Review: Raleigh Little Theatre Delivers Electrifying School of Rock Performance

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Based on Richard Linklater's 2003 film of the same name. School of Rock follows Dewey Finn, a down-on-his-luck wannabe rock star who poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. When he discovers his students' musical talents, he enlists his fifth-graders to form a rock group and conquer the Battle of the Bands.

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Back in 2017, I caught the national tour of this musical at the Durham Performing Arts Center. Since then, the Broadway production ended its run on January 20th, 2019 after 1,309 performances. Following a string of commercial flops with Aspects of Love , Sunset Boulevard (despite achieving a two-year run), By Jeeves , and The Woman in White , this became Andrew Lloyd Webber ’s first Broadway hit since The Phantom of the Opera .

Believe it or not, I first saw the original film with my cousins in theaters when it came out. At the time, my dad had access to a limousine, which we took to get to the movie. I especially remember this because back then, my older brother looked like Harry Potter. So we talked about how if anyone happened to have asked about the limo, we probably would’ve jokingly said something like “ Daniel Radcliffe ’s here!.”

I must say that revisiting this musical at Raleigh Little Theatre nearly a decade later in a way feels fitting. The story follows an amateur musician wanting to perform with a group of people for fun. It actually lends itself to a community theatre production perfectly. Not to mention that this taking place inside RLT’s Cantey V. Sutton Theatre is also fitting as the space is not too big nor too small, it’s just right for a rock show.

Under the direction of Susannah Hough , everything works so well. Freddie-Lee Heath’s choreography is energetic. Jared Kirkpatrick’s sound design makes it feel as if you’re at a rock concert. Julianna Babcock has probably achieved some of the very best lighting design I’ve ever seen at RLT. Yet most importantly, everyone in the cast really brings it their all.

Erik Agle is an absolute rock star as Dewey Finn. He not only sings very well and is pretty funny, but he also nails his character arc. He starts out as this careless lazy bum who’s posing as a teacher to make money, but later grows to care for his students. Alex Bailey Hudson is really good as the school’s principal, Rosalie Mullins. The character may be straight-laced on the surface, but through her big Act II number, ‘Where Did the Rock Go?,’ she reveals quite a bit of humanity.

Each of the kids work very well together. Among them are Jeffy Black as Zach Mooneyham, Aaron Agle (Erik’s real-life son) as Freddie Hamilton, Jane Kelley as Katie, Stewart McClelland as Lawrence, Madison Cribbs as Summer Hathaway, Cameron McBrien as Mason Ward, Landon Ives as Billy Sanford, Clayton Mack III as James, Larkin Clemmons as Marcy, Ballad Barker as Shonelle, Flynn McElroy as Sophie, and Natalie Walton as Madison. Although Autumn Ducler-Pearson as Tomika stands out from everyone. She starts off as this mute kid, but later reveals such impressive vocals in Act II. May not be the most original character arc in the world, but it works.

Remarkable how a musical like this works as well as it does despite its authors not looking like an ideal fit for it on paper. The book is by Julian Fellowes , the creator of Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age , adapted from a screenplay penned by Mike White , who is now riding high as the creator of The White Lotus . Most of the music is by Andrew Lloyd Webber , even though this does take him back to his roots writing rock musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar . The lyrics are by Glenn Slater , who’s mainly known for his collaborations with Alan Menken on Tangled , the Sister Act musical, and the Broadway stage adaptation of The Little Mermaid . Yet together, Fellowes, Lloyd Webber, and Slater have each crafted a feel-good show with a great message that’s bound to entertain audiences of all ages. Raleigh Little Theatre’s production absolutely does it justice!

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/raleigh/article/Review-Raleigh-Little-Theatres-SCHOOL-OF-ROCK-20260606)._