Rock of Ages

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 AAOC certainly managed to achieve this in their production of Rock of Ages.

The fixed-set worked really well. To maximise space and the raised platform allowed for levels in the scenes and to house the band beneath. It was great to see a live band on the stage to really do this musical justice and the energy they provided throughout the show was brilliant and gave the audience the feeling of being in the bar enjoying the music. Congratulations to Musical Director Cammy and his band for bringing this extra nuance to the show. The other piece of the set I loved was the use of the moving room piece which swung in and out to reveal the many smaller settings of the show outfit the main bar area including the men’s room, and offices. The changing of the set area while closed must have kept the Stage Crew busy and big congrats all round for keeping this working smoothly.

Kicking off the night in the Bourbon Room, we meet Lonny, played by David Cannell. David did a brilliant job as our narrator for the evening having the audience laughing throughout the show with his comedic timing and charmful engagement. His relationship (and that kiss!) with Dennis Dupree (played by Grant Woodburn) was brilliant! Grant did a great job with Bar Owner Dennis, not missing a chance to make the very best of every line and opportunity he had. The relationship with Lonny was great fun, particularly in ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’ and his ‘death’, which made his subsequent appearance with Angel wings comedy gold.

Andrew Martin did a great job with his performance as Drew Boley, with super range in his voice, and rock and roll in his heart! He pulled off the balance of his classic “nice guy” character and full rocker perfectly!  Abbie Hand was outstanding as Sherrie Christian, with her first scene bringing us straight to the heart of her hopes and dreams for her move to Hollywood. Abby used her powerful and unfaltering vocals, epic comic timing and warmth to give a full rounded character throughout her songs, dance numbers and acting scenes. A very impressive performance altogether. Stacee Jaxx, our comedic villain was played by Franco Cadilli who showcased a great voice, and wonderful comedic timing. He managed to keep the audience on side despite the character’s highly questionable morals!! Ciara McCabe did an excellent job with the confident and controlled Justice Charlier. Her voice was amazing especially in “Every Rose has it’s Thorn”. She was a strong character and balanced this with a caring nurturing side to her character. Regina played by Claire Dorby gave a very impressive performance, transformed from Mayor’s PA to Chief Protester and secret rocker well and used her physical and verbal comedy timing well. Comedy and surprises were created by Max Wyllie as Franz the loveable German wannabe chocolatier as he rebelled against his father, using perfect comic timing and looking incredible in the 1980s workout lycra outfit, which brought the house down! Bravo! Hertz played by Colin Hyslop was an excellent bad-guy German Property Magnet, having fun with the character and the interactions with others as the story progressed.

This musical was really brought to life with the dance sequences, choreographed by Isla. The scene with the Venus Dancers, and the scene with Franz and Regina were big hits! The central characters were supported by an ensemble full of passion, energy and commitment to their own characters, which helped create a well-rounded show and ensemble piece. Knowing this was one of, if not Director Mikey’s favourite show his passion was oozing out of every member of the cast, with high attention to detail and joy radiating from the stage. This production was funny, broke the fourth wall well, and engaged the audience from start to finish. The cast and crew should all be so proud!

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