D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A O P E N I N G O F FA E N A H OT E L I N M I A M I B E AC H
Vivi Nevo and Len Blavatnik
opening of the new Andrew Lloyd Webber show, School of Rock, which got raves in the New York Times. I was surprised to learn that she had come to New York specifically for the opening night of the new musical on Broadway. I knew she loves New York and loves Broadway, but why this one? The story. School of Rock, the film from 2003, was written by screenwriter Mike White. Penny’s daughter, Ella, grew up with him. In fact they are the same age and were in preschool in Pasadena together. It was there, according to Penny that the two bonded because they were the only 28 QUEST
Cliff Comfort and Bianca DeMarco
Dasha Zhukova and Derek Blasberg
Alan Faena and Philip Levine
two kids in the class who screamed a lot. The teacher put them next to each other so that their “screeching” would not disrupt all the little ones in the class. And from there, a brother-sister act was born. Mike’s parents divorced when he was very young and so, as a little boy, he was often at Penny’s house. He was a kid who really liked to be around adults, so the Bianchi household was a real second home to him. When he and Ella were 19, they drove across America together. Penny reported that their phone calls home were always reports of their experiences, howling with laughter. It was that kind of a relation-
Michaela and Simon de Pury
Brett Ratner, Lyor Cohen and Robert Shay
ship, and it has remained. When Mike was grown up and writing out there, he became friends with Jack Black, the actor and musician, and decided to write a movie for him. He kept in mind his personality (“a man of few words”), and School of Rock was born. Mike even wrote a small part for himself (Ned Schneebly) and a “song” for the part. I don’t know if it was a blockbuster but it grossed more than $35 million (which used to be a lot) and became a kind of cult movie for the younger sets. Years later, over in London, Andrew Lloyd Webber came home from the
office (or studio, or theater) one day and noticed that his son was watching the same film that he seemed to be watching all the time. He finally asked his wife, “Why does he watch that movie over and over?” And she is said to have replied, “Why don’t you watch it and see? Maybe there’s a musical in it….” And so he did. Fade out, fade in: One day in Santa Monica, Penny stopped by Mike’s house, since she was in his neighborhood. When she arrived, he was on the phone and couldn’t interrupt to greet her. “Shhh!” he motioned, as if there were something import-
B FA . CO M
Alicia Goldstein and Tiffany Marcofsky