"It is the music that matters most, and Lloyd Webber delivers a tuneful collection of pastiche rock and charming ballads...It’s not a show that takes itself too seriously, but it has a heartwarming message about the value of self-expression for children...It is just occasionally a touch too knowing, in the way of a panto script that nods and winks to the adult audience, but this is a genuine family musical with cross-generational appeal...It has been executed with a heartfelt amount of art."
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"Although the show occasionally feels as if a pair of avuncular old rockers are letting down the remains of their hair, it has an overwhelming good nature and allows its preteen performers to display their genuine talent...One of the pleasures of Fellowes’s book lies in its predictability...What is good about the show is that it also seems to release something in Lloyd Webber, and allows him to return to the rock roots of his past...This is Lloyd Webber’s most exuberant show in years."
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"The kids are more than alright – in fact, they’re an absolute joy in this ridiculously entertaining new show...The show, directed by Laurence Connor, is a quirky hoot with a heart, a fable about the empowering force of music that crackles with mischief and sly irreverence...Serenely indifferent to the narrative implausibility but shrewd and truthful about the relationships thus forged."
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"Andrew Lloyd Webber at his most playful...This infectiously upbeat musical was a hit in New York and should be one here too, once a few wrinkles are ironed out. The script, sharp and current...The lyrics are clever and never naff. The theme, that music can help you belong, help you find your voice, your niche, could not be more current...It is the kids who make this musical: it’s not as sophisticated, or as dark, as 'Matilda the Musical,' but the story never felt too trite or stereotyped."
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"It’s a great family-friendly show to take kids who are rebelling from stories about cutesy animals and want to get their teeth into something that feels a bit feistier...The stellar cast of young kids, surely the big stage stars of tomorrow, are given songs that really showcase their vocals whilst they play all their own instruments live too. For those about to see the 'School of Rock,' we salute you."
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"Sure: ‘School of Rock’ is basically harmless. But there is, at the very least, something a bit Luddite about a show so smugly adrift from the present, so determined to posit the caterwauling of a bunch of ’70s bloke rockers as the sum total of musical achievement. But here’s the thing: the kids are really cute. And really talented. You would have to be an absolute monster to not be charmed and impressed by the little pipsqueaks."
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"I caught it in New York this summer, and adored it. The big question, though, was whether the same magic could happen here. The answer is a resounding yes...'Team' Lloyd Webber have improved on this vaguely preposterous but resonant fairytale of salvation through disobedience and primal playfulness. What was funny becomes doubly so...The production hits exactly the same high notes of hysterical excitement as the New York version...The most enjoyable few hours money can buy."
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"Fast-moving, loud, and metal-motivated...Well-nigh irresistible...Briskly directed by Laurence Connor and smartly choreographed by Joann M Hunter, the action unfolds with great fluency...David Fynn plays Dewey with a kind of shambolic warm-heartedness, but it is the cast of children - all uniformly excellent - who are the stars...You'd need a heart of stone not to melt at its sheer joy."
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