Entertainment

'School Of Rock's Tonys Performance Was Amazing

by Kayla Hawkins

In 2003, when the movie School of Rock premiered, it seemed like there was nothing cooler than being in a sixth-grade rock band orchestrated by an overenthusiastic Jack Black. And now that the same story is back on Broadway, School of Rock 's Tony Awards performance showcased "You're in the Band," which recreates the famous scene from the original movie where Dewey Finn turns the class of well-behaved kids into a rock band, turning a cello into a bass and a Type A teacher's pet into the manager, repurposing Black's enthusiastic dialogue into a high-energy musical number. Sure, the Newsies can do amazing leaps and the cast of Matilda stand up to an oppressive regime, but can any of them do that while playing musical instruments at the same time? That alone might make School of Rock the most impressive show on Broadway right now.

As a nominee for Best Musical, School of Rock got the honor of performing during the live show, and even though that prize will probably go to Hamilton, that doesn't mean it's the only exciting thing happening in musical theater. On the chance that you've never seen either version of School of Rock, it's the story of how a group of unruly private school kids are transformed into a collaborative group of musicians by a fraudulent substitute teacher who's actually a wannabe rocker.

Star Alex Brightman proved why he's nominated for the Best Actor in a Musical, as he didn't imitate Black's performance, but had just as much energy. And composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote the music for the show, introduced the performance. Webber is Broadway royalty, so having him there in person was another huge win for the show. School of Rock just proved that it more than deserves to be considered one of the best shows on Broadway.