Two Music Dramas

School of Rock

Rock band No Vacancy performs at a nightclub three weeks before auditioning for the Battle of the Bands. Guitarist Dewey Finn irritates his bandmates with on-stage antics, culminating in a failed stage dive that abruptly ends the performance. When Dewey arrives for rehearsal the next day, he discovers he has been replaced by another guitarist. Dewey's roommate and best friend Ned Schneebly, urged on by his domineering girlfriend Patty, tells Dewey he must pay his share of rent. While attempting to sell some of his equipment for the money, Dewey answers a phone call from Rosalie Mullins, the principal of the Horace Green prep school, inquiring for Ned about a short-term position as a substitute teacher. Desperate, Dewey impersonates Ned and is hired. On his first day at the school, Dewey adopts the name "Mr. S" (stemming from his inability to spell Schneebly) and behaves erratically, confusing the class.
After overhearing the students in a music class the next day, Dewey devises a plan to form them into a new band and compete with No Vacancy in the Battle of the Bands. He recruits Zack Mooneyham as lead guitarist, Freddy Jones as drummer, cellist Katie on bass, Lawrence on keyboard, and himself as lead vocalist and guitarist. He assigns the rest of the class to various roles of backup singers, groupies, and roadies, with precocious Summer Hathaway given the role of band manager. The project takes over normal lessons but helps the students to embrace their talents and overcome their problems: Dewey bonds with Lawrence, who is worried about not being cool enough for the band; Zack, whose overbearing father disapproves of rock music; and Tomika, an overweight girl who is too self-conscious to even audition to be backup singer despite having a strong voice. Band groupies Michelle and Eleni name the band "The School of Rock".
Two weeks into his hiring, Dewey sneaks his key band members out of school to audition for Battle of the Bands while the rest of the class stay behind to maintain cover. The group is rejected because the bill is full; Summer tells Dewey to deceive the staff into thinking that they have a terminal illness, allowing the band to audition. The next day, Mullins checks on his teaching progress, forcing Dewey to feign teaching the actual material. Dewey later meets with Mullins to set up the competition under the guise of a field trip; the two bond over her love of Stevie Nicks.
Ned receives a paycheck in his name from the school, realizing that Dewey impersonated him. Patty pressures Ned to reveal the truth and reports Dewey's scheme to the police and Mullins. During a parents' meeting, the parents question what Dewey has been teaching the kids before Ned, Patty, Mullins, and the police confront him. Dewey reveals his true identity and is fired. Back home, he and Patty argue until Ned intervenes and suggests Dewey move out.
The next morning, the parents confront Mullins at her office, while the kids decide not to let their hard work go to waste; they go to Dewey's apartment and rally him to join them. Ned decides to attend the show and ends his relationship with Patty. When the new substitute discovers the kids missing, she informs Mullins, who races to the competition with the parents tagging along. A school bus comes to pick up Dewey, who leads the kids to the Battle of the Bands and decides that they play a song written by Zack earlier. Initially dismissed as a gimmick, the band wins over the entire crowd, while the parents are impressed by their children's talent and confidence. However, No Vacancy wins, but the audience chants encore for the School of Rock, who perform for the crowd once again.
Sometime later, Dewey continues the School of Rock as an after-school program, coaching the students he played with before while Ned teaches beginners.

Whiplash

Andrew Neiman, a 19-year-old jazz drummer, attends the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory in New York City. Terence Fletcher, the conductor of Shaffer's most prestigious ensemble, overhears Andrew practicing and prompts him to play rudiments and a double-time swing beat. Apparently unimpressed, Fletcher leaves, but later recruits him to perform in his ensemble as a backup for the core drummer, Carl Tanner. On his first day in Fletcher's class, however, Andrew quickly discovers that Fletcher is relentlessly strict and abuses students verbally, physically, and psychologically. When Andrew apparently fails to keep tempo on Hank Levy's "Whiplash" during his first ensemble rehearsal, Fletcher throws a chair at him, repeatedly slaps his face, and berates him. Determined to impress Fletcher, Andrew excessively practices, often until his hands bleed.
After their first set at a jazz competition, Andrew misplaces Tanner's sheet music. Tanner cannot play without the sheets, so Fletcher allows Andrew to perform; Shaffer wins the competition. Fletcher promotes Andrew to core drummer, but abruptly reassigns the position to Ryan Connolly, a drummer from Andrew's previous ensemble within Shaffer. Andrew's single-mindedness toward music leads to him clashing with his family and breaking up with his girlfriend Nicole. One day, Fletcher begins rehearsal by announcing that Sean Casey, a former member of the Studio Band, has died in a car crash. He then pushes the three drummers to play at a faster tempo on "Caravan", keeping them for a grueling five-hour practice. Andrew earns the core position back after he is the only one able to perform on tempo.
Andrew's bus gets a flat tire on his way to the next competition. He rents a car, but arrives late and forgets his drumsticks at the rental office. Andrew races back and retrieves them, but his car is hit by a truck on the way back. An injured Andrew runs to the theater, arriving bloodied and weak as the ensemble enters the stage. He struggles to keep tempo and Fletcher halts the performance to dismiss him. Enraged, Andrew attacks Fletcher onstage and is expelled from Shaffer. At the request of his father Jim, Andrew meets a lawyer representing Casey's parents, who explain that Casey did not die in a car crash, but actually hanged himself after suffering from depression and anxiety due to Fletcher's abuse; his parents want Fletcher held accountable. Andrew agrees to anonymously testify against Fletcher.
Months later, Andrew, having abandoned drumming altogether, encounters Fletcher playing piano at a jazz club. They have a conversation over drinks, during which Fletcher reveals that he was let go from Shaffer following complaints about his conduct and admits he was harsh, but insists his methods were necessary to motivate students. He cites a story where Jo Jones allegedly threw a cymbal at Charlie Parker, arguing that the next transformative jazz musician would never let themself be discouraged. Fletcher invites Andrew to perform with his professional band at a New York JVC Jazz Festival, playing the same pieces from Shaffer; Andrew accepts. He calls Nicole to invite her to the event, but learns she has a new boyfriend.
At the festival, Fletcher reveals to Andrew that he knows Andrew testified against him; as revenge, he leads the band into Tim Simonec's "Upswingin'", a song that Andrew does not know nor have the sheet music to. After a disastrous performance, a humiliated Andrew walks offstage. After Jim embraces him, Andrew returns to the stage, reclaims the drum kit, and cuts off Fletcher by cueing the band into "Caravan". Fletcher, though angered, resumes conducting. Towards the end of "Caravan", Andrew improvises a lengthy solo. Fletcher nods in approval before cueing the final chord.