Oakland School for the Arts Will Stage Amateur Premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's SCHOOL OF ROCK

Oakland School for the Arts in Oakland, California will present the world premiere amateur youth production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's newest Broadway smash hit, School of Rock - The Musical, as the hit musical continues its professional Broadway run at the Winter Garden Theatre (1634 Broadway) in New York City. In an unprecedented move, Lloyd Webber teamed up with R&H Theatricals prior to the show's Broadway opening on November 6, 2015 to make youth performance rights available to schools and youth theatres across the U.S. and Canada. In an exciting move, producer (and Oakland School of the Arts supporter) Carole Shorenstein Hays has invited OSA to present their musical on the historic stage of the Curran (where The Phantom of the Opera played for five record-breaking years) March 3 - 12, 2016.

"What initially drew me to School of Rock is that it is entirely about empowering students with music," Andrew Lloyd Webber commented. "This initiative is a natural extension of that message, and as such is near and dear to my heart. I look forward to visiting the Curran to see these students take on our show."

"The Oakland School for the Arts is a hub of creativity and talent and I can think of no better place to take on this production," said Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Governor of California.

School of Rock - The Musical opened on Broadway to rave reviews on Sunday, December 6, 2015. This Ben Brantley New York Times 'Critics' Pick' "is an inspiring jolt of energy and mad skillz," raves Jesse Oxfeld of Entertainment Weekly. And in his four-star Critics' Pick review, Time Out's David Cote proclaimed, "School's IN - forever!"

Based on the smash hit 2003 film of the same title, School of Rock - The Musical features music from the movie, as well as an original score by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Glenn Slater, with a book by Julian Fellowes and direction by Laurence Connor.

School of Rock - The Musical is produced on Broadway by Andrew Lloyd Webber for The Really Useful Group, Warner Music Group & Access Industries, The Shubert Organization, and The Nederlander Organization. Nina Lannan and Madeleine Lloyd Webber serve as Executive Producers.

R&H Theatricals has been representing North American performance rights to Lloyd Webber's musicals since 2001, with The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, Cats, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Aspects of Love, By Jeeves, Song & Dance, A Beautiful Game - and now, School of Rock - The Musical.

Photo by Joan Marcus