By AILEEN BURKE
News Editor
Many people grew up with the edgy Jack Black dark comedy, “School of Rock,” wherein ex-guitarist Dewey Finn stumbles into a long term substitute teacher position and creates a rock band out of the classroom that he winds up teaching. On Feb. 9, the Student Events Board took a trip to Proctor’s Theatre in Schenectady to watch the highly-revered stage adaptation with 40 members of the student body.
“So the idea for School of Rock came about because I wanted to do something different,” said Jordyn Veihdeffer, the Student Events Board trips chair. “We have done show trips before in the past, so I was really excited when I found this one was in town at Proctors. I have heard from a number of people that it was a great production, and I wanted to bring the opportunity to Saint Rose.”
“School of Rock’s” musical adaptation was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and started preview performances in the Winter Garden Theatre on Nov. 9, 2015, with a full premiere on Dec. 5. The show only recently closed its doors on Broadway, after what was considered a rather successful multiple-year run in the same theater.
Andrew Lloyd Webber is known for penning some of Broadway’s biggest hits; including the longest-running show in the history of the theatre, “The Phantom of Opera.” He was most recently brought back into the public eye when NBC had their live broadcast of his show “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
Nonetheless, Proctors theatre is just one stop on the School of Rock national tour; although it is being performed throughout the country, those in attendance will be experiencing the same show that was being presented in Manhattan. One of the interesting results of producing a national tours is the amount of people that are reached with a story that would not have been if the show had remained in the one location.
“Making theatre accessible to the student body is always important,” said theatre professor Angela Ryan-Ledtke. “It is an art form that truly reflects the human experience. No one can have theatre without an audience, and I am really happy that our students could be a part of that.”
The trip, which included transportation to and from the theater, was attended by 40 students. The performance lasted two hours and 30 minutes, including a 15 minute intermission. Many students traveling with the College’s Student Events Board were involved with the school’s theatre within the English department.
“I was so excited,” said sophomore Drama minor Angeli Lilliman. “Seeing a production makes my heart so happy. I love seeing people perform and watching how each part comes together. Theatre, for me, is like a sanctuary. It’s the one place where I can go to and let whatever I am feeling go. It inspires me to reach my dreams of theatre. Performing holds a special place in my heart.”
The Student Events Board is looking forward to holding some new events this semester, starting with Nailed It!, on the evening of Feb. 15, 2019.
