Rock of Ages

Having never seen the show before I was looking forward to a step into the past and watching The Bradford Players production of Rock of Ages.

The show ran for 2,328 performances on Broadway (the 27th longest recorded run) but barely managed 2 years on the West End. The story is simple, even by musical standards and is set in Hollywood in 1980’s. Lonny Barnett and Dennis Dupree run the Bourbon Lounge, a safe haven for 80’s vintage Rock. Amongst the odd assortment of employees are cleaner and aspiring rock singer, Drew Boley and newly arrived singer, Sherrie Christian. They fall in love, but wait …. spaced out Rock legend Stacee Jaxx, European property developers Hertz Klinemann and his son Franz all conspire to reduce the (inevitably high) chances of a happy ending. Throw in protester Regina Hoontz and a secondary love tangle and …… well anything was possible.

The set was excellent and well thought out using a revolve at the side of the stage to portray many different scenes that kept the show looking slick. The very embodiment on an 80’s rock club and working on different levels gave the production plenty of depth. Costumes (Dawn Stead) also looked good, with plenty of variety and some very imaginative and exotic choices for the girls. Lighting (Niall Flemming) was excellent, and sound (Jack Marshall and Andrew Roberts) did overall a good job. At times it was difficult to follow the story due to the vocal diction of the cast

There were always plenty of bodies on stage and my congratulations on involving so many in the choreography (Jessica Sweeney) in such a limited space. 

Sean Rushton showed top form as the villain of the piece, German property developer Hertz Klinemann, showing how good he is within his range.

In the more prominent roles, Jonnie Taylor made a nice job of Rock legend and sex god, Stacee Jaxx, with singing giving credibility to the many songs. A massive difference to when to when I last saw him on stage. I loved Darren Ryder and Daniel Grieg as Dennis Dupree and Lonny Barnett, who were completely believable as best friends and later on … gay lovers! with Daniel particularly putting body, soul and every ounce of his energy into the part.

The show overall was something of a surreal creation and this is underlined by the success of supremely talented Ryan Coleman, stepping in at the very last minute, as reluctant developer Franz Klinemann. He delivered high comedy caricatures that was just perfect for the piece and the audience lapped it up. This production benefited from two romantic leads that really could sing, they both delivered accomplished performances. Sarah Kay as city newcomer, Sherrie Christian and Fen Greatley Hirsh as aspiring songwriter and musician Drew Boley, gave it everything which produced outstanding performances!

Two other great performances were given by Bethany Brewer as Regina Koontz and Poppy Jo Lumley as the Mayor. Both giving fantastic singing and acting performances in their relevant roles.

The whole show was wrapped up with naturally “Don’t Stop Believing” (one of my favourite songs). Having the band on stage worked well and Musical Director Danny Gamble got a brilliant sound out of the magnificent band. Everyone (and I do mean everyone) looked good and knew what they were doing. The band were well balanced and not at all too loud but the vocals and dialogue were sometimes hard to understand. Director David Ayres did a fantastic job at staging this production a really nice guy with plenty of talent. The show was full of high energy from beginning to end with a cast that clearly gave it all to the production and did themselves and the production team proud.

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