School of Rock

“School of Rock” is a popular and well known movie adapted for the stage by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Julian Fellowes. With these two national treasures at the helm of such a production it promises to be two things…. Incredibly funny and musically challenging. And any musical theatre group prepared to take on this production must be ready to give their all in order to pull off this lively and demanding musical. I am pleased to say the talented young cast at Maltings did extremely well with their version and rose brilliantly to the challenge.

It was evident how dedicated each and every person has been to produce such an enjoyable production. From the cast, tech team, costumes, set builders and probably the hardest working back stage crew I have ever seen – huge congratulations to you all.

Under the expert Direction from Mr Tovey the audience were treated to an evening full of laughs and of course “Rock n Roll”.

Every single cast member should be extremely proud of their performances and I commend you all but I must mention a few individuals.

In the demanding lead role of Dewey Finn, Erin L gave an acting master class. Erin threw herself into the role with a comedic timing many seasoned performers would struggle to match. She also showed a generosity on stage towards other members of the cast, allowing them their moments to shine and supporting them when needed. Equally impressive was Lila S as Ms Mullins, with a beautiful singing voice and a lovely portrayal of the prim and proper teacher who gradually relaxes and finds her inner “rock chick”. Her solo, “Where Did The Rock Go” was a show highlight.

Other special mentions go to Olivia BL as Summer who brought the house down with her rendition of “Time to Play” and Soraiya L who stunned us all with her beautiful acapella vocals. Great acting also from Lewis A as Ned Schneebly who was well matched by his bossy girlfriend Patty played by Dora P.

All of the students, I believe mainly from year 7, did a wonderful job and most importantly everyone on stage sang out with lots of energy and looked sure of their words and knew where they had to be at all times – even helping out with moving set and props when called for.

Some of the older year groups played various roles as teachers, band members and parents and I applaud you all for tackling some tricky songs and switching between different roles. This is not easy and you all did brilliantly.

I really liked the set, particularly the raised stage area used for the battle of the bands. The flats on wheels were well designed to be turned round to depict the different rooms in the school and Ned and Patty’s house. I particularly liked the addition of the staff photo wall – I assume members of the Maltings faculty!

There were a few microphone issues with some not coming in on time or being a little distorted but this is completely normal for an opening night and happens even in the big theatres. The same with the lighting and a little hiccup with one of the scene changes but these minor issues did not detract from the performance and the cast should be congratulated for not letting it phase them at all.

Costumes were great as were the props, I loved the flats either side of the stage used as wings displaying musical equipment – a really nice touch.

Going forward I can only see great things for the performers at Lift Maltings. They have a superb mentor in Mr Tovey supported by his hard working team and I hope they continue to produce fun productions like this one.

My advice would be to keep practicing your performance skills even when you aren’t in rehearsals, study the musicals and performers you admire, go to the theatre when you can and remember – when you are on stage if you are smiling the audience will smile with you. Once you catch the musical theatre bug there’s no feeling like it. Keep bringing the energy and joy and you will all go from strength to strength.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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