They're in the Band! Eric Petersen & More Start Performances in Broadway's School of Rock

From November 7, comedic actor Eric Petersen and more will pledge allegiance to the band in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest Main Stem hit School of Rock—The Musical. Petersen is set to replace Tony nominee Alex Brightman in the role of wannabe rock star Dewey Finn as the show moves into its second year.

Petersen has been seen on Broadway, off-Broadway, and in national tours, most notably as Shrek in Shrek: The Musical, Peter and the Starcatcher and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. On TV, Petersen played Arlo Barth on TVLand’s Kristie and has been seen on Disney Channel’s Jessie, Pair of Kings and Kirby Buckets.

The Kid Band, who perform Lloyd Webber’s score live at every performance, will include new cast members Rachel Katzke as Katie the bass player and Walden Sullivan as Lawrence the keyboardist, along with returning cast members, Brandon Niederauer as Zack the guitarist and Raghav Mehrotra as Freddy on drums. Additionally, Olivia Chun will assume the role of super serious band manager Summer, Steven Booth will take on the role of Ned, Annabelle Wachtel will play Marcy, Terrance Bell, Jr. will play Mason, Chloe Bryan will play Madison, and Ellie Kim will join the cast as a swing.

The new class of School of Rock also features Will Blum as the Dewey alternate, Jenn Gambatese as Rosalie Mullins, Becky Gulsvig as Patty, Bobbi MacKenzie as Tomika, and Luca Padovan as Billy. The adult ensemble includes Emily Cramer, Natalie Charle Ellis, John Arthur Greene, Joel Waggoner, Merritt David Janes, Nehal Joshi, Lulu Lloyd, Jaygee Macapugay, Cassie Okenka, Patrick O’Neill, Morgan Rose, Jesse Swimm, Josh Tower, and J. Michael Zygo. The kid’s ensemble features Paul Luke Bonenfant, Ava Della Pietra, Gabby Gutierrez, Gianna Harris, Jason Kisare and Jersey Sullivan.

Currently in performances at the Winter Garden Theatre, School of Rock is based on the 2003 film of the same name, featuring music from the movie, as well as an original score by Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater, a book by Julian Fellowes and direction by Laurence Connor. The show follows Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who decides to earn a few extra bucks by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. There he turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band. While teaching these pint-sized prodigies what it means to truly rock, Dewey falls for the school’s beautiful, but uptight headmistress, helping her rediscover the wild child within.