Andrew Lloyd Webber planning The School of Rock: the musical
Jack Black's cult comedy movie hit is to be given the stage treatment by the man behind Cats, Phantom of the Opera and Evita
Ever since Jack Black formed a band with a bunch of school kids in 2004's cult comedy hit School of Rock, fans have been hoping for a sequel. And while production of that long-awaited follow-up sadly stalled a few years ago, unlikely hero Andrew Lloyd Webber has come to the rescue, sort of...
The musical genius behind West End hits Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Evita and Joseph revealed in a recent interview with CBC Radio that he has acquired the rights to the rock 'n' roll cinema hit and intends to turn it into a stage musical.
Speaking of his latest acquisition, Lloyd Webber told host Jian Ghomeshi, "Another thing that I've just got the rights to that I am very excited about – there may be songs for me in it, but it's obviously got songs in it as it stands – is that movie School of Rock."
The acclaimed composer – who celebrated his 40-year career with an Easter Day ITV special hosted by Michael Ball – recently revealed he has just completed a musical based on the life of osteopath and socialite Stephen Ward who was famously caught up in the 1963 Profumo Affair.
Speaking of the marked contrast between his two projects, Lloyd Webber added with a chuckle, "So, I will go from Stephen Ward, which is really going to be a sort of chamber musical, to a musical about kids playing the guitar."
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If anyone can do it, it's the man who created a stage phenomenon – and number one single – from the story of an Argentinian politician's wife. The question that remains is, who can possibly do School of Rock's Dewey Finn character justice after Jack Black's movie-stealing performance?
