Richard Linklater’s School of Rock is one of the biggest commercial hits in the director’s career and now it is going to be a Broadway musical, opening next winter.
The rock musical will feature new songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber and previews will start on Nov. 2, 2015. The official opening is set for Dec. 6, 2015, notes USA Today.
School of Rock will be directed by Laurence Connor (Les Miserables) and features a book by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey). Glenn Slater wrote the lyrics. Casting will start in several U.S. cities next month.
While Lloyd Webber’s work is known on both sides of the Atlantic, this is actually going to be the first time a show of his opens on the Great White Way before London’s West End since Jesus Christ Superstar in 1971, notes Broadway.com.
"It is a joy to return to my Jesus Christ Superstar roots – when Deep Purple's Ian Gillan was recording Jesus for Tim Rice and me at London's Olympic Studios, Led Zeppelin was recording next door and a glimpse of a Stone or two was routine! School Of Rock is hugely about how music can empower kids," Webber said in a statement.
The film starred Jack Black as a rock star who becomes a substitute teacher and helps his students learn to lighten up. Nickelodeon and Paramount TV are currently developing a series, which Linklater has signed on to executive produce.