Original School of Rock Writer and Star Mike White Meets Alex Brightman and Broadway Cast

(© David Gordon)
Mike White, the original screenwriter and costar of the film School of Rock, took in the new Broadway musical version and visited the cast backstage at the Winter Garden Theatre on November 18.

(© David Gordon)
The 2003 film, written by White and directed by Richard Linklater, tells the story of a down-on-his-luck wannabe rock star named Dewey Finn, who poses as a substitute teacher at a prep school and enlists his fifth-graders to form a rock group and conquer Battle of the Bands. White originated the role of Ned on screen, now played by Spencer Moses.
The brand-new stage version features a book by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey, Mary Poppins), a score by Andrew Lloyd Webber (The Phantom of the Opera) and Glenn Slater (The Little Mermaid), and direction by Laurence Connor (Les Misérables).

(© David Gordon)
Alex Brightman leads the cast as Dewey Finn, with Sierra Boggess as the stern school principal Rosalie Mullins. The cast also features Moses as Ned, Mamie Parris as Patty, Evie Dolan as Katie, Carly Gendell as Marcy, Ethan Khusidman as Mason, Bobbi MacKenzie as Tomika, Dante Melucci as Freddy, Brandon Niederauer as Zack, Luca Padovan as Billy, Jared Parker as Lawrence, and Isabella Russo as Summer.

(© David Gordon)