PARMA, Ohio — Despite the popular AC/DC song, there’s not just one way to rock.
That’s the message behind the Normandy Drama Workshop’s new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “School of Rock.”
Performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 15 and 2 & 7 p.m. Nov. 16 in the Pleasant Valley Road school’s auditorium.
“What people can take away from the musical is that there is more than one right way to do something,” Normandy Drama Workshop advisor Emily Walls said.
“Sometimes a way of learning that isn’t what everyone expects could be just as beneficial as the way that everybody is used to doing it.”
Debuting more than a decade after the 2003 feature film introduced the world to the talents of Jack Black, Webber’s musical adaptation features a book by “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellows.
The Tony Award-nominated “School of Rock” follows 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.
Eventually, he turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping and mind-blowing rock band.
The production has a meta quality. Just as the characters in the show learn how to rock, the lead actors are required to learn how to play their character’s respective instruments.
“The most challenging thing — but also my favorite, most exciting part — is the children actually learned to play the instruments that are performed on stage because that is how the show is licensed,” she said.
“That’s been amazing watching these kids pick up these instruments. I think maybe one or two of them were slightly familiar with their instrument before this production and now they’re a real rock band.”
Normandy Drama Workshop presents “School of Rock” Nov. 15 and 16 at the Pleasant Valley Road school. (Courtesy of Emily Walls)Courtesy of Emily Walls
That includes Normandy High School senior Kaz Chaplain, who plays the role of Zack.
“When I first found out our musical was ‘School of Rock,’ I was most excited about the rock music,” he said. “When I was cast as Zack, I was both nervous and ecstatic to sing my solos and have the challenge of picking up a guitar.
“It’s been so fun to work with all of the other students, to feel the energy from all my friends and to watch our hard work come together.”
For Normandy High School junior Damion Alberino, playing the lead role of Dewey Finn has been a blast.
“I’m absolutely stoked to put on ‘School of Rock’ as it gives me and the entire cast a chance to showcase our talents,” he said.
“From getting to actually play instruments on stage to the many funny and relatable scenes and songs, it definitely will be an absolutely rocking show that audiences will not forget.”
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