At Theatre Under the Stars, School of Rock puts an ambitious spin on wannabe rockstar Dewey Finn
Production directed by Tracey Power stars lead actor Colin Sheen, accompanied by a talented ensemble cast and students from the School of Rock Vancouver
Colin Sheen (centre) plays the lead role of Dewey Finn in School of Rock at Theatre Under the Stars. Photo by Emily Cooper
Theatre Under the Stars presents School of Rock at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park from July 7 to August 24
“PEOPLE ARE EXPECTING to see Jack Black, but I don’t think it’s actually possible for anybody to do that,” theatre artist Colin Sheen tells Stir with a laugh over the phone. He’s referring to the American actor’s iconic role in Mike White’s 2003 film School of Rock directed by Richard Linklater, which Theatre Under the Stars is mounting in musical form this summer.
“I think if you try to imitate him, it just comes off as dishonest,” Sheen continues. “And I think that’s part of his essence, is that he’s just so honest—he’s so wacky, and so out there, and so honest to himself.”
Black plays wannabe-rock-star Dewey Finn in the movie; when he gets fired from his guitarist gig in a band, he decides to pose as a prep-school substitute teacher to make some quick cash, and sets out on a mission to teach his straight-laced students how to rock by forming a new band.
Sheen is taking on the lead role of Dewey in the musical, which features megastar composer Andrew Lloyd Webber’s all-original rock score. It’s crucial to note that in Theatre Under the Stars’s rendition, staged at the Malkin Bowl from July 7 to August 24, Sheen will embody his own version of Dewey that’s completely distinct from Black’s movie portrayal.
In a separate phone call with Stir, the show’s director Tracey Power says her tactic for putting School of Rock together involved interpreting each of the characters using her own “inside-out process”, so they could be brought to life in a new way by the cast members.
“Colin is a different person than Jack Black, so they’re never going to be the same or identical,” she notes. “To ask an actor to imitate another actor is something that I would never do. Also, they don’t look similar, which I think is great, so that when the audience comes, right away they’re going, ‘Oh, I’m watching Dewey Finn. I’m not watching somebody trying to be Jack Black. I’m watching a character in a story.’ And that, for me, was really important. I didn’t want that pressure on the actor, on myself, or on the audience of trying to draw a comparison.”
School of Rock director Tracey Power.
Power worked with Theatre Under the Stars last season as director-choreographer of musical comedy The Prom. Some of her other directing and devising credits include Hey Viola!, a character portrait of Canadian civil-rights icon Viola Desmond that she co-created with Krystle Dos Santos; Glory, which tells the true story of the incredibly successful Preston Rivulettes women’s hockey team; and Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen, a beloved Firehall Arts Centre production which has been performed nationally more than 400 times since Power conceptualized it in 2011, including a run earlier this year.
She tells Stir that the original School of Rock movie had all the right makings for a musical, and watching it all come alive on stage has been extremely fulfilling—especially in regards to Dewey’s character, which has been fleshed out to match Lloyd Webber’s story-driven score.
“He’s very cheeky, he’s very ambitious in his music,” she says of the character. “Off the top, he has a very one-track mind as far as what he wants out of music and for himself…. And it’s exciting to see him learn that perhaps there are different sides to being in the music industry. It’s not all about being a star. You can have a career in music and not be playing arenas.”
Colin Sheen as Dewey Finn in School of Rock. Photo by Emily Cooper
Sheen, who also works as a registered massage therapist outside of acting, says that rehearsals with the show’s cast of 25 other actors have been underscored by a playful environment.
“Tracey and the whole team have been really great at just creating a super positive space to try weird things and not feel judged,” he says. “You can just throw things out there. And I think that’s necessary for this type of show—to do some unconventional things and see what sticks.”
Several of the talented youth actors in the production are current music students at the actual School of Rock Vancouver on Cambie Street. The four members of the student band that Dewey starts up—guitarist Crosby Mark as Zack, drummer Casey Trotter as Freddie, pianist Fumi Okochi as Lawrence, and bassist Mya Forrest as Katie—will all be playing their instruments live.
“I think the music really empowers the kids—and the adults—to be themselves, and be who they want to be,” Power says. “It really celebrates the differences in people, and how great that is to have the special things that make us who we are.” 
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