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On streaming services like Netflix, you can now find an extensive selection of music documentaries about bands and artists. Biopics, biographical films, have also become a staple on the big screen, such as Bohemian Rhapsody about Queen and Rocketman about Elton John’s life. But what about musicals where a band is the central focus?
British theater maker Owen B. Lewis took on this challenge. His production High School Never Ends The Musical is entirely based on the music of Bowling For Soup. It’s not only a tribute to the pop punk band but also a story about lost expectations, childhood memories, and the darker side of growing up.
We spoke with the theater maker to find out why Bowling For Soup, in particular. “I grew up listening to pop punk. Although Bowling for Soup has always been my favourite band. I didn’t decide to write the musical so much because I liked them but more because I have always felt their songs would fit so well in this format. Their songs carry so much melody and storytelling which doesn’t feel out of place when you translate it to musical theatre,” he explains. The real idea for the musical came when he heard the track “I’ll Always Remember You,” a relatively unknown song by the band. “That song, with guest vocals by the late Kim Shattuck, has a real Grease vibe to it. It’s about these two lovers who miss being together and are looking back on their lives. Once I had that I started piecing the story together. The songs fitted so naturally that I knew that I was right that a Bowling For Soup musical would work.”
Although Bowling For Soup’s music is central to the musical, the story is not based on the band’s life or any of its members. The story deals with the moment in your mid-30s, the so-called quarterlife crisis, when you realize you are nowhere near where you thought you would be in life as a teenager in high school. It’s no surprise then that the musical takes place in two different timelines: “The main action of the musical is set in 2008, with flashbacks to 1989. It’s about two people, Jaret and Emily, who grew up in Texas in the 1980s, dated in high school and are now in their mid-thirties. Jaret still lives near where he grew up and hangs with the same bunch of friends; Emily has moved to Ohio and completely cut everyone from school out of her life. But neither of them has really properly moved on, and an upcoming school reunion has the promise of confronting the past, which has never properly left them.”
Owen B. Lewis says that despite the story being set in specific eras, it remains relatable to every generation. “There are some nice references to the fashion, songs and popular culture of the 1980s and the late 2000s. But that doesn’t mean it’s not timeless, because humans never really change all that much with how they feel and treat others, hence why high school never ends. We never stop falling in love, having friendships, making enemies, having inspirations and being unsatisfied with how our lives have turned out.“
The main thread in the storyline is perfectly summarized by the musical’s title, but according to the theater maker, that wasn’t the only reason to choose this popular Bowling For Soup single. “High school references work really well in musicals, and the fact that BFS have a huge hit called ‘High School Never Ends’, there was no other option than that to be the title. It’s a real fan favourite, it sounds like a musical title, and it’s the umbrella of the message of this story – that although things do change like fashion and technology, we ourselves don’t really change with how we behave and react with each other.”
Of course, there are more references to the band in the musical. “There are a lot of fun Easter Eggs for hard core fans, where the script references song lines or album titles.” During earlier performances of the show, the story and music also entertained people who were unfamiliar with Bowling For Soup. “People have laughed and cried from seeing our show. This is why it still baffles me that we can’t get that extra support from a big producer or production company. Obviously the fans love it, but it’s certainly not exclusive to that – we’ve also had really great responses from people who’d never heard of the band, people that came either because they love musicals or that just happened to come along without knowing what to expect and left very satisfied. This is the great thing about jukebox musicals, that they appeal to such a large number of different demographics.”
For fans, the songs used will be a feast of recognition, although the theater maker has added a twist. “We have our own backing tracks that give the songs more of a musical feel to them but without losing the fun punk rock energy that the band master so well.” he says enthusiastically, but he doesn’t reveal exactly which tracks are used. “I don’t really like advertising which songs we use because that spoils it a bit. What I will say though is that we have a nice mixture of the band’s hits, fan favourites and a couple of very obscure Bowling For Soup songs that I am sure only the hardcore fans recognise… or perhaps sometimes not even them!” Another obvious tribute to the band is the naming of all characters, who are all connected in some way to Bowling For Soup. “Nearly all of the characters are either named after band members, characters from songs or people associated with the band in some way. The four main male characters are named after the band members: Jaret, Chris, Gary and Erik. As a way to include Rob [Felicetti], one of the teachers is called Mr Felicetti, and there’s another character called Lance named after their original drummer. The female characters are named after the girls that are mentioned in songs, such as Emily, Lisa & Debbie. In the present day, the character Debbie has children called Adam and Kim, who are tributes to people who are no longer with us – Kim Shattuck, the guest vocalist on I’ll Always Remember You, and Adam Schlesinger, who co-wrote the song ‘High School Never Ends’.”
The band has also given their approval for the musical. Singer Jaret Reddick even helped promote an earlier crowdfunding campaign. Owen B. Lewis hopes the band can actually see the musical live one day. “Jaret [Reddick] has always been super keen and supportive of this musical and gave his blessing for me to keep going as far as I can with it. I don’t believe the band have seen it yet though. Maybe next time!”
Unfortunately, we shouldn’t expect the musical in The Netherlands anytime soon. “I would love to do a tour, but again it all comes down to money. I have the script, the songs and a ready-made audience. We just need someone who is capable and willing to invest in us, someone who believes in this musical as much as we do so we can reach it out to more countries and other parts of the world.” A livestream of the musical also doesn’t seem possible at the moment. “I’d love to, but I’m afraid we can’t at the moment as we’d need the rights, which are a lot more complicated for livestreaming than for in-person stage productions. We did manage to legally acquire the rights to use the songs onstage, but that’s as far as it goes just now.” Owen B. Lewis does have plans to bring the musical to a wider audience: “Maybe one day it might finally make it to the West End or Broadway!”
The production team has currently launched a crowdfunding campaign to bring the show back to the theaters. If you want to support the project and make a donation, you can visit this crowdfunding page. To stay updated on the project and maybe even plan a trip to England to see High School Never Ends The Musical, be sure to keep an eye on this page as well.