ROCK OF AGES cranks up the volume Off-Broadway with performances beginning Wednesday, October 1 at New World Stages. Slated for an open-ended engagement, the show will have its Official Opening Night on Thursday, October 16 at 7:00 PM.
Written by Chris D’Arienzo (Film: Barry Munday) and directed by Kristin Hanggi (Bare, Pussycat Dolls on the Sunset Strip), ROCK OF AGES is fueled by high-octane 80s rock – from the anthems that defined an era to the power ballads that lit up arenas everywhere. A theatrical event inspired by the unforgettable rock sounds and the mega-bands that dominated the airwaves for more than a
decade, ROCK OF AGES features big chords, big dreams and big hair. It’s the late 1980s and the final countdown is on for a legendary Hollywood rock club facing its demise at the hands of eager developers. When a young rocker hungry for his big break and a small town girl chasing her dreams land on the scene at this infamous venue, how far will ambition drive them? And will it be lights out for the club and all the regulars and rockers who have made it their home?
ROCK OF AGES takes audiences on a musical trip with a story set to blazing hits from iconic rockers such as Journey, Bon Jovi, Styx, Reo Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake and many more. Writer Chris D’Arienzo says, "The genre of 80s rock was so grandiose in its theatricality that for me it only made sense to turn something like ‘Sister Christian’ into a showtune. This was lifestyle music. It was just as much about the look, the clothes and the parties as it was about the songs. We'd all like to believe we were just listening to Elvis Costello and The Buzzcocks back then, but I know my first kiss was to Great White's ‘Once Bitten Twice Shy,’ so there you go."
This production features Constantine Maroulis (Broadway: The Wedding Singer; Off-Broadway Jaques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris; Television: “American Idol” Season 4), Kelli Barrett, Nova Bergeron (Nat’l tour: Wicked, Sweet Charity, Fosse, Evita), Adam Dannheisser (B’way: The Coast of Utopia, Twelfth Night, The Tempest), Mitchell Jarvis (B’way: Fiddler on the Roof), Michele Mais (B’way: Roza, Zoot Suit), Lauren Molina (B’way: Sweeney Todd), Brian Munn (B’way: Wicked), Angel Reed, Paul Schoeffler (B’way: Sweet Charity, Nine, Peter Pan), Wesley Taylor, Savannah Wise (B’way: Les Miserables), Will Swenson (The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of Hair; B’way: Lestat, Brooklyn), Jackie Burns, Lara Janine, Tad Wilson and Jeremy Woodard.
Set Design is by Beowulf Boritt (B’way: Lovemusik, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Costume Design is by Gregory Gale (B’way: The Wedding Singer, Cyrano de Bergerac), Lighting Design is by Jason Lyons (B’way: The Threepenny Opera), Sound Design is by Walter Trarbach (B’way: The Farnsworth Invention, Cymbeline, Doubt) and Choreography is by Kelly Devine (B’way: Jersey Boys). Arrangements, Orchestrations and Music Supervision are by Ethan Popp (B’way:Tarzan; Europe: We Will Rock You, Aida, Mamma Mia), with Original Arrangements by David Gibbs. ROCK OF AGES premiered in Los Angeles at The Vanguard on January 26, 2006 (limited 4 week run, extended to 7 weeks) and also enjoyed a sold-out run at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino from May 13-20, 2006. Variety wrote “The hair is big, the music is bigger, and the performance style…humongous” and the Los Angeles Times proclaimed “A burst of retro adrenaline.”
