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The adults
Dewey Finn ("Mr. S")
Portrayed by: Jack Black (film), Alex Brightman (first Broadway run), Tony Cavalero (TV series)
The protagonist of the film and musical, he's a talented but lazy musician who slacks off his former band-mate Ned. When he's kicked out from his band No Vacancy and is overdue with his share of the rent, in order to find a job he takes up an offer for substitute teacher intended for Ned. Impersonating Ned, he decides to form a rock band from his class and compete in a Battle of the Bands, to win the cash prize and clear his debt. However, when confronted with the reality of teaching he starts to become the mask.
- Anger Born of Worry: Dewey chews Freddy out when he finds him hanging around a shady group of punks, but only because he was worried about him.
- Becoming the Mask: His whole arc has him go from impersonating a substitute teacher and turning a classroom of prep-school kids into a meal-ticket, to genuinely caring about their potential as rock stars and as future adults. By the end of the movie, he goes on to become an extra-curricular music teacher and the face of their band.
- Blaming "The Man": Being a true metalhead (and The Slacker), he's a firm believer in raging against the system. While at first he acts cynically to the kids about how futile it is, when he starts Becoming the Mask he teaches the kids (who at this point are prep-school students bogged down by high expectations of the adults in their lives) that a little bit of rebellion can be good for them.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: At the start of the film he seems nothing more than a self-centered slacker, but he's actually a competent guitarist and displays extensive and accurate knowledge of modern music.
- Character Development: From obnoxious freeloader slacker to Team Dad Cool Teacher.
- Cool Teacher: A Reconstruction. Initially, he's obviously incompetent when confronted with a class of kids to teach, and the kids themselves don't hold him in much esteem and see his "classes" as an excuse to do nothing. As the story goes on and Dewey's qualities begin to emerge, he gets genuinely interested in the class' welfare as they get interested in the band project. In the epilogue he becomes a real teacher, of an after-school music program.
- Demoted to Extra: He's a supporting character in the TV series, thanks to the focus being more on the kids.
- Dumbass Has a Point:
- He accurately tells Freddy that "Rock ain't about gettin' loaded and acting like a jerk."
- Earlier when he tells Patty that being a rock musician wasn't easy, stating "Rockin' ain't no walk in the park, lady!"
- Establishing Character Moment: In the opening, we are introduced to him mid-song with the rest of No Vacancy. While the rest of the band are just playing the song, Dewey over-enthusiastically dances around and riffs a guitar solo as the rest of the band (and the audience) exhaustingly wait for him to finish. Then he takes off his shirt and throws himself into a stage-dive, only to fall flat on his face when he lands on the floor. This gives us a pretty good idea of what he's like: a Large Ham who's enthusiastic about Hard Rock, but he cannot read the room and ends up acting like an Attention Whore in the process.
- The Heart: While Dewey was a lying, self-centered jackass who saw the kids as a means to snub his former band, he became a caring, charismatic teacher. He helps Zach, Lawrence, and Tomika with their self-esteem issues and helps Freddie find something he wants to learn and is genuinely passionate about.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: He and Ned are best friends, having played together in the same band. Ned even lets him stay in his home, to the annoyance of Patty.
- Hidden Depths: As foolish as his rock star dreams may be and as immature as he acts, Dewey shows throughout that he has a clear knowledge of musical theory and the history of music.
- Jerkass Has a Point: He may be a slacker and a mooch, but his dislike of Patty is rather understandable, given she's a domineering jerk who frequently talks down to Ned. He later calls her out for calling the cops on him at the school, not for his sake but for the kids, in that he wasn't able to tell the parents how great their kids were at music once the police outed him.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He has been mooching off Ned for years and has no desire to get a real job. He also impersonates Ned just to he can avoid getting knocked out, which comes back to bite him later. However he's still a good friend to Ned by promising to pay him the money he owes him and urges him to dump Patty (for Ned's sake as well as his own), brings out the musical talent in the kids he teaches, tries to sort out some of their self-esteem issues and apologizes to the kids later that he used them for his own means.
- Lead Singer Plays Lead Guitar: He was the former lead guitarist and singer of No Vacancy until he got kicked out after not paying rent and being generally obnoxious by playing near 20 minute guitar solos making the band impatient. After forming the class into a band, he once again takes up the role frontman and lead guitarist.
- The Nicknamer: He gives a nickname to each one of the kids in his class. He also calls Principal Mullins "Roz".
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: A hard rock lead guitarist dressed in a schoolboy's uniform. Somewhat Justified in that the whole band is school-themed.
- Only Known By His Nickname: On his first day as teacher, he tells the kids to call him "Mr. S". This is because he doesn't know how to spell "Schneebly".
- Papa Wolf: He gradually becomes this to the students in his class. When Freddy wanders off to mingle with some suspicious dudes, Dewey gets extremely worried and drags him away pronto and angrily chews out the men for it. He also clearly hates how domineering Zack's father is and encourages the kids to stand up for themselves.
- The Slacker: He starts the film as a recently unemployed, ne'er-do-well who is several months behind with his share of the rent.
- Team Dad: He eventually becomes this for Class 21-B, by teaching them not only music but the importance of self-worth and self-determination. At the final performance there's a strong bond of mutual respect between him and the kids.
- Took a Level in Kindness: The School of Rock project allows him to demonstrate his better Team Dad qualities.
Principal Rosalie "Roz" Mullins
Portrayed by: Joan Cusack (film), Sierra Boggess (first Broadway run), Jama Williamson (TV series)
The principal of the stuffy Horace Green prep school.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: She has Ship Tease with Dewey in the bar scene, and she's seen flirting with Spider at the Battle of the Bands.
- Broken Smile: When she cheerfully informes the parents that all their children have gone missing.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Getting to know Dewey allows her to let loose and have fun more, culminating in her genuinely enjoying the kids' performance at the end of the film.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: She acts as this in the pub scene, courtesy of some beer and "Edge of Seventeen" as BGM.
- Hidden Depths: She's a big Stevie Nicks fangirl and admits privately to Dewey that she's aware of her reputation as principal, lamenting that she used to be "fun" but now is universally seen as "boring" and "menacing".
- Promoted to Love Interest: Dewey's, in the musical.
- Running Away to Cry: A variation: after she's overwhelmed by the parents' indignation, she excuses herself, goes to the stairwell and makes herself stand in a corner in shame.
Ned Schneebly
Portrayed by: Mike White (film), Spencer Moses (first Broadway run)
Dewey's roommate, former bandmate and best friend. He was meant to be the substitute teacher at Horace Green until Dewey takes the call and steals his identity.
- Adapted Out: From the TV series.
- Bros Before Hoes: At the end of the film, he continues his friendship with Dewey and breaks up with Patty.
- Friend Versus Lover: He's caught in the midst of Dewey and Patty's mutual hatred. When Dewey goes to play at the Battle of the Bands, he's conflicted about going to see him or ignoring him as demanded by Patty. He goes, slamming the door in Patty's face.
- Henpecked Husband: Well, boyfriend, but he's still an absolute pushover compared to Patty. He finally stands up to her in the climax.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Dewey. They were bandmates, and he now lets Dewey stay in his home, despite Dewey not really contributing anything to the household.
- Nice Guy: Unlike his girlfriend, he is a mellow guy who is willing to put up with Dewey bumming around in his house, and in the aftermath of confronting Dewey about impersonating him, he does so in the gentlest and most apologetic way possible.
Patty Di Marco
Portrayed by: Sarah Silverman (film), Mamie Parris (first Broadway run)
Ned's overbearing girlfriend.
- Adapted Out: From the TV series, just like Ned.
- Hate Sink: She's very abusive towards Ned.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: She spends the entire film nagging Ned to stand up for himself. By the end, he does — by dumping her.
- Hypocrite: She's annoyed with Dewey for taking advantage of Ned, but she walks all over him just as much.
- Jerkass: She's mean, rude and constantly talking down to Ned. She also generally berates and bullies Dewey.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While she might be a massive jerk, she's not wrong about being angry at Dewey for abusing his friend's kindness to live rent free in their apartment while refusing to get a job. Furthermore, she's not wrong to be angry that Dewey's response to Ned finally trying to make Dewey pay the rent he owes was to impersonate Ned, committing fraud and possibly putting Ned's job in jeopardy while also originally not caring about the quality of education he was giving the kids.
No Vacancy
Portrayed in the film by: Adam Pascal (Theo, lead vocals/rhythm guitar); Lucas Babin (Spider, lead guitar); Lucas Papaelias (Neil, bass); Chris Stack (Doug, drums)
Dewey's former band, who fired him when his antics proved to be in the way of success.
- Apologizes a Lot: Neil, to Dewey. He even shrugs helplessly and apologizes again after No Vacancy wins the Battle of the Bands.
- The Coup: Theo resorts to this to get Dewey out of the band, even though Dewey technically started it.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Theo doesn't look remotely pleased when the Battle of the Bands crowd starts chanting for School of Rock. He hustles No Vacancy offstage while they still have their dignity. (Spider, apparently Oblivious to Hints, brings up the rear and nearly trips over the kids as they return to the stage.)
- Genre Shift: Initially No Vacancy sounds more like a classic hard rock band of the 70s or 80s, with harder riffs, faster drums, and sillier lyrics. Their performance at Battle of the Bands sounds much slicker and fits in better with early 2000s post-grunge.
- Important Haircut: At the beginning of the film, Theo's hair comes down to his shoulders, and he has a scraggly beard and a thrown-together outfit. By Battle of the Bands, he has a much shorter haircut, a clean-shaven face, and a stagier outfit. As a "wannabe corporate Sell-Out" might.
- Intergenerational Rivalry: With School of Rock. Even so, Neil and Doug are extremely impressed with Zack and Freddy, shaking hands and chatting about their respective instruments with them backstage.
- Mr. Fanservice: Spider apparently fancies himself this, with his skimpy clothing and onstage butt-waving. Ms. Mullins isn't immune to his desired effect.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: It hasn't been lost on fans of the film that Dewey's ejection from the band is quite similar to Dave Mustaine's ejection from Metallica.
- No Name Given: Nobody says the name "Neil" in the script, but his name does come up in the end credits.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Spider never gets a real name.
- The Quiet One: We know No Vacancy has a drummer, but we never hear his voice or learn his identity until the end credits, which mention a guy named Doug.
- Silly Love Songs: The lyrics for their Battle of the Bands-winning power ballad are unbearably sappy and overwrought, but Theo just sells it.
- Technician vs. Performer: Theo (played by Broadway veteran Adam Pascal) is definitely a better vocalist than Dewey, and he certainly goes about his music career more professionally. But he's not nearly as fun to watch, and if you believe Dewey, he's lost his passion for music in pursuit of a record deal.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Theo spends much of the band's opening performance barely containing his irritation at Dewey's onstage behavior.
Class 21-B
School of Rock
The other members portrayed in the film by: Aleisha Allen (Alicia "Brace Face"), Caitlin Hale (Marta "Blondie"), Z Infante (as Zachary Infante; Gordon "Roadrunner"), James Hosey (Marco "Carrot Top"), Angelo Massagli (Frankie "Tough Guy"), Cole Hawkins (Leonard "Short Stop"), Jordan-Claire Green (Michelle), Veronica Afflerbach (Eleni).
The class of Horace Green which Dewey ends up teaching. He decides to make them into the eponymous School of Rock band, assigning them not only actual performing duties but all other tasks connected to a live show.
- Adaptation Name Change: Several in the musical: Alicia to Shonelle, Marta to Marcy, Gordon to Mason, Frankie to James, Michelle to Sophie, and Eleni to Madison.
- Adapted Out: Marco and Leonard from the musical, leaving only one kid each in Effects and Security respectively.
- Amazing Freaking Grace: Alicia belts out this when demonstrating her singing to Dewey.
- Child Prodigy: A whole class of them. Not only are there enough kids who can sing or play an instrument at an almost professional level, but there are also costume designers (Billy), computer/digital design experts (Gordon), a scarily hypercompetent manager (Summer), and so on.
- Fat and Skinny: The two kids in charge of security: Tough Guy is a tall, large white kid, while Short Stop is tiny, thin and black.
- Graceful Loser: Despite losing the Battle of the Bands to No Vacancy, the kids are nevertheless overjoyed for the amazing experience. It helps that they won the adoration of the public.
- Groupie: Michelle and Eleni, though (thankfully) a PG-13 variant: they are tasked with merchandise and branding, including naming the band. In the musical, they're backup dancer as wells.
- The Roadie: Gordon and Marco, though since the band doesn't actually tour, they are in charge of logistics, equipment and SFX.
Summer "Tinkerbell" Hathaway
Portrayed by: Miranda Cosgrove (film), Isabella Russo (first Broadway run), Jade Pettyjohn (TV series)
The class factotum who gets assigned the role of band manager.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Brunette in the film but blonde in the TV series.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: She gets on board with the "School of Rock" project in the hope of getting good marks and/or experience for her résumé, but later on she becomes genuinely invested in the band.
- Hollywood Tone-Deaf: She asks Dewey to put her in the band as singer, and to prove her "ability" she sings a couple of lines from "Memory". Dewey immediately tells her he doesn't want to hear that song ever again (Hilariously, Miranda Cosgrove is actually a decent singer, and she had to be coached how to sing badly for this gag).
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: The smart and methodical band manager to Dewey's rambunctious leader.
- Serious Business: After being appointed band manager, Summer takes it upon herself to study This Business of Music, a reference guide to key organizations and legal practices in the music industry. Her mother also complains that she's become "obsessed" with mega-producer David Geffen.
Freddy "Spazzy McGee" Jones
Portrayed by: Kevin Clark (film), Dante Melucci (first Broadway run), Ricardo Hurtado (TV series)
The band's drummer.
- All Drummers Are Animals: Downplayed in the actual performance, but he's the most rebellious kid in class.
- The Artifact: His nickname of "Spazzy McGee" relates to a previous version of the film script, where he would have had ADHD and constantly assuming pills.
- Race Lift: Caucasian in the film but Latino in the TV adaptation.
Zack "Zack-Attack" Mooneyham
Portrayed by: Joey Gaydos Jr. (film), Brandon Niederauer (first Broadway run), Lance Lim (TV series)
The band's lead guitarist and composer.
- Asian and Nerdy: Downplayed in the TV series, where the "nerdy" part is mostly limited to his good grades.
- Race Lift: In the TV series he goes from Caucasian to Asian, curiously swapping ethnicities with Lawrence.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: His main conflict stems from his father not accepting Zack's passions, especially in the musical where the father is portrayed as a disinterested workaholic. For that matter, at the final performance his father looks legitimately proud of Zack.
Katie "Posh Spice"
Portrayed by: Rivkah Reyes (as Rebecca Brown, film), Evie Dolan (first Broadway run)
The band's bassist.
- Adapted Out: She's absent from the TV series, her role as bassist given to Tomika.
- Female Rockers Play Bass: She's the only female member of the band who plays and instrument while the other girls in the class are backup singers. Justified as she was a cellist and as Dewey points out; the bass guitar really isn't that different from a cello.
- Nobody Loves the Bassist: On a meta level: she's the only major band member who doesn't have a solo in either the Battle of the Bands or the credits scene in the film, one of two (along with Lawrence) who doesn't have a subplot in the musical, and she's been Adapted Out from the TV series.
Lawrence "Mr. Cool"
Portrayed by: Robert Tsai (film), Jared Parker (first Broadway run), Aidan Miner (TV series)
The band's keyboardist.
- Asian and Nerdy: He's self-aware about his appearance and confides to Dewey that he doesn't feel at ease in the band, because he doesn't see himself as "cool".
- Race Lift: In the TV series he goes from Asian to Caucasian, curiously swapping ethnicities with Zack.
- Hidden Depths: He's self-conscious about his appearance and wants to be accepted by his peers.
Tomika "Songbird"/"Turkey Sub"
Portrayed by: Maryam Hassan (film), Bobbi Mackenzie (first Broadway run), Breanna Yde (TV series)
A shy, overweight girl who eventually becomes co-lead singer.
- Adaptational Curves: She's convenionally thin in both musical and TV series, and therefore her main conflicts aren't related to her appearance.
- Amazing Freaking Grace: In the musical, she belts out "Amazing Grace" to demonstrate her singing.
- Appearance Angst: She's self-conscious about her weight and almost pulls out from her singer role. Dewey gives her a pep talk, recalling talented, Big Beautiful Women like Aretha Franklin.
- Composite Character: In the TV series, she handles the bass like Adapted Out Katie does in the film.
- Lead Bassist: In the TV series she's the bassist and lead vocalist.
- New Transfer Student: In the musical, her shyness derives from being a transfer student with no friends at Horace Green rather than her appearance.
- Race Lift: She's Black in the film but Caucasian in the TV series.
- Shrinking Violet: Despite having a phenomenal singing voice, she doesn't initially answer Dewey's call for backing singers because she's self-conscious about her appearance.
William "Billy"/"Fancy Pants"
Portrayed by: Brian Falduto (film), Luca Padovani (first Broadway run)
The stylist for the band's members.
- Ascended Extra: The musical makes him one of four kids (along with Zack, Tomika and Freddy) with a larger role and an exploration of his personal conflicts.
- Camp Gay: A feminine boy who listens to Liza Minnelli and is in charge of the band's costumes. As a child, his sexuality isn't explicitly addressed but the presence of this trope is blatant. Reportedly, these traits were amplified for comedy by director Richard Linklater, and as a consequence screenwriter Mike White (who is bisexual and has a gay father) disowned the film.
- "Gender-Normative Parent" Plot: Thanks to Adaptation Expansion in the musical, he's given his own subplot concerning the long line of manly football players in his family and his refusal to be one as well.
- Impossibly Tacky Clothes: For his first concept of stage costumes, he dresses Freddy and Katie in some hilariously campy glam get-ups that make Dewey cringe.
