Craig Gallivan in School of Rock – The Musical.
Picture: Tristram Kenton
Craig Gallivan will step into the leading role of Dewey Finn in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Olivier Award-winning School of Rock – The Musical next month.
Details of the year three cast for the hit show were released on the same day as a further 350,000 tickets were made available for the show which is now booking until 20 October 2019 at the recently re-named Gillian Lynne Theatre.
Currently playing the alternate Dewey, Gallivan will take over from another former alternate Dewey, Stephen Leask, from 22 August alongside Laura Tebbutt as Rosalie Mullins, Alan Pearson as Ned Schnabel, Michelle Francis as Patty DiMarco and Jake Sharp who will play Dewey Finn at certain performances.
The ‘grown-up’ cast is completed by John Addison, Nick Butcher, Rob Falconer, Martina Isidor, Claudia Kaimuki, Jessica Louise Parkinson, Richard Morse, Andy Rees, Hannah Stratton, Alex Tomkins and James Wolstenholme with swings Paul Kemble, Jessica Kirton, Billy Mitchell, Catherine Morris and Andy Prosser.
The adults are joined on stage at each performance by one of three teams of 13 young musicians who make up Dewey’s band and play live at every performance.
Following a nationwide search for new young classmates able to play live at every performance, the young performers are: Albert Attack (10 years old from Sheffield), Amos Maryland (10 years old from Cornwall) and Oscar Rice (11 years old from London) who will play Zack; and Jamal Ahmed (12 years old from Surrey), Jasper Bew (11 years old from London) and Mayan Gupta (10 years old from Sheffield) who will play Freddy.
The role of Lawrence will be shared by Noah Gupta-Wright (12 years old from London), Alfie Humphreys (11 years old from Bedfordshire) and Tom Kochanski (12 years old from South Wales); Carys John (10 years old from Wiltshire), Amelie Leatherland (12 years old from Brighton) and Ellie Wilcox (11 years old from Essex) will play Katie and Billy will be played by Jack Gale (11 years old from Hertfordshire), Jakub Kopek (11 years old from Surrey) and Jensen York (12 years old from Warwickshire).
Amelie Green (11 years old from London), Anya Hewett (10 years old from County Durham) and Éibhleann Rose McCormack (10 years old from West Sussex) will play Summer; Kaylah Black (12 years old from London), Sara Sheen (12 years old from Manchester) and Charis Claresta Tetteh (12 years old from Essex) will play Tomika; and Adam Djazel (10 years old from London), Harley Gallacher (12 years old from Kent) and Stanley Voss (11 years old from Buckinghamshire) who will play James.
Calypso Bailey (12 years old from Essex), Ellie Kit Jones (10 years old from London) and Shani Roberts (10 years old from Essex) will play Marcy; Harry Linacre Brown (10 years old from London), Charlie Gallacher (12 years old from Kent) and Samuelle John-Brown (12 years old from Buckinghamshire) will play Mason.
Jasmine Brightmore (11 years old from London), Lia Summer Higgs (11 years old from Essex) and Shaye Temple (11 years old from London) will play Shonelle; and Zoe Coleman (12 years old from London), Aoife Connelly (10 years old from Essex) and Frankie-Mae Garner (11 years old also from Essex) who will play Sophie.
The show – inspired by the 2003 Jack Black film – is written by Lloyd Webber and lyricist Glenn Slater with a book by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes and is the first new musical from a British composer and producer to make its debut on Broadway.
The world premiere Broadway production opened in November 2015 where it helped Lloyd Webber become the first composer in 60 years to have four shows on Broadway since Rodgers and Hammerstein. In 2016, Sunset Boulevard joined School of Rock, Cats and The Phantom Of The Opera on the Great White Way.
The West End production of School of Rock featuring TV comedy star David Fynn as the wannabe rocker turned teacher originally played by Black in the film was similarly well-received when it opened in London in 2016.
School of Rock – The Musical is directed by Laurence Connor with choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter, set and costume designs by Anna Louizos, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Mick Potter and music supervision by John Rigby with Matt Smith as musical director.
Continuing the search for youngsters to ‘join the West End band’, more kids’ open auditions will take place later this year in Plymouth on 8 September, in Manchester on 22 September, in London on 17 and 18 October for musicians, and on 13 and 15 November for ensemble.
If you are between 8 – 12 years old and play a rock instrument (guitar, bass, piano, and/or drums) or sing, registration and further details can be found by contacting Jessica Ronane Casting at rock@jessicaronane.com or at www.schoolofrockthemusical.co.uk/auditions.
The eagerly-awaited Australian production of the show is due to open at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne in October.
Angela Thomas
Tickets for School of Rock at the New London Theatre are available HERE
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