Whitby School Eighth-grader to Star in 'School of Rock' on Broadway

On a cold January day around a thousand kids stood outside the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway in a line reminiscent of American Idol. Rather than aspiring to be the next singing sensation, those in line sought a chance to audition for the new musical, School of Rock. Among the hopefuls lingering in the winter rain was Whitby eighth-grader Dante Melucci.

Fast forward to October and Dante is fresh off making his TV debut, appearing on the Fox show Gotham, and is now just weeks away from making his Broadway debut as Freddy the drummer in the movie-turned-musical.

While Dante’s path to the stage involved a series of several auditions, his acting career began onstage at Whitby School. Theatre teacher Allyn Rathus first remembers meeting Dante when he was in sixth grade. Rathus first recalls seeing Dante at the Upper School trip to Camp Chingachook running around lugging a wheelbarrow behind him at full speed. Rathus was impressed by his energy and excited that he was in her show. “When it came to theatre class, Dante was always 100 percent invested in what we were doing,” Rathus says.

While at Whitby, Dante has played a variety of roles and has evolved as an actor. Rathus noticed Dante’s eagerness to explore different characters increased between sixth and seventh grade, adding that it was fascinating to see what he’d do with his body to portray each role, making sure to capture his different characters’ nuances and histories with his movement. Through his time at Whitby, Dante has played roles including the Artful Dodger in Oliver!, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet and Hot Blades Harry in Urinetown.

“Thanks to Whitby, I had some of my first experiences performing as an actor in musicals and drama and comedy in front of real audiences,” says Dante. “I’m thankful for that and for the encouragement I received there. It gave me confidence and experience that inspired me to take risks and lead me to win this incredible role and to be given a chance to be on Broadway.”

When it comes to the stage, Rathus says she could always count on Dante to bring leadership, focus and excitement. “I knew as long as he had the time to work, he was going to work hard,” she adds. That same work ethic led to his successful School of Rock audition, an end result that came from long hours of practice and preparation long before the audition itself. And now, the young actor is just weeks away from starring on Broadway.

School of Rock begins at the Winter Garden Theatre on Monday, Nov. 9.