There’s also the parallel tale of the (too) cartoonish German developers’ plan to raze the beloved old Sunset Strip rock club The Bourbon Room, run by the hippie throwback Dennis (laid-back and funny Matt Ban) plus the melodrama of the dangerous liaison between Sherrie and the self-involved rock god Stacee Jaxx (a suitably preening Matt Nolan).įortunately, in this show’s world, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” has the power to solve all.
At one point the Hollywood rock-club flunky Lonny (amusingly gonzo Justin Colombo) hands Drew a copy of the show’s playbill and tells him to blame writer D’Arienzo for his crummy life.Īs it hopscotches from one deathless ’80s tune (say, Slade's “Cum on Feel the Noize” as covered by Quiet Riot) to another (REO Speedwagon’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling"), “Rock” occupies itself with chronicling the tortured love story between Drew and the aspiring actress Sherrie. One of the guilty pleasures of this show, written by Chris D’Arienzo and originally directed by Kristin Hanggi, is the way it jabs at the conventions of the typical jukebox musical by making the connections between song and plot as brazenly contrived as possible.īut “Rock of Ages” goes beyond that to poke cheekily at musical theater in general. (And you know just from her name that Journey’s “Oh, Sherrie” and Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” are going to figure into things somehow.) The cast for this less glittery, nonunion tour doesn’t feature those kinds of famous names, but it does have (mostly) solid and (unfailingly) eager performers in Dominique Scott as Drew and Shannon Mullen as his leg-warmer’d love interest, Sherrie Christian.
The show’s still-running Broadway production featured a Tony-nominated performance by Constantine Maroulis as the wannabe rock hero Drew Boley, plus such drop-in cast members as Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider. The latest touring version of the satirical paean to ’80s hair bands might have all the substance of a Tab cola, but it still brings the fun. It’s more like a mild crush over the way the show causes songs by the likes of Poison, Whitesnake and Survivor to finally make some semblance of sense. Where: Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown.Īctually, “love” is probably way too strong a word to describe the kind of affection this goofily amusing musical inspires.