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Students of Royal Theater Academy are set to bring the story of a rundown rock musician turned substitute prep school teacher to life this December in a musical production of “School of Rock.”
The show’s cast, comprised of actors age 5 and older, will perform a complex adaptation of the 2003 film starring Jack Black. The youth performers will jam in character as student-musicians within the stage version originally adapted by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
RTA invites all ages to see “School of Rock” the musical, set to take place during the next two weekends at Livermore High School.
Organizers with the family-oriented theater company said they hope to perform upbeat tunes with high energy, reminiscent of the original film — plus some ad lib hilarity.
“It is pretty similar to the movie, so I honestly think that anyone who loved this movie, will also love the show — to see it from a different media style,” said Mary Grace Gomilla, actress in “School of Rock” and adult volunteer at RTA.
To tell the story of school-aged children learning music from substitute teacher Dewey Finn, the cast has been rehearsing since late August.
Onstage musical performances by RTA actors, rather than orchestra accompaniment, make this a particularly notable production. They will sing lyrics by Glenn Slater and play the drums, bass, guitar and keyboard to rock music scored by Webber.
In terms of casting, “School of Rock” fits perfectly into RTA’s vision of an age-inclusive play.
“We have a huge community of extremely talented kids. Because of that, we want to choose shows that have a lot of opportunity for them,” Trenton Torain, artistic director and owner of RTA, said in an email to Livermore Vine.
The production’s mostly double-cast roles have been split into two groups — “AC/DC” and “Blink-182” — that will perform separately throughout the show’s two-weekend run.
The story’s underlying message of finding one’s path in life despite others’ expectations resonates with the theater company too.
“It’s a little meta how this show relates to the organization,” Gomilla said. “Trent is so great at nurturing everyone’s talent at every level there is, whether you’re really young or old, whether you’ve done theater before or have not done theater before. And he wants to create a really safe space for people to grow their love of theater and to practice without any judgment.”
Six showings of “School of Rock” are set to run from this Saturday (Dec. 2) through next Sunday (Dec. 10), with varied start times. Tickets and more information can be found at Eventbrite.
