In the 2003 movie “School of Rock,” the unquestionable star of the film was Jack Black, the puckish, wild-eyed actor-musician who played Dewey Finn, an unlikely grade-school music teacher at a prestigious prep academy.
In the 2015 Broadway musical adaptation, which made its San Diego regional premiere Wednesday at Vista’s Moonlight Amphitheatre, it’s the kids who light up the show.
Co-written by the English team of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and book-writer Julian Fellowes (“Downton Abbey”), the stage version is mostly faithful to the movie, but the script chugs along at a sluggish pace until about 40 or so minutes into the first act.
That’s when Dewey — who scammed his way into the teaching job to raise money for a Battle of the Bands competition — secretly puts together a rock band made up of his fifth-grade students.
The super-talented youth ensemble in the Moonlight production sing, dance and impressively play their own instruments, which immediately kicks the musical into a higher gear, where it hums along nicely for the rest of the 2-1/2-hour show.
Zane Camacho, who happens to be a middle-school drama teacher at Vista’s Guajome Park Academy, stars as Dewey in the Moonlight production. Camacho has an excellent tenor voice, a playful onstage nature, good chemistry with the kids and an endearing likability. But he seems too sweet and gentle for the ill-mannered, self-absorbed, hard-drinking and wildly impulsive Dewey that Black created onscreen and who lives on in the musical’s script.
Jamie Torcellini directs the large-scale show, which boasts a cast of 33, many of them youth performers. The exceptional young musicians include brothers Mason and Ethan Trueblood, AJ Gange, Eli Pletner and Nikko Broitman. Laila Christine is an impressive rock-gospel singer as fifth-grader Tomeka and Erin Choi amuses as the fiercely driven student Summer.
Working with Torcellini, choreographer Bill Burns created many lively music and dance numbers that enliven the second act. Standout numbers are “You’re In the Band,” “School of Rock” and “Stick it to the Man.”
Kelley Dorney shows nice vocal range as the school’s uptight principal Rosalie, particularly in the well-sung ballad “Where Did the Rock Go.” Drew Bradford is milquetoasty as Dewey’s henpecked best friend Ned, and Angela Chatelain Avila is Ned’s domineering girlfriend, Patti.
The production features scenery by Nicholas Ponting, projections by Blake McCarty, sound by Bryon Andersen and lighting by Jennifer Edwards. Lyndon Pugeda is music director and Tamara Page conducts a seven-member rock orchestra.
“School of Rock” is a fun show for families and a great showcase of youth talent. It also celebrates how music can bring out the best in people — whether it’s the ultimately-reformed Dewey or the children who come out of their shells, reconnect with their distracted parents and find a new ion.
‘School of Rock’
When: 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Through July 27
Where: Moonlight Amphitheatre, Brengle Terrace Park, 1200 Vale Terrace Drive, Vista
Tickets: $15-$60
Phone: (760) 724-2110
Online: moonlightstage.com
