Actor and native New Englander Merritt David Janes returns as the star of School of Rock
Merritt David Janes is coming home. The Vermont-born, University of Maine-educated actor left the region to pursue a career on the stage, and has been performing in touring Broadway productions since 2007. Now he’s taken the lead of Dewey in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical version of the hit 2003 film School of Rock as it comes to Boston. Janes couldn’t be happier. “As a native New England boy, Boston has always been a very exciting place for me.” Of course, being closer to his teams doesn’t hurt. “I am a huge Patriots and Red Sox fan!”
Coming from a family of musicians, Janes is having a great time performing in this music-focused role. “I would say it is the perfect culmination of everything that I have done and have always wanted to do. My mother, grandmother and cousins have very much inspired the journey that has led me here,” noting that the family connection makes the role even “more fun in a very special way.”
Family talent is not the only personal connection Janes has to this show. While at University of Maine, he studied to be a music teacher. Now, he’s playing a substitute teacher introducing his students to rock music. “This is the best teaching job I could have ever hoped to get. The fact that I’m playing a music teacher on the stage every night is a reminder to me that I am in the right place at the right time.”
Also a songwriter, Janes has just released an album, Waiting in the Wings, written over the course of 11 years and seven Broadway tours. “It has been a long time in the making,” said Janes. “This album is all about experiences from my life on the road,” noting there is something for everyone on the album. The album has Andrew Lloyd Webber’s seal of approval—Webber has allowed it to be included in the merchandise for School of Rock. “I believe I am the first person to ever be able to do that at one of his shows,” beamed Janes, adding that he was “very proud and thankful.” In a what was perhaps a prescient songwriting turn, there is a song called “New England Roads” on the album. Janes said the song is “all about coming home to New England. I will be listening to it on my way to Boston in February!”
