’ | Noah Begley, Paper & Light Photography.
It soon becomes clear that Milazzo has assembled a dream cast of young players who nail all of Madeline Shaffer’s stampy, high-velocity choreography, combine for solid choral performances and act with the best of them in a succession of funny scenes. One of my favorite relationships in the story is between Dewey and Summer, the Hermione Grainger character played superbly by Gabrielle Gueck — an effervescent Lone Tree Elementary fifth grader. (A competitive gymnast, she also adds some impressive moves to some of the dance numbers.)
Once Dewey learns the kids can play instruments, he devises a plan to make them his backing band for the battle of the bands (his original band, No Vacancy, having kicked him out). First, he must convert their chamber-music skills into those of a rock band, and he soon has them more or less whipped into shape despite their concern that they no longer appear to be learning anything else at their $50,000/yr school.
A classic rocker
One of the charms of School of Rock is how it depicts a reality where Led Zeppelin, The Who and other classic rockers represent the cornerstone of all music. It’s a world where Motorhead is gospel and Taylor Swift is a punchline — and buy-in is an uphill battle for Dewey at first. But soon he’s able to convince this bunch of nerdy kids that rocking out will make them cool, and he assigns them all roles.
For the core band, we have Christopher Gawlikowski as Zack on guitar; Katie Burt as Katie on bass; Liam Dodge as Freddy on drums; and Sean O’Malley as Lawrence on keys. All four are exceptional musicians and between them and the orchestra positioned onstage up left, there’s a steady stream of rock permeating the entire show. Later on, Dewey discovers shy girl Tomika is a first-class singer, and Sariah Smith steps up into the role to deliver a powerful performance.
Dewey’s bigger challenge is finding jobs for the rest of the kids, and it’s a funny bit as he tries to slot these grade-schoolers into roles like groupies, backup singers, stylist and tech guy while landing on the perfect job title for Summer: band manager. This is a key pick, since without her buy-in, the whole enterprise might have been subject to interference from the principal.
Through a series of increasingly absurd but very funny scenes, the kids end up triumphing at the battle of the bands, angry parents are placated, Principal Mullins becomes a Dewey fangirl and the ad-hoc School of Rock is destined to become a fixture at Horace Green. It’s a rousing ending where, as Dewey predicted, the power of rock overcomes all obstacles, and the audience is on its feet cheering on the kids in a meta moment where the fictional kids onstage are mirrored by the actors portraying them. No doubt the kids at Gawlikoski’s school will be celebrating his face-melting guitar solos as much as Zack’s family and friends are.
There are still some audio issues to work out with the production, but overall it’s a home run for Veritas Productions right out of the gate with School of Rock. This one is selling fast so grab tickets while you can.
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