CONCORD THEATRICALS LAUNCHES NATIONWIDE “YOU’RE IN THE BAND: SCHOOL OF ROCK – THE MUSICAL LICENSING CONTEST”
Contact for Concord Theatricals:
Rick Miramontez / Morgan Zysman
rick@omdkc.com / morgan@omdkc.com
212 695 7400
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
CONCORD THEATRICALS
LAUNCHES
“YOU’RE IN THE BAND: SCHOOL OF ROCK – THE MUSICAL
LICENSING CONTEST”
FOR SCHOOLS AND YOUTH GROUPS IN
UNDER-RESOURCED COMMUNITIES NATIONWIDE
New York, NY (March 26, 2026) – Concord Theatricals is delighted to announce the launch of You’re in the Band: School of Rock – The Musical Licensing Contest, a new contest open to all schools and youth groups in the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Canda (excluding Quebec). Title I schools as well as other schools and youth groups in under-resourced communities are especially encouraged to apply. Ten schools will be selected to receive a free, three-performance license and all rental materials for their choice of School of Rock – The Musical or School of Rock: Young Actors Edition. Productions must occur between August 2026 and December 2027. The contest is now open for submissions and will close on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at 11:59 pm ET.
Please click here for high-res image.
“We’re excited to launch our Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock – The Musical licensing contest to under-resourced schools in North America, giving students and educators the opportunity to bring this feel-good family musical to their communities,” said Billie Davis, Senior Vice President of Amateur Licensing at Concord Theatricals. “We can’t wait to see how they rock it out!”
“We are delighted to support Concord’s Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock – The Musical licensing contest, enabling more children across North America to experience the power of music,” said Becky Shields, Licensing & Production Executive at LW Entertainment. “We can’t wait for you to join the band!”
To enter the contest, schools and youth groups must complete a written application, including an essay that answers the prompt: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock – The Musical is a loving testimony to the transformative power of music. How has music affected your students and school community?
The winners will be chosen by a set of adjudicators based on a variety of factors, including financial need and creativity of answer. Each recipient will be awarded a three-performance licensing package for School of Rock – The Musical or School of Rock: Young Actors Edition, including all rental material. The ten winning schools and/or youth groups selected will be contacted by Concord Theatricals in late May to early June. The Young Actors Edition was developed in collaboration with iTheatrics.
Selected organizations must present their production of School of Rock – The Musical or School of Rock: Young Actors Edition between August 2026 and December 2027. For more information, including official contest rules and how to enter, please visit concordtheatricals.com/sor-contest.
Based on the 2003 film of the same name, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock – The Musical is a loving testimony to the power of music. With its sensational live kids’ rock band, the tuner follows Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who decides to earn an extra bit of cash by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. There he turns a class of straight-A pupils into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band. But can he get them to the Battle of the Bands without their parents and the school’s headmistress finding out?
Originally workshopped at New York’s Gramercy Theatre in the summer of 2015 before officially opening at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre that December, School of Rock – The Musical marked the first time Lloyd Webber premiered a show on Broadway since Jesus Christ Superstar in 1971. The production picked up four Tony nominations, including Best Musical. The show made its West End debut at the New London Theatre on November 14, 2016, garnering the best reviews of the composer’s career. The tuner received three 2017 Olivier nominations including Best New Musical. In an unprecedented move, before the Broadway production even opened, Lloyd Webber granted North American schools and youth groups the opportunity to apply for the rights to perform the show.
To learn more and apply for You’re in the Band: School of Rock – The Musical Licensing Contest, please visit www.concordtheatricals.com/sor-contest.
BIOGRAPHIES
Concord Theatricals is the world’s most significant theatrical company, comprising the catalogs of R&H Theatricals, Tams-Witmark, Samuel French, The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection, Dramatists Play Service and Playscripts, plus over one hundred new signings each year. Our unparalleled roster includes the work of Irving Berlin, Agatha Christie, George & Ira Gershwin, James Graham, Katori Hall, Marvin Hamlisch, Lorraine Hansberry, Kander & Ebb, Kitt & Yorkey, Marlow & Moss, Arthur Miller, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anaïs Mitchell, Dominique Morisseau, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Thornton Wilder, Tennessee Williams, August Wilson and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions. We are the only firm providing truly comprehensive services to the creators and producers of plays and musicals, including theatrical licensing, music publishing, script publishing, cast recording and first-class producing. As a producer and record label, the company has won three Tony Awards and two GRAMMY Awards in the past six years. concordtheatricals.com
Andrew Lloyd Webber has composed the scores of some of the world’s most famous musicals and has had shows running across the world for decades, including continually in London’s West End for more than 50 years. His musicals have received eight Olivier Awards, including a Special Award in 2008, and eight Tony Awards, including one for Lifetime Achievement in 2018.
When Sunset Boulevard joined School of Rock, CATS, and The Phantom of the Opera, he equaled Rodgers & Hammerstein’s record of four shows running simultaneously on Broadway. He is one of the select group of artists with EGOT status, having received Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards.
In New York, he recently opened Masquerade which brings audiences closer than ever before to his global phenomenon, The Phantom of the Opera.
Lloyd Webber owns six London theaters, including the iconic London Palladium and Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Reopened in July 2021, the latter was completely restored and renovated at a cost of over $80 million (It was one of the biggest projects ever undertaken by a private theater owner in recent times). His mantra is that every penny of profit made from his theaters is put back into the buildings.
Lloyd Webber is passionate about the importance of musical education and diversity in the arts. In Britain, The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation provides 30 performing arts scholarships every year for talented students with financial need and supports a range of projects, such as the Music in Secondary School Trust and commissioning research into diversity in theater. In the United States, the American Theatre Wing’s Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative provides grant funding directly to under-resourced public schools for their theater programs and provides scholarships to grade school and university students pursuing studies in theater.
Andrew Lloyd Webber has also composed music for globally significant moments, including Olympic ceremonies and World Cup celebrations. He has been asked to compose for many Royal occasions, the most recent being “Make a Joyful Noise,” an Anthem for the Coronation of King Charles III.
Andrew Lloyd Webber was knighted in 1992, created an honorary life peer in 1997, and made a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter by King Charles III in 2024.
LW Entertainment manages Andrew Lloyd Webber’s body of work all over the world. The business partners with industry-leading creative teams, producers and organisations to deliver world-class experiences and products across multiple entertainment formats — from theatrical productions, immersive experiences and music to film, publishing and consumer products.
Evolving from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group, LW Entertainment has musical theatet at its heart. It develops brand and franchise strategies for some of the world’s most celebrated titles, including The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Evita, Sunset Boulevard and Starlight Express.
Since 1977, the business has brought Andrew Lloyd Webber’s work to hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Today, LW Entertainment continues that legacy, driven by a passion for creating innovative and inspiring entertainment through powerful partnerships, creative collaborations, and strategic brand development that ensures these works resonate with audiences for generations to come. http://www.lwentertainment.com/
iTheatrics is a New York–based creative and educational company dedicated to developing new musicals, adapting Broadway and West End titles for performances by young people, and creating support materials that empower the next generation of theater makers. More than 36 million people attend an iTheatrics-adapted musical annually in North America alone—three times the audience of Broadway. Founded by Timothy Allen McDonald, iTheatrics develops collections of musicals for Lloyd Webber Entertainment (Young Actors Edition), Concord Theatricals (Youth Edition), and Music Theatre International (Broadway JR). The organization also produces Junior Theater Festivals, collectively the world’s largest celebration of youth musical theatre, across North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, serving over 30,000 participants each year.
# # # #
www.facebook.com/concordshows
www.twitter.com/concordshows
www.instagram.com/concordshows
www.omdkc.com
www.facebook.com/omdkc
www.instagram.com/omdkc/
www.bsky.app/profile/omdkc.bsky.social