MANSFIELD – The newest Mansfield Youth Theatre production at the Renaissance brings together fans of Broadway, classic rock and unique local talent.
Opening this weekend is the youth version of “School of Rock,” a brand-new musical based on the famous 2003 film starring Jack Black. The show was nominated at the 2016 Tony Awards for “Best Musical.”
In fact, the adult version of the show is currently playing on Broadway. However, producer Andrew Lloyd Weber decided to make the rights available to community theaters and youth theatre groups as long as all members of the cast were under 18 years of age.
“He wanted people to get in touch with embracing the music,” said Mansfield Youth Theatre director Dauphne Maloney. “It’s been almost 50 years since he wrote his first musical. This was a great way to celebrate his roots and his attraction to classic rock, as well as wanting families and children to be able to embrace this type of music.”
Fans of the movie version are familiar with the story of Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who decides to earn a few extra bucks by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. Completely disinterested in academic work, Dewey decides to create his own curriculum, turning his class into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band.
According to Maloney, the stage version of “School of Rock” is very close to the movie script-wise, but with the addition of 14 new, original songs. The stage version is also close to the movie with the cinematic feel with regard to how the scenes play.
“It’s intended to flow one scene to another pretty easily, which presents its own set of challenges because it’s easy on film to edit,” said Maloney with a laugh. “For that reason, we’ve chosen to go with an industrial, representational feel to the scenery. Instead of the kids having desks they have boxes, the brick walls flip to an industrial look on the other side, and the band is centered with regard to the live music.”
The live band is easily one of the most unique and challenging parts of “School of Rock” for Maloney, particularly from a technical aspect. When it comes to the band members, however, she was pleasantly surprised by the level of talent brought by her 36 youth actors.
“Our young guitar player came to us because his music teacher has done shows here before, and the day after auditions she told me about this great guitar player who loves Van Halen,” Maloney said. “Next thing you know, his parents contacted us and he came and auditioned.”
That guitar player is Curtiss Porter, a seventh-grader at Richland School of Academic Arts. Porter’s audition video shredding on the electric guitar quickly went viral on the Renaissance Theatre’s Facebook page, much to his surprise.
“There are a lot of bands that have simple notes, one or four chords over and over again,” Porter said. “With Van Halen, it’s not just one simple rhythm it’s a bunch of different notes differently, it’s not the same every single time. And the solos are really frickin’ hard.”
Though he’s played guitar for a little more than two years, this is Porter’s first foray into theatre. It’s also his first time playing for an audience the size of the Renaissance Theatre.
“It’s completely different than what I thought,” he said. “I thought it was just going to be super simple, a couple lines and then we play. I didn’t know there was going to be choreography and actual dancing and singing. So I had to learn how to sing. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Another newcomer to Mansfield Youth Theatre is Logan Grube, a junior at Ontario taking on the role of Dewey Finn. So far, Grube’s theatre experience at the Renaissance has been “wonderful.”
“I love every bit of it, especially when you start adding the lights and the scenery and all the instruments, and being on stage,” Grube said. “This show has taken on a life of its own.”
Grube said other than studying a few online clips to master certain scenes, he hasn’t watched the “School of Rock” movie to mimic Jack Black’s style of acting, preferring instead to make the character his own. It’s an easy task when surrounded by a rambunctious youth cast.
“These kids have a lot of energy, they’re really about it,” Grube said with a laugh. “And it’s about kids being rebellious so they’re really all about that one, they bring it every single day. It’s hard to keep up because I’m an old man, but I love working with them, they’re so much fun.”
The opportunity for a large cast of younger actors is what drew Maloney to the show for Mansfield Youth Theatre.
“We really wanted to let our younger kids have an opportunity to have bigger roles,” she said. “It’s a good fit for us. And it’s very rare you can get the rights for a show still on Broadway.”
“School of Rock” will open on Sept. 9 and 10 at 7 p.m., and Sept. 11 at 2:30 p.m. on the stage of the Renaissance Theatre. Tickets are on sale now for $15 each by visiting the Renaissance Box Office, via phone at (419) 522-2726, and online at MansfieldTickets.com.
Maloney encouraged audiences to see the show because of the energy and enthusiasm of the cast and crew, as well as the fact that they’re seeing a brand-new show.
“If they haven’t been to New York to see it, this is their chance to see it right here in their backyard featuring local talent,” she said. “And I like taking a couple chances and taking us to the edge of what we can do, and pushing us a little bit harder.”
