Book Rock of Ages Theatre Breaks In Rock of Ages we travel back to 1987, the era of big bands and even bigger hair! The year that every day was a bad hair day in the era that style forgot. Justin Lee Collins and Shayne Ward star in this funny, energetic show. Like most stuff Justin Lee Collins does the show is slightly tongue-in-cheek but basically an affectionate trip down Memory Lane. It is full of classic 1980s tunes like Don’t Stop Believin‘, The Final Countdown and loads more. Expect lots of air guitar and hair tossing as Rock of Ages previews at the Shaftesbury Theatre from August 31st 2011 and opens on September 27th.
(This is the Broadway cast on the 2009 Tony Awards show but you get the idea! ) The Story of Rock of Ages The story of Rock of Ages is set in 1987 on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. We follow the adventures of Drew a city boy from South Detroit who clears tables while he dreams of becoming a rock star. His ambition takes him to Los Angeles’ most famous rock club, where he meets country girl Sherrie who has just arrived from Kansas. There they fall in love to the greatest songs of the 80s. But really Rock of Ages is all about the music Rock of Ages features 80s hits from Bon Jovi, Journey, Whitesnake, Poison and Pat Benatar with over 20 hits including “Sister Christian”, “I Wanna Rock”, “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, “Come on Feel the Noize”, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”, “The Final Countdown” and “Don’t Stop Believin’” , “Dead or Alive”, “We Built This City”, “I Wanna Know What Love Is” and others from bands including Styx, Twisted Sister, Poison and Bon Jovi. Ironically, the Def Leppard song from which the show takes its title doesn’t feature in the musical as the band would not approve the license, Rock of Ages premiered in Los Angeles in 2006, before transferring to Broadway in 2009. The Broadway run of Rock of Ages was a huge hit and won five Tony Award nominations. There will be a film version of Rock of Ages in 2012 with Tom Cruise, Malin Akerman, Russell Brand and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Check dates for Rock of Ages theatre breaks The Cast of Rock of Ages Amy Pemberton (Footloose and Jersey Boys) will play Sherrie and Oliver Tompsett ( Wicked and Mamma Mia) will play Drew. They join Justin Lee Collins, who will play Sunset Strip club owner Dennis Dupree, and Shayne Ward, who will play over-the-top rock star Stacee Jaxx.
The cast will also feature Simon Lipkin (Lonny), Rohan Tickell (Hertz), Rachel McFarlane (Justice/Mother), Jodie Jacobs (Regina/Candi) and Sandy Moffat (Franz), as well as Nathan Amzi, Natalie Andreou, Grant Anthony, Carly Mercedes Dyer, Cordelia Farnworth, Ian McIntosh, Twinnie-Lee Moore, Jamie Muscato, Andrew Spillett, Zizi Strallen, Amy Thornton and Dylan Turner. The cast performed for the first time in June 2011 on West End Live after only two days of rehearsals. Sadly this showed in their performances and although we do have video of that I think it would be unfair to show it here. There were a couple of technical glitches that threw them totally and then a torrential downpour! The show goes for a rock concert atmosphere and I think Rock of Ages theatre breaks will appeal to anyone who enjoys We Will Rock You or has any nostalgia for the 1980s, which, after all, is most of us! Rock of Ages Theatre Breaks was originally posted at London Theatre Breaks blog
