Review: SCHOOL OF ROCK Lays Down the Beat at The Belmont

The movie, SCHOOL OF ROCK, had plenty of kids in it. When Andrew Lloyd Webber turned it into a musical in 2014, it was no surprise that a youth version would come out quickly, as it did. But can a youth production, with no adults in it - though plenty in the story line - come off telling the same story in the same way?

At the Belmont Theatre in York, under Rene Staub's direction, the answer is yes. With Webber's music (not the rock oldies soundtrack from the film; there's no Ramones here) and a book by Julian Fellowes - the same person who brought you Downton Abbey - Staub's charges have a field day with the material and the boundless energy that's needed when you're gonna be rock and roll heroes.

The best and most surprising thing about this production is that the adult characters, as handled by this cast, come off as actual adults. It's one thing in a youth production to imagine that teens are playing adults, but it's a delight to find a production in which you don't question that the adult characters are adults. However, Noah Schmitt, as Jack Black's infamous Dewey Finn, pulls off the feat of being a deadbeat rocker faking being a long-term substitute teacher with surprising maturity (though it helps that Finn has maturity issues, of course). And Catherine Wolfe as school headmistress Rosalie Mullins has both the maturity to be the prim, slightly standoffish headmistress and the energy to be the closet Stevie Nicks fan that Mullins is. There's no hint of "oh, look at the kids playing adults skirting a relationship" amusement here; these two younger performers are seasoned enough to inhabit adult roles as adults.

Dewey Finn has no idea what to do when he takes over his classroom, as he's no teacher, but he's a better one than his lack of certification suggests. The down-and-out, scruffy musician has the ability to listen, which is what his students need desperately, from the precocious genius Summer (Payton Lutz) to the shy Tomika (Amani Weary) and the other children whose parents and other teachers don't hear what they really want and need. When Finn explains that the true meaning of rock is to "Stick It to the Man," a chord is struck in the hearts of all the overly-disciplined children in his care.

As everyone outside the class wonders if these junior rockers are getting an education, of course, they're missing the obvious. As music lovers know, rock history is contemporary history, music theory is mathematical, and lyrics are poetry; for all of his dismissal of the school's required curriculum and the parental fear that their children have learned nothing at Finn's hands, his immersion of his class into full-time music study is almost certainly more educational, and more practical, than anything else taught at their highly expensive private school. And they're the only students with a real and safe outlet for the frustrations they're experiencing. As the audience watches them grow, it can't help rooting for the students to win the local Battle of the Bands. Finn is more right than anyone realizes when he tells them that it's just what they need to get into Harvard.

The show is a beautiful piece of ensemble work by a large number of children and older students, firmly held together by Staub's guidance. While the already popular songs from the movie aren't in the play, the ensemble numbers of "You're In the Band" and "Stick It to the Man" are worth catching, as are the solos by Peyton Lutz, Amani Weary, and Wolfe. Schmitt sings throughout, leading many of the ensemble numbers, and his "Stick It to the Man" solo is a delicious piece of rock rage. It's Schmitt's talent and Staub's direction that keeps Finn from overshadowing the kids in the class, which could happen easily.

This show isn't CATS - it's not Lloyd Webber's number one production - but it has far more energy than most of his shows have had in recent years. In some ways it harks back to JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT although it's more fully developed. Webber's ability to create rock numbers is overshadowed by his power ballad composition, and it's a pleasure to see him handle a rock score instead of his usual more recent bombast. SCHOOL OF ROCK isn't one of his over-composed, plot-lacking giant productions, but a more realistic, relatively faithful adaptation of a beloved film. It's also an antidote to shows like MATILDA that have veered into children meeting the dark side of human nature. No scary headmistresses or bullies to be found here, just preoccupied parents and fears of college admissions processes. It's a relief these days to see a show in which you don't think that a child psychologist needs to sweep in and rescue the juvenile characters from the torture at hand, and this is that show.

All in all, well played, in more ways than one. Through October 2 at the Belmont Theatre (formerly York Little Theatre). Up next, murder mystery POSTMORTEM. Visit thebelmont.org for tickets and information.

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