"School Of Rock"

Nottingham Arts Theatre.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s award-winning musical, based on the hit movie, follows Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who decides to earn a few extra bucks by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. There he turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band – performed live by the production’s young actors. Not only does he do that but he awakes their inner self and they become "cool", not only in the eyes of the other kids but in their own eyes, and eventually in the eyes of their parents.

Dewey wants to enter them into "The Battle Of the Bands" competition against the band that he has just been kicked out of, "No Vacancy", but this becomes more than just a revenge gig, he actually touches the lives of these kids and they also touch his life. The musical features 14 new songs from Andrew Lloyd-Webber as well as the original songs from the film.

Nik Hudson plays Dewey, and thanks to the wig that Nik wore for this role, I really didn't recognise him. The energy is all there and there are glimpses of Jack Black in Nik's performance, while still being Nik Hudson playing Dewey Finn. Wonderfully child like with chinks of an adult occasionally showing through.

Dewey's ex band mate and his co Landlord, Ned Schneebly, who makes a welcome return to the stage after almost a decade away. Ned, you may remember is the one that had originally been offered the teaching job at the school, is played by Luc Chignall. Ned goes through a transformation at the end, and is seen by his girlfriend, Patti Di Marco, who is the other co Landlord, in a completely different light! I love the scene where "the worm turns". There's also another scene after this that also gets a massive reaction from the crowd, but I'll leave you discover what that is!

Patti is played by Keira Dormer-Hazell. Really domineering and bossy and doesn't allow Ned to make any decisions for himself. She hates Dewey and wants him out of the apartment and out of her and Ned's lives. Patti is played just right by Keira.

Rosalie Mullins, the Head of the school, is played by Beccy Burgess. I love these characters who start off as one thing and mutate into a completely different character and that is what happens with Rosalie, once Dewey discovers her Achilles heel. Beccy meanwhile gets to show an incredible pair of lungs in the solo "Where Did The Rock Go", in Act Two when she turns from a stuffy School Head to a Stevie Nicks loving rock chick in a "why Ms Mullins, you're beautiful" transformation. The timing of the comedy, with the Stevie Nicks song and both actors is just a dream to see and the vocal control of "Queen Of the Night" (No, not the Whitney Houston song) is perfection on a classical scale.

Zach Mooneyham is played by Austin Owen, whose dad, Gavin, also appears on alternate evenings in the ensemble. Zach is the son of an uptight businessman with no time for his children. Because of that, Zach keeps a great deal bottled inside and has issues with being too stiff with his guitar playing at first. However, Dewey discovers that Zach is actually a musical prodigy, as shown when he writes the band's anthem, "Teacher's Pet", after only a month or so of playing rock music. Austin is a very good guitarist and really makes that instrument sing. Thank goodness an accident caused him to give gymnastics a rest and concentrate on acting or else we may never have seen this talented actor, musician and singer in this role.

Giles Briggs plays Freddie Hamilton, the drummer in "School Of Rock". Freddie is a rambunctious boy, as shown when he disrupts the music class with his cymbals. He is constantly told he isn't intelligent, but Freddie and Dewey both think that he's intelligent in a different way, and that Freddie's father just doesn't see that. One of the best things about this musical is that you get to see young people showcasing their talents playing instruments live on stage, and Giles really knows his way around a drum kit.

Connie Tegerdine plays Katie Travis, the bass player of the band, and like all the young musicians on stage, she knows how to handle their respective instruments, giving us a really nice chunky bass sound. Katie is a quiet, serious girl who keeps mostly to herself. She plays the cello at school but is quick to pick up the bass at Dewey's encouragement. She is stone-faced when she plays, and takes her instrument and the band very seriously, although not as much as Summer takes managing.

Lauren Turner is played by Orla Donohoe, who plays the keyboards on stage and completing the band's sound. I don't think that I'd seen a female version of this character in other productions, so there's a nice twist of characters from Lawrence to Lauren. Lauren is an unconfident soul, and is also gluten intolerant. She initially believes that she isn't cool enough to be a part of the band, but Dewey is able to convince her that she's amazing. At the show's beginning, her only friend is Tomika, but she doesn't think she counts because she never talks. Lauren's a very imaginative keyboard player, and talented at improvising.

The above four are constants in the show and the rest of the young cast share their roles, to give everyone a chance to play a part in this wonderfully fun musical.

Summer Hathaway is played by Ruby Armstrong and Hermoine Cumbers, Hermoine took the stage tonight. Summer, a high-achieving girl who hates nonsense. Initially, she absolutely despises Dewey, but comes to love the band—or, perhaps, the power that comes with it—and is willing, as the band's manager, to do anything to see it achieve. She is one of the brightest students at Horace Green, as shown by the fact that she has significantly more gold stars on the achievement board than any of her peers. Through the show, she is convinced that winning the "Battle of the Bands" will look good on her college application. Like every other young actor on that stage, she looked like she was having a ball sticking it to the man with such attitude.

Tomika Spencer-Williams is played by Grace Moroziuk and Sophie Benner, whose turn it was in the spotlight on Wednesday night, especially with her vocally acrobatic version of "Amazing Grace". Tomika is shy and doesn't speak to anyone at school, and feels as though she's not as intelligent as the other students. However, it turns out that she is a highly gifted singer. I've seen and heard Sophie on many occasions and know what a powerful singer she has grown into, so her version came as no surprise to my ears.

Billy Sandford, the fashionista of "School Of Rock", is played by Leo Capaldi and Arlo Perrons; I saw Arlo perform this evening. Billy is a flamboyant character with a love of style and fashion magazines. Billy is disgusted with Dewey's outfit choices, and how no one else in the band shares his artistic vision, but is confident in his styling choices regardless. Billy comes from a long line of football players, and his father wants him to be one as well, but Billy has absolutely no interest in doing so, opting to read Vogue than swot up on the soccer scores and teams. 

A lovely fun character that gave Arlo some wonderful comic scenes, especially with his design for Dewey's stage outfit. Like Sophie, I've seen Arlo perform many times and love to see the ascent of this young actor's talents. The confidence shown in this part is through the roof. I mentioned in my review of Arlo in "The Sound Of Music" that he is an actor to keep an eye on; well keep two eyes open because this actor will go places.

Marcy is played by Amelie Tindle and Kayla Burgess, Kayla took the stage tonight. 

James is played by Harry Merrick and Seth Burgess, being opening night Seth took the role and smashed the part. He looked like he was enjoying every second of playing James, which I am sure that he did.

Shonelle is played by Taya Jones and Ayanna Mzungu, who played the part on Wednesday night. Shonelle and Marcy, are quieter girls who tend to blend into the background in some other productions I've seen. They are "School of Rock"s backup singers, and also talented dancers. Dewey tells their parents that they have the voices of angels. And boy do they make the most of the choreography as well. You know how there are certain actors on stage who just create gravitation towards them, well that is what it was like with Ayanna. She has the biggest smile and delivers everything on stage with attitude and 110% energy. 

Tilly is played by Isla Farrell and Ruby Hall, and it was Ruby's turn to shine on stage on opening night. 

Mackenzie is played by La-Mai McKenzie and Martha Kemp: it was Martha who was on tonight.

Sophie is played by Florence Everitt and Esme Smith-Cockayne and tonight I saw Esme perform 

Madison is played by Neveah Jouhal and Megan Holder, and it was Megan who was on stage tonight, 

Mason is played by Adam Field and Solomon Palmer, tonight it was Solomon's turn. 

I have every confidence that whichever team of actors you get to see, you will not be disappointed.

The No Vacancy Band comprised of Curtis Salmon (Theo), Brogan Haynes (Snake), Alex Nickson (Bob) and Jack Kent (Doug), all of which suitably looked the part of rockers.

The teachers, parents and ensemble are made up of Curtis Salmon (Mr Wagner), Alex Nickson (Mr Noble), Jack Kent (Mr Woodward), Brogan Haynes (Mr Janes), Michael Coles (Announcer/Mr Spencer), Samantha Whitworth (Mrs Turner), Alison Russell (Mrs Hathaway/Waitress), Mark Russell (Mr Hamilton/Stanley/Policeman), Sean Briggs and Gavin Owen share roles (Mr Sandford, Gabe/Jeff), Chris Surridge (Mr Williams/Mr Green), Jonathan Jaycock (Mr Mooneyham/Mr Sanders), Stacey Ireson (Mrs Travis/Ms Macapugay), Eleanor Carty (Mrs Sheinkopf/Security Guard), Helena Cave (Ms Gordon/Emo Girl/Security Guard), Chloe Crofts (Ms Bingham/Emo Girl). 

Directed by Lindsey Jaycock, she has kept every element of fun and pace within this show, as well as putting together a brilliant cast.

Musical Director is AJ Hill with Assistant Musical Director being Jonah Williams. Two mighty men in the field of MD work. It can be difficult to recreate a proper rock sound, if you're not used to working in that genre of music, but that was not the case here because the rock authenticity was there to see and hear.

Some theatre goers may not have seen this show before, and may not be aware of the soundtrack, and how good it is. Very different to anything that Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber has written before, and shows the more fun side of his Lordship. Stomping songs like "Stick It To the Man" and "Teacher's Pet", "You're In the Band", the sexy rock feel of "I'm Too Hot For You" and the sublime "If Only You Would Listen" and "Where Did The Rock Go" are just a few highlights of this soundtrack.

Choreographed by Jessica Royce with Assistant Choreographer being Zoe Turton. You just need to look at these young actors on that stage to see just how much they loved the choreography, and the energy that they put into what they were doing to know the quality of this area of creativity.

The stage management side of this show is really worth a mention because some of the props on stage were not easy to shift - like the settee, which had to be carried off by two people. Their arms will be muscle bound by the end of this run! Matt Allcock and Nigel Newton deserve pats on the back for managing what went on and what came off the stage, sometimes not as smoothly as they may have liked, but the job was done with great efficiency.

There were a lot more people behind the scenes that all made this show the success it is, and will be throughout the week

The set itself was designed by Lindsey Jaycock and combined with the set projection by Chris Margett, which is something you don't see too often at the Arts Theatre - the projection, not Chris, it swept the scenes along at a right old pace, giving the stage management the opportunity to concentrate on getting drum kits, keyboards, chairs, tables et al in place.

Sound Designer and Operator is Rob Kettridge, and what I liked was that, with this being a rock show, he didn't shy away from keeping the volume low. It really came across as a rock show with all the excitement and oomph of pulsating bass lines and screaming guitars and those punchy drum breaks.

The lighting design and operation was like being at a rock concert, especially the final scene, and all thanks to Oliver Read.

Well, I think, just from the length of my ramblings you may have surmised that I rather enjoyed this show. If you did, then go to the top of the class and claim a gold star, because I really did, and you will love it to. But first you need to get yourself a ticket or two, so off you trot......

"School Of Rock" is at the Nottingham Arts Theatre until Sunday 29 September.