School Of Rock West End Cast And Creative Announced

Posted on | By Jacob Porteous

Andrew Lloyd Webber is the composer of some of the world’s best known musicals including Cats, Evita, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Phantom of the Opera (which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary) and Sunset Boulevard. In New York, School of Rock – The Musical, a stage version of the movie, is currently running alongside Cats and Phantom of the Opera , equalling Lloyd Webber’s previous record of three shows running simultaneously on Broadway.

His awards, both as composer and producer, include seven Tonys, seven Oliviers, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, the Praemium Imperiale, the Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre, a BASCA Fellowship, the Kennedy Center Honor and a Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Requiem, his setting of the Latin Requiem mass which contains one of his best known compositions, Pie Jesu.  He owns seven London theatres including the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, the New London Theatre and the London Palladium.  He was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 1992 and created an honorary member of the House of Lords in 1997.  He is passionate about the importance of music in education and the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation has become one of Britain’s leading charities supporting the arts and music.
 
Glenn Slater co-created Disney’s 2010 worldwide smash Tangled (2011 Grammy Winner, 2010 Oscar and Golden Globe nominee), as well as the Broadway and international hit musicals Sister Act (2011 Tony nominee – Best Score) and The Little Mermaid (2008 Tony nominee – Best Score, Grammy nominee – Best Cast Album).   With longtime collaborator Alan Menken he has also written songs for the Disney animated film Home On The Range (2004) and Broadway musical Leap of Faith (Tony nominee – Best Musical, 2012), as well as acting as both songwriters and executive producers of the medieval musical comedy television series Galavant premiering January 2015 on ABC-TV.  In the West End, Slater provided both book and lyrics for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies (2010 Olivier nominee – Best Musical), the sequel to Phantom of the Opera.  His other work includes an Emmy-nominated song for the ABC-TV comedy The Neighbors (2013) and the stage revue Newyorkers at The Manhattan Theatre Club (Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle nominations). Slater is the recipient of the prestigious Kleban Award for Lyrics, the ASCAP/Richard Rogers New Horizons Award and the Jonathan Larson Award.  He is an alumnus of the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop and a member of both ASCAP and the Dramatists’ Guild.   
 
Julian Fellowes is creator, sole writer, and executive producer of the worldwide television series Downton Abbey, which has received 69 Emmy Award nominations; winning twelve, including writing and Outstanding Miniseries or Movie for Fellowes.  His theatre writing credits are School of Rock – The Musical (Broadway/Tony Award nominee, Best Book), Mary Poppins (West End, Broadway/Drama Desk nominee, Best Book), Half A Sixpence (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Wind in the Willows (UK opening October 2016).  His film writing credits are Gosford Park (Academy Award winner, Original Screenplay), Vanity Fair, Piccadilly Jim, Separate Lies (National Board of Review Directorial Debut Award), From Time to Time (Directed, Best Picture – Chicago Children’s Film Festival and Fiuggi Family Festival in Rome, Youth Jury Award – Seattle International Film Festival, Young Jury Award - Cinemagic in Belfast), The Young Victoria, The Tourist and Romeo & Juliet. His television writing credits include Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Prince and the Pauper, Titanic (miniseries), Doctor Thorne (miniseries).   He has authored the international bestselling novels Snobs, Past Imperfect and most recently Belgravia; the children’s book The Curious Adventures of the Abandoned Toys and Downton Abbey scripts. Fellowes is also a screen and stage actor.   
 
Laurence Connor’s directorial credits include Les Miserables (Broadway), Miss Saigon (London), Jesus Christ Superstar  (UK and Australian Arena Tour and released for DVD), the entirely new stage production of The Phantom of the Opera (US and UK), Oliver! (UK Tour) and the critically acclaimed Miss Saigon (UK Tour and Worldwide) for which Connor was the recipient of multiple awards.  Connor is also the Co-Director of the new version of Les Miserables which has enjoyed worldwide success including Broadway, on tour in the UK and US also wining him many theatre awards.  He directed the 25th anniversary concert of The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall and the 25th Anniversary concert of Les Miserables at the O2 in London both of which were simultaneously broadcast in cinemas worldwide and subsequently released on DVD. Connor has also been associated with the London productions of The Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty's Theatre), Oliver! (Drury Lane), The King and I (London Palladium) and A Slice of Saturday Night (Liverpool Empire).  His film and television credits include Jesus Christ Superstar, Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables at the O2 London. 
 
The Really Useful Group is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s theatre producing and rights licensing company and controls the theatrical rights for all of Andrew’s works, including The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita and Sunset Boulevard.  The Really Useful Group reached over 20 million people across the globe last year from live theatre and concert audiences, cinema goers, television viewers and music fans, to social media and art lovers.  2016 will see The Really Useful Group continue to work across film, television and theatre as it produces and develops new projects and partnerships worldwide alongside its ongoing work in education, amateur licensing and music publishing.  
 
David Fynn (Dewey Finn) is a British film, theatre and television actor.  His theatre credits include the National Theatre productions of She Stoops to Conquer and Romeo and Juliet, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Donmar Warehouse, Mojo for the Royal Shakespeare Company, After the Party at the Criterion and Starving for Theatre 503.  His television credits include Rennick in the second season of HBO’s worldwide phenomenon Game of Thrones as well as various roles in Pete Versus Life, Peep Show, Sherlock, Doctor Who, The Inbetweeners, The Job Lot, Banana, Mayday, Spooks, Black Mirror, Life's Too Short and Big Bad World. His most recent television role was playing the role of Brett in US sitcom Undateable and his film credits include Leap Year, Deviation, The Sonam Bulists, Married Young, I’d Like to be Alone Now, Losing My Accent and Trackdown.

Florence Andrews’ (Rosalie Mullins) West End theatre credits include playing the role of Glinda in the Really Useful Group’s production of The Wizard Of Oz at The London Palladium, Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, Annie Get Your Gun at the Young Vic, Once The Musical at the Phoenix Theatre and in Trevor Nunn’s production of A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory at The Garrick Theatre. She has also played the role of Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and starred in The Mikado, both at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough.  She also toured with Dandy Dick across the UK and appeared in Sweet Charity at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.  Andrews was last on stage in the West End playing the lead role of Candy in Miss Atomic Bomb at the St. James Theatre.
 
Oliver Jackson (Ned Scneebly) has appeared at the National Theatre in Jamie Lloyd's production of She Stoops To Conquer as well as Carthage at The Finborough Theatre, Our House at the Cambridge Theatre, Les Miserables at the Palace Theatre and The Bush Theatre production of The Glee Club at the Duchess Theatre. Most recently he was seen in Mrs Henderson Presents at the Noel Coward Theatre after its run at Theatre Royal Bath.  His film credits include Redirected, Entity and Les Miserables and his television credits include Law & Order UK and Murderland both for ITV.
 
Preeya Kalidas (Patty Di Marco) is best known for playing the role of Amira Masood in BBC 1’s Eastenders.  Her other television credits include Bollywood Carmen, Casualty, Mistresses, Bodies, Hotel Babylon, Banglatown Banquet , Broken News, Doctors, England Expects and My Family.  Her many film credits include Four Lions, It’s a Wonderful Afterlife, Bend it Like Beckham, Bollywood Queen, East is East, Jump Boy, Sari and Trainers, The Fiancée, Tube Tales and Virtual Sexuality.  She was last on stage in the West End playing Pinky in Bend it Like Beckham The Musical.  Her other theatre credits include Priya in Bombay Dreams at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, the narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Adelphi Theatre as well as roles in Oxford Street and Khandan at the Royal Court and Fair Maid of the West at the Pleasance.  

Gary Trainor’s (alternate Dewey) most recent theatre credits include Don Kirshner the West End production of Beautiful The Carole King Musical, I Can’t Sing at the London Palladium, Potted Potter at the Garrick Theatre and on tour in the US and Australia, The Shawshank Redemption at Wyndham’s Theatre, Prophecy for The Old Vic New Voices and at the Public Theatre, New York, Into The Woods at the Landor Theatre and Jago at the Pleasance Theatre in Edinburgh. He has also toured the UK in Buddy, Frankenstein: The Year Without a Summer, Stones in His Pockets and The Oxford Passion.