School of Rock the Musical breaks records on both sides of the Atlantic

The show breaks records on Broadway and in the West End.

It has been announced that Andrew Lloyd Webber's School of Rock - The Musical last week smashed box office records on both sides of the Atlantic, as the London and New York productions continue to run simultaneously on Broadway and in the West End.

In London the production broke the box office record previously set by War Horse at the 1000 seat New London Theatre. On Broadway, where the show is now in its second year, the production smashed its own house record at the Winter Garden Theatre, taking in a total gross of $1,140,206, selling 10,076 seats and playing to 94.5% capacity.

Based on the smash hit 2003 film of the same title, School of Rock features music from the movie, as well as new music written by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Glenn Slater and a book by Julian Fellowes. In London, the production officially opened on 14 November 2016 to strong reviews: "a show that is above all a lot of fun" (LondonTheatre); "This is Lloyd Webber's most exuberant show in years" (Guardian); "The most enjoyable few hours money can buy" (Telegraph).

Composer of the musical Andrew Lloyd Webber tweeted: "Congrats to the School of Rock teams for smashing box office records on both sides of the Atlantic. Keep sticking it to the man!"

School of Rock - The Musical follows slacker and wannabe rock star Dewey Finn turn a class of straight-A students into an ear popping, riff scorching, all conquering rock band! Dewey poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school to make ends meet, and when he discovers his fifth graders' musical talents, he enlists his class to form a rock group and conquer the Battle of the Bands. As Dewey falls for the beautiful headmistress, can he and his students keep this special assignment secret as they learn to fully embrace the power of rock?

Directed by Laurence Connor the production features choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter, set and costume designs by Anna Louizos, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Mick Potter, music supervision by John Rigby with Matt Smith as musical director. The musical received its world premiere at the Winter Garden Theatre in November last year and was nominated for four 2016 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical.