'School of Rock - The Musical' to open on Broadway in 2015

[December 18, 2014]  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The stage adaptation of the hit 2003 film "School of Rock," about a wannabe rock star who works as a substitute teacher and forms a rock band with his students, will open on Broadway next year, its producers said on Thursday.

"School of Rock - the Musical," which will begin previews in November and is set to open on Dec. 6, 2015, will feature songs from the film and new music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and a book by Julian Fellowes, the creator of the acclaimed period television drama "Downton Abbey."

"'School of Rock' is hugely about how music can empower kids," Lloyd Webber, the composer of "Cats," "Evita" and "The Phantom of the Opera" said in a statement announcing the musical.

His company, The Really Useful Group, along with Warner Music Group & Access Industries and the Shubert and Nederlander organizations, are bringing the film to the stage. Casting for the musical is due to start in January.

The film, directed by Richard Linklater and starring Jack Black as the aspiring rocker Dewey Finn, grossed more than $131 million at the global box office.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney, Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and David Gregorio)

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