to fi nd the children who perform in each
company of School of Rock. Sugarman
puts in long hours, but says “it’s incredibly
joyful because it’s kids, you know? When
you see kids who love to make music, or
you meet a kid who’s so special that you
decide to tailor something for that kid.”
Sugarman and her team looked at 22,000
children for the initial production of School
of Rock, which opened on Broadway in
December of 2015. All the kids they cast
are between the ages of 9 and 12 – if
they’re any older, their voices and bodies
are changing; if they’re any younger, they
may not be up to the physical demands
of the show. Sugarman says the fi rst thing
they look at is the level of musicianship.
“Normally, what we do is we put the acting
and the singing on the back burner, just
at the top of the process,” she explains.
“And we look for instrumentalists. As long
as a kid can carry a tune, we can get them
there. And we can certainly get
them there, as far as the
acting goes.
It’s a lot
of material
to learn, and it’s
much more
W.C. Fields famously remarked
about the personality
of the kid, than their skill
set as an actor.”
And the musical skill
set of these children
can be very impressive. Take 10-year-old
Theodora Silverman, who plays Katie, the
bass player, on the national tour. A native
New Yorker, she already played piano,
ukulele and fl ute when she came in to
audition. How long had she played bass?
“I played for maybe a week – that’s it,” she
says at a press preview for the School of
Rock tour. But she picked it up, fast … along
with a little cello.
In addition to regular rehearsals and
tutoring – these are elementary school
age kids, after all – there are also
separate band rehearsals. “It’s really
fun,” says Silverman. “All the kids that
play instruments, we all jam out. We’ll
play some songs from the show, but if
we’re, like, really spot on with those, then
we’ll play something like ‘Sweet Child O’
Mine,’ the Guns N’ Roses song,” she adds,
laughing.
“You know, they really can play,” says
composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. “It’s
extraordinary for their age, just how great
they are and how together they play.
I mean, you would close your eyes and
say ‘Oh gosh, this is a band that’s played
together for years.’ You wouldn’t really
think that it’s 10- and 11-year-olds!”
“never work with animals or children,”
because they’re invariably scene stealers.
Casting director Merri Sugarman doesn’t
mind the logistical challenges, since the
rewards are so satisfying. “It’s more a
labor of love than any show I’ve ever
worked on,” she says. “Because it’s so
exhausting and it’s so stressful, that when
you kind of see your life’s work up there
onstage, you’re like ‘Oh,’ ” she sighs.
“You almost can’t take it! It’s beautiful.”