WHAT: Rock of Ages
WHERE: Seacoast Repertory Theatre
BLURB: A Jukebox Musical, Played To The Hilt
HIGH POINT: Wonderful Voices, Well Loved '80s Songs
Rock Of Ages, a jukebox musical featuring '80s tunes, takes more than its songs from that decade.
There's lots of big hair, tiny skirts, and a major dose of cheese - cheesy cheese - served up in true, absurd overblown '80s style. Think Airplane! and Spaceballs, blended with the era's overwrought music videos, the likes of Raining Men (Weather Girls) - Cheesy Cheese at its best.
The show is set in 1987, Hollywood, in the Bourbon Room and is largely narrated by its manager Lonny (Christopher Hobson).
Drew (Jared LeMay) and Sherrie (Sophie Mings), work at the Bourbon, the Sunset Strip’s last legendary rock club. The two are recent transplants to Hollywood, both looking for their big performance breaks; he dreams of a music career, she of acting.
Their struggling romance is a pivotal plot piece, but so is the looming demise of the club, after dastardly German developers Hertz Klineman (Tobin Moss) and his son Franz (Spencer "Skip" Stewart) swoop into town with their capitalist ideas and underhanded ways.
Bad timing for Owner Dennis Dupree (Jamie Bradley) who is struggling to keep things afloat financially.
Desperate, Dennis calls Stacee Jaxx (Sean Mullaney) an obnoxious, deplorable rock star who got his start at Bourbon, and convinces him to play a major gig at the club.
Dennis is also pushing back on Klineman, as is Regina (Michelle Faria), a feisty city worker who plans to take the fight to the streets.
All the action is happening to some of the '80s most memorable music. "Sister Christian", "We Built This City", "I Wanna Rock", "Waiting For a Girl Like You", "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", and lots more familiar tunes are shoehorned into the piece.
That's the thing with jukebox musicals. The script is written to fit existing tunes, which will advance the story at least loosely. Another norm is ludicrous humor. This one is no exception; it even sports potty humor.
Rock of Ages is written by Chris D'Arienzo with arrangements and orchestration by Award Winning Ethan Popp, a one time Seacoast Rep Music Director.
What this script has that many don't is an authentic era quality, not just in tunes, but the whole mood and mania of the piece. And what the piece doesn't deliver on script, it does in smart song choices, and in the case of this production, with the delivery of those tunes.
Director Alyssa Dumas has pushed the lunacy of this production as far to the edge as possible, creating just enough balance with her more staid characters. She really plays to the script's excess, but when she races over the limit, it's to a point, and works.
Dumas also keeps the show moving - fast - which is just what this piece needs. Transitions are quick, and the action moves handily. Again, best case scenario for the genre.
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The choreography, by Dumas and Dargan Cole, is equally on point - slightly frenetic, but with purpose, and always with the right people in pivotal positions.
Dumas also delivers when it comes to casting.
Mings as Sherrie and LeMay as Drew - the two "kids" with stars in their eyes - are straight from central casting. Both give charming ingenue vibes, sprinkled with personality. They're funny, serious, and clueless in turn.
Mings' voice is strong, clear as a bell, and totally controlled, and LeMay's warm, and attractive. And when the two sing together, they soar. Their duets, including "High Enough" and "Oh Sherrie/The Search is Over" are show highlights.
If each performer were given their full due the review would be incredibly lengthy. So, here's the short of it, and hopefully the point is clear. This is a great cast.
Hobson as Lonny, the narrator, and longtime Bourbon manager, is smooth, and spot on.
Jamie Bradley as Dennis Dupree brings just the right amount of sagacious and deadpan energy to the sanest character in the script.
Tobin Moss as the Klineman dad and Steward as the son wield wild comedic chops.
Moss's Hertz Klineman, a parody on an uber inflexible, "capitalist-boho" German character is mesmerizing, and hilarious. Moss twitches and gets a laugh.
Stewart's take on son Franz is thoroughly excessive and against your better judgement absolutely successful once you key in on it. It's Robin Williams-esque, with perfect body language and timing. He's truly fascinating.
Faria's Regina is the whole package as the kitschy, sincere, taken-it-to-the street spitfire.
Sean Mullaney morphs into Stacee Jaxx, the obnoxious rocker, with a garish personality to match the '80s gaudy glam attire. He nails it!
Alexandra Mullaney as Justice Charlier, the strip club owner, once again brings a grace to the stage, in a perfectly executed performance.
