<P> In an April 2013 interview, Andrew Lloyd Webber first revealed that he had purchased the stage rights to Richard Linklater's film, and planned to make its adaptation into a musical his next project after completing the West End show Stephen Ward, centering on the 1963 Profumo affair . The composer stated, "There may be songs for me in it, but it's obviously got songs in it as it stands," and that he would be going from Stephen Ward, "sort of a chamber musical, to a musical about kids playing the guitar ." In May 2014, it was revealed that the show was likely to receive its world premiere on Broadway rather than in London's West End due to more relaxed child labour laws in the United States and the fact that the American subject matter fitted Broadway . Webber also credits various locations of the original School of Rock that "...produce the sort of kids required who can actually perform in the show" and that Britain would need similar schools for the show to move to London . Despite this, Lloyd Webber later revealed that he was able to open the subsequent London production several months earlier than anticipated due to finding the child musician actors easily . </P> <P> On 18 December 2014, an official announcement was made of the musical, with a world premiere on Broadway to be in autumn 2015 . This would be the first time since 1971 and Jesus Christ Superstar that a Lloyd Webber musical would premiere on Broadway rather than in the West End . It would also mark a return for the composer to the Winter Garden Theatre, where his Cats ran for 18 years . </P> <P> Speaking of his vision for the musical, Lloyd Webber suggested that it would focus more on the stories of Dewey's young students than the film did, stating "It has to be a bit more rounded . I'd quite like to know more about the children and their parents ." Speaking about the music he explained the need for additional music rather than simply using the film's full soundtrack: "you can't do heavy metal for hours and hours in the theatre--everyone would be screaming . So they have to be theatrical songs too . And we've obviously got to use the iconic songs from the original show . It would be a shame not to do a Stevie Nicks song ." </P> <P> The script of School of Rock was written by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. and Laurence Connor was engaged as the initial director . JoAnn M. Hunter provided choreography, set and costume design was by Anna Louizos and lighting by Natasha Katz . </P>

Who plays freddie jones in school of rock