A scene from the musical School of Rock. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Andrew Lloyd Webber's smash musical School of Rock is on tour in China, starting with 21 shows at Bocom New Bund 31 Performing Arts Center in Shanghai through Aug 4.

The musical is based on a movie of the same title adapted from the book by Julian Fellowes. The music was composed by Webber, and lyrics written by Glen Slater. It opened on Broadway in 2015 and later transferred to London's West End. The story is about Dewey Finn, a wannabe rock star who tries to earn some money by posing as a substitute teacher at a prep school. There he turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band.

The original English production made its China premiere in 2019, presenting 99 sold-out shows in seven cities.

[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

This year since May, Shanghai Musical Center, promoter of the show's tour in China, held a series of workshops in 11 primary and middle schools around Shanghai, introducing students to the fun world of musicals, and presenting highlights of the show.

School of Rock will go on to perform in Beijing from Aug 9 to 18, Guangzhou of Guangdong province from Aug 23 to 25 and Suzhou of Jiangsu province from Aug 30 to Sept 1.

Following the shows of School of Rock in Shanghai, another musical by Webber, The Phantom of the Opera will be presented at Shanghai Grand Theatre from Aug 27 on. The continued showcase of celebrated musical productions from Broadway and West End reflects "Shanghai's live show market having strong appeal to international productions, as well as Shanghai's important position in China's musical market," said Dai Xiaoying, general manager of Shanghai Musical Center.

[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]