PICKERINGTON, Ohio — This weekend, Pickerington Community Theatre returns to the stage with their take on the wildly popular musical “School of Rock.”
Based on the 2003 Jack Black film of the same name, “School of Rock” made its Broadway debut in 2015 and features music by famed composer Andrew Lloyd Weber.
“On the surface of it, 'School of Rock' is about this loser who keeps hanging on these dreams...of becoming a rock star,” explained Mandy Tuttle, the show’s director.
The lead character of Dewey Finn, portrayed by E. Scott Harvey for PCT, lies his way into a substitute teacher job. However, the more time he spends with the kids in his class, the more he starts to care for them and to encourage them to express themselves through rock and roll.
“He sees them as people, he treats them as people. He doesn’t talk down to them; he doesn’t baby them,” said Tuttle. “They help him grow; he helps them grow.”
Singing the praises of the talented cast and crew, Tuttle emphasized how fortunate the production was to find such skilled young actors and musicians to bring the schoolchildren to life.
The fourteen kids in the cast all sing and dance and act, but four of the children take on the added duties of playing their instruments, including drums, guitar, bass and keys live onstage.
“It’s really amazing how many talented kids there are in our little community,” Tuttle observed.
Pickerington Community Theatre’s production of “School of Rock: The Musical” runs Oct. 6 through Oct. 15 at The Wigwam Event Center in Pickerington. For more information or to reserve tickets, click here.