For a kid that his teenage years were the 1980’s and the influences of bands like Poison, Whitesnake, Journey and more were paramount, no better musical was there to come to town. Tonight’s show at the Avenir Centre in Moncton would be exciting even if it didn’t have a great story line (which it does), even just to hear the ‘mixed tape’ of big hair 80’s tunes would be fantastic!
Reading about the show prior to going to tonight’s performance just built up the anticipation of a great night of entertainment and music, it was going to be like a major flashback ride to big hair, loud guitars and power ballads.
Drew (Anthony Nuccio), Lonny (John-Michael Breen), and Dennis (Ryan M. Hunt) owner of the Bourbon Room learn about the planned demolition of the club.
“ROCK OF AGES” opened April 7, 2009 on Broadway earning five Tony Award nominations including Best Musical. The show also enjoyed successful national and international tours and, in 2012, was turned into a major motion picture. The show closed on Broadway in 2015 after over 2,300 regular performances, which put Rock of Ages in a tie as Broadway’s 29th-longest running show of all-time. It has toured and had performance runs in major cities all over the world.
Lonny, the narrator, brings us through the story of the Bourbon Room and it’s staff and patrons.
The “narrator” Lonny (played by John-Michael Breen, seen above) who often broke the fourth wall and talked to the crowd was hilarious and often reminded me of Neil Patrick Harris in his presence and mannerisms.
We can’t not talk about the music, after all, this is what started this story. It was like an 80’s-gasm of great tunes that literally had the crowd singing along to the likes of Poison, Night Ranger, Whitesnake, Foreigner, Jefferson Starship, Warrant and so many more. It literally had me grinning (and singing) with each new song. There were some fantastic and seamless mash-ups of great songs that bounced from scene to scene all on the same stage. The music alone was worth the trip. All played by the live band on stage, the fictional “Arsenal” the band fronted by character Stacee Jaxx. Let me tell you these guys rocked, extremely tight in their transitions and musicianship.
As good as the music was we cannot forget the vocals, when the main character Drew holds the high notes in songs from the likes of Whitesnake, Journey, and Foreigner it was awesome, and he held one note so long near the end of the second act the crowd was actually gasping. It’s quite impressive to be able to sing some of these songs while frequently ascending and descending metal spiral staircases, and running/dancing across a massive stage (how do these people breathe?).
Sherry (Katie Lamark) the dreamer from a small town sets off on her grand adventure to the Sunset Strip.
Ultimately this is a rock and roll love story (with a couple of side love stories thrown in) between Drew and Sherry that like any relationship has it’s ups and down, from Drew dreaming of being the ‘next one’ on the stage to replace the drunk and debaucherous Stacee Jaxx (Sam Harvey) and the small town girl moving to the ‘big city’ and being sucked in to the aforementioned debauchery.
Without a doubt this was one of my favorite shows I’ve seen recently, and yes, the music and nostalgia may have played a major factor in it. If you missed this show and were a kid of the 80’s or even a fan of 80’s rock, you seriously missed a great show. Wonderfully performed, fantastic production, and super music choices…I see now why Rock of Ages spent so long and was so popular on Broadway!
Thanks to Evenko, the Avenir Centre, PPRL and the entire cast of Rock Of Ages for a fantastic night of music, story, and laughter. As Lonny says…”Everyone loves ‘Jazz Hands’!”
