London's School of Rock Star Gary Trainor on Andrew Lloyd Webber's Rockin' Roots & Why He Eats a Lot of Pasta

Gary Trainor has been with the West End company of School of Rock since it opened, initially as the alternate to leading man David Fynn in the mega-voltage part of rock ‘n’ roll teacher Dewey Finn, played by Jack Black on screen. Several weeks ago, Trainor graduated to London’s principal Dewey, which was just one of the reasons the Ulster-born alumnus of Beautiful and I Can’t Sing! The X Factor Musical was in high spirits when Broadway.com caught up with him.

How does it feel now to own the role of Dewey?
I think time will tell. In a way, there’s no real change except that I am doing more of the shows. It’s nice to see my name and my picture at the start of the program as opposed to a few pages in, and it’s also about taking greater care with my body in order to make sure that the shows are identical in terms of energy and commitment.

What did it feel like before, when you were doing three shows to David Fynn’s five?
There was no doubt then that David was definitely our leading man. As the alternate, it felt incredible to get the amount of time I did each week to make the part my own, but it was definitely David’s gig. Now here I am with my own alternate [Stephen Leask], who has been very well welcomed into the building and the company.

What is the purpose of having two Deweys?
It’s really so that the person who has the brunt of the performances has two days just to recover his voice. This is a big rock score to sing for someone who very infrequently leaves the stage, and a lot of it is high-impact energy. It’s about protecting the quality of the show while making sure that they are not killing their Dewey.

Has it affected your physique?
David definitely got trimmer, and I think I got trimmer at the start and then plateaued. An extra two shows a week might have a further effect but I can’t get too trim because I’ve got to be that cuddly rogue of a character: I get to eat a lot of pasta!

How well did you know the 2003 film?
I just loved it! I was 17 when it first came out and was doing A-level [high school] theater studies at the time. I think I felt that there were quite a lot of parallels between me and Dewey, though I’m probably less of a slob. But I had a cool teenage band that liked to think we were against the system, but that was more a school hobby than anything else.

Were you surprised that two quintessential Englishmen, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Julian Fellowes, had combined forces to adapt so fully American a film?
I guess some people were shocked to hear that Andrew Lloyd Webber was doing School of Rock, but I really see it as Andrew going back to his roots: he started in rock ‘n’ roll, so it’s not that big a leap to think that he can come back to it, and his score sits very well with the film. Julian, too, has a bit of the rebel in him: these two may be lords of the realm, but I think every so often even they want to stick it to the man.

What about acting opposite so many children at each performance?
I’m from a great old Irish family so I love kids. My grandmother had 10 children, and I have 56 first cousins. So, I’ve been used my entire life to having children around, and what’s great about the kids in our show is that they have so much talent and are loving being there. It’s not difficult both within the show but also, in reality, to be proud of them onstage every night.

Do you recognize any of your own schooling in what is portrayed in School of Rock?
I went to quite a strict, academically driven school in Northern Ireland that happened to have a very good drama department. But we didn’t have any teachers like Dewey; there wasn’t anyone that flamboyant.

Are you interested in performing in any of the classic musicals?
I have to confess that I’m not the biggest fan of the old classics. I like narrative through song: folk music and stuff like that. I did fall in love with Stephen Sondheim when I was about 16 and was in the chorus of a youth opera production of Sweeney Todd that we did in a former abattoir. Later at drama school, I got to play the Baker in Into the Woods.

So, you presumably ran to see the film when it came out?
They wanted me for the film but decided to go for James Corden [laughs]. I think I was busy that week.