Now playing at the Majestic Theatre is ‘School of Rock,’ The New York Times Critic’s Pick and the best reason to visit the theater this weekend. It plays until Sunday November 11 with showtimes Friday at 8p.m., Saturday at 2p.m. and 8p.m. and Sunday at Sunday at 2p.m. and 7:30p.m. Tickets start at $40 and are available through Ticketmaster online, by calling 800-982-2787, or by visiting the Majestic box office. ‘School of Rock’ is the hilarious new musical based on the hit movie of the same name and follows Dewey Finn, a wanna be rock star who poses as a substitute teacher and turns a class of straight A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band in an attempt to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands contest.

‘School of Rock’ is a rock musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater and a book by Julian Fellowes. This high-octane smash features 14 new songs, all the original songs from the movie and musical theater’s first-ever kids rock band playing their instruments live on stage. The story begins as the band No Vacancy is performing and the band’s guitarist Dewey Finn repeatedly tries to upstage the lead singer “I’m Too Hot for You” and as a result gets kicked out of the band. Out of the band and without a job, he dreams of becoming a superstar “When I Climb to the Top of Mount Rock.” Posing as Dewey, his roommate, he takes a substitute job at the prestigious Horace Green School and takes over the music class. He sets up the students as band members: Zack on electric guitar, Katie on bass, Lawrence on keyboard and Freddy on drums with Shonelle and Marcy as back up singers. They turn out to have amazing talent for music and performance and eventually music class takes over their daily school lives. When they fail to win the Battle of the Bands, Dewey assures everyone that winning did not really matter because they accomplished something even more special.

The voice over at the beginning of the show assures the audience that the kids do indeed play their own instruments and they do not disappoint. From the band members to the singers and dancers, their talent is on par with the adults yet each one shines on their own, especially Leeanne Parks as Katie and Mystic Inscho as Zack. With the performances of No Vacancy at the beginning and the end, the show has a rock concert feel to it. Show highlights include “Stick it to the Man” when Dewey explains to the students that “the man” is responsible for everything wrong with the world and he and the students get mad and shout about how they are going to stick it to the man; and “If Only You Would Listen” when the frustrated students sing about how much they have to tell their parents and the world, if only they would take the time to listen to them. Even those who have not seen the movie will find this musical delightfully entertaining. The music, dancing and singing combined with heart and humor makes ‘School of Rock’ the kind of musical the entire family can enjoy and ‘rock out’ to.  Definitely a must-see.