New Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics: Glenn Slater. Book: Julian Fellowes. Capitol Theatre, Sydney. From 15 November 2019.
In many ways School of Rock is The Sound of Music for a new generation and with a gender swap: a naïve young adult tutors a group of repressed unhappy kids. Through music, the kids are empowered and find joy. At the same time, the equally repressed unhappy authority figure is also reconnected to music and falls in love with the tutor. Together, they all defy an oppressive regime, but this time it’s not Nazis but their rigid school and “the Man”.