Rock of Ages

The Cotswold Savoyards

ROCK OF AGES

As seen by Matthew Heaton, NODA SW Regional Councillor on Wednesday 7th May 2025 for Frankie Telford, NODA SW District 15 Representative

Creative Directors: Robbie Gardner and Tim Minshull

Musical Directors:  Ellen Rhiannon-Garbutt and Ellen Mclean

Cheltenham Playhouse, Cheltenham

 

Rock of Ages is a bold and exaggerated jukebox musical built around classic rock songs from the 1980s featuring songs from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Poison and Europe, amongst  others.  Written by Chris D'Arienzo, with music supervision, arrangements and orchestrations by Ethan Popp, the original Broadway production ran for over 2,300 performances, tied as the 32nd-longest running show in Broadway history. Since debuting in 2009, there have been replica productions in many counties including the UK, running from 2011 to 2013 years at the Shaftesbury and Garrick Theatres, followed by two national tours.

During the show, the performers frequently break the "fourth wall", directly addressing the audience and seemingly forgetting (or perhaps reminding the audience) that they are actors in a musical. Despite the musical's title, the Def Leppard song of the same name was not included in the musical during its original Broadway incarnation.

The show, set in the 1980s in the Bourbon Room bar/club on West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip, needs big hair, big guitars, big characters, plenty of spark, energy, fun and audience involvement to be a success and I’m pleased to says that the Sav’s certainly managed to achieve this in spades.

The fixed-set worked really well. To maximise space for the choreography, the raised platform at the rear had the live rock band and the club’s toilet block (a key location in this show) beneath, with the bar in the space USL. The fold-out flat for inside the toilet are was a real surprise and worked brilliantly for the required scene. I understand the cast had been adding to the Graffiti in the toilet each night! Scene changes were smaller as a result but slick and completed by the cast. The USR flat and door covered the wing access and sight-line well. Disguised stairs either side enabled access to the platform from either side of the stage, which was well used to give some useful height for a variety of different scenes, particularly Regina’s building jump. I loved the poster and memorabilia decorating both the set and the whole auditorium which helped build the whole atmosphere, right down to the real leaflets being handed out. Great work.

The lighting and visual effects used were varied and supported the style and staging of the production. A range of conventional and LED lighting were combined with some nice colouring and floor projections, with three LED lights on the set to flash into the audience. Moving heads were used very effectively to sweep across the stage, though occasionally remained on whilst tracking back to their next or home position. The mirror ball was well used to create the right atmosphere in Hit Me with your Best Shot, as was the strobe lighting effect in The Final Countdown. Follow-spotting was suitably used for specific solos and well-controlled. You may also have been able to use more lighting the back-wall behind the staging as a cyclorama, but overall the lighting worked really well in supporting the high energy atmosphere intended.

Sound was generally excellent, which was no mean feat with an active rock band behind the performers on-stage and a huge number of cast with solo sung and spoken lines. There was a good use of monitors around the performing area to ensure the cast could hear themselves.  We’re Not Gonna Take It was particularly well-cued with so many parts and lines within it. Inevitably some dialogue was lost a little in the opening Just Like Living in Paradise and in The Final Countdown, but these were isolated incidents and didn’t affect the overall enjoyment of the production.

The costumes were well put-together and very much in keeping with the period, from the denim to the leggings, T-Shirts and black leather studded items. Stacee’s leather trousers were a particular highlight, as was Regina’s and Franz’s matching aerobic outfits. Hair was suitably ‘big’, backcombed and coloured and Make-up matched the look of the period. Very well done!

Direction. The production pitched itself really well. The show is designed to not take itself and the conventions of musical theatre too seriously and you achieved this whilst maintaining professionalism in performance and our belief in the characters and the cast. The show requires breaking the 4th wall, starting with Lonny sitting in audience and later interacting with people to promote the connection without over-doing it. The cast danced through the auditorium’s main entry route, without it ever becoming too much. This is an entertaining and highly amusing show and you really made the most of the verbal and physical humour within it – not an opportunity was wasted and there were many laugh-out-loud moments. Good use was made of the upper side gallery for Stacee’s phone call and the DJ scene, keeping both audience interest and stage clear. The energy and enthusiasm of the whole cast was evident in the larger scenes, but you also contrasted it with the intimacy of the picnic scene for example. Very well done.

In terms of the principal performances:

Lonny Barnett (Ross). What a great fun part this was that you really excelled in. Your charisma and humour settled the audience into the feel of the show and the need to get involved, as the Narrator and principal breaker of the 4th wall. You sang and moved really well too. You coped brilliantly with the fog machine issue in your moment with Dennis. A great performance.

Dennis Dupree (Ross). Very well-performed as the Bar Owner – you didn’t miss a chance to make the very best of every line and opportunity you had. The relationship with Lonny was great fun, particularly in ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’ and your ‘death’ and subsequent appearance with Angel wings was comedy gold. Very well done!

Drew Boley (Mark). Well-acted and danced, but those vocals in particular were brilliantly performed and really difficult, from the big numbers to the lovely duets with Sherrie (and the top notes at the end of Oh Sherrie). You had the audience on your side from the very start, which is the key to this role. Great work.

Sherrie Christian (Holly) You had both the sweetness and the sass to make a real success of this part. A softer singing voice contrasted nicely with some of the others and you performed and was controlled well some quite complex songs. Your spoken voice fitted the part too and your acting performance gave the full range of emotional contrasts that the part needs. Your take down of Stacee was particularly memorable. Lovely performance.

Justice Charlier (Natalie) A striking stage presence and an incredible singing voice - Every Rose has its Thorn was a real highlight for a memorable performance.

Regina (Georgia Pemberton) A very impressive performance, transformed from Mayor’s PA to Chief Protester. Not only could you sing and dance brilliantly, but your physical and verbal comedy timing was excellent. Your performance on top of the building and later in plaster was hilarious. Fantastic!

Hertz Klinneman (David) Very well-played as the bad-guy German Property Magnet. You certainly had fun with the part (and the accent!) and you showed you could sing in ‘We Built This City’. Nicely done.

Franz Klinneman (Jake). What fun you had too with this part as you rebelled against your evil father. Your comic timing was spot on and your big moment, with an incredible spin in your spin 1980s workout lycra outfit brought the house down!  Bravo!

Stacee Jaxx (Andy) A great fun part too – you looked every bit the aging rocker (in a god way!) and sang really well too (Dead or Alive being a particular highlight for me). You also kept the audience with you despite the character’s highly questionable morals. Well done.

Mayor (Tim). Nicely performed with a most memorable wig. Nice cameo for the encore.

 

I feel quite bad stopping here as all of the cast had their own moments of note in this production, but really well done to the other parts and ensemble covered by Jemima. Georgina, Callum, Sarah , Bex, Morgan, Emily, Sarah, Elzbieta and Tim.  The ensemble work was quite excellent in this production and this is no easy show to perform in – there is a lot to cope with. The ensemble singing was really good– it was together, it could be heard and was of good vocal quality in both harmony and unison – and more often than not, all this while dancing.

On that subject let’s get onto the choreography. This show needs real conviction to make it work – much of it is quite (to use an 1980s work) ‘raunchy’ and physical and your energy and focus really delivered on it. There was a good range of 1980s dance styles and moves used, with I Wanna Rock, Here I Go Again and Don’t Stop Believin’ real highlights for me. The Slow-motion section with the strobe lighting worked realty well too. Loved it.

Last, but by no means last - The Band – Ben (Bass), Alex (Guitar), Martin (Drums), Jack (Guitar) and Jacqueline (Keys) made an excellent sound from their onstage position and were a key part of the show, building their own characters and interacting with the characters around them.

In summary, this was a quite excellent departure for ‘Savs’. This high-quality production in all aspects was professionally performed, whilst keeping the sense of self-knowing and fun that this show requires. Having not seen ‘Rock of Ages’ before (other than the questionable film version) I really enjoyed my trave back in time, having been both a teenager in the 1980s and last visiting the Playhouse some 30 years ago when I lived in Cheltenham. Many congratulations to all involved both on and off stage. I wish you every success with your future productions.

 

PLEASE NOTE:

Any observation made by the reviewer can only be based on what he sees at the performance in question.  The reviewer may have received information in advance of the performance and it is inevitable that his assessment will be effected by that knowledge.

The N.O.D.A. Representative’s intention is to give an objective critique of the overall production and in particular the performance viewed.  It should be remembered that any review of this nature can only be objective as far as the techniques used during the performance observed.  Any criticisms expressed may not have been valid at other performances, and are only made to encourage higher standards in Amateur Theatre.

It is hoped that the audience’s appreciation of your efforts will have given everyone a lift and encouraged you to greater achievements in the future and that the observations made by the reviewer will prove helpful in improving future productions.

 

 

 

 

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