Rock of Ages Musical Wiki
Contents
The Rock of Ages Musical Wiki is a collaborative project to create the most definitive, accurate and accessible encyclopedic resource for the Broadway musical Rock of Ages.
Introduction
Rock of Ages is a rock musical built around classic rock hits from the 1980s, especially from the famous hair bands of that decade. The musical follows the love story of Drew, a small-town boy, and Sherrie, a city girl, who meet at the Sunset Strip club where Drew works as a busboy and Sherrie is an aspiring actress. The musical features songs from bands such as Journey, Bon Jovi, Poison and Europe.
History
The musical Rock of Ages is based on the 1987 film of the same name. The musical was originally produced by Matt Weaver and Allan Williams, with a book by Chris D’Arienzo, and directed by Kristin Hanggi. It premiered at the New World Stages in New York City on October 1, 2008, and opened on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on April 7, 2009. The original Broadway production closed on January 9, 2011 after702 performances and 29 previews.
The musical tells the story of two small-town teenagers— Drew Boley and Sherrie Christian— who meet at Hollywood’s Sunset Strip in 1987. They fall in love to the sounds of classic rock songs from bands such as Journey, Bon Jovi, Poison and Whitesnake.
The original production was nominated for five Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Constantine Maroulis), Best Lead Actress in a Musical (Sherrie Christian), Best Scenic Design of a Musical, and Best Lighting Design of a Musical.
Songs
The following is a list of songs in the jukebox musical Rock of Ages, sorted by style and act.
Act I
“Somethin’ Bad” – Sherrie Christian and Justice Charlier
“Sister Christian” – Drew Boley, Dennis Dupree, Lonny Barnett and Nicki Marron
“Juke Box Hero / I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” – Franz Klinemann, Drew Boley, Dennis Dupree and Lonny Barnett
“We’re Not Gonna Take It” – Franz Klinemann, Drew Boley, Dennis Dupree and Lonny Barnett
“Don’t Stop Believin'” – Sherrie Christian and Drew Boley
Act II
“Can’t Fight This Feeling” – Drew Boley and Sherrie Christian
“I Want To Know What Love Is” – Justice Charlier and Franz Klinemann
“Renegade” – Franz Klinemann, Drew Boley and Dennis Dupree
“Here I Go Again” – Lonny Barnett
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Characters
The following is a list of the characters who have been confirmed to appear in Rock of Ages. More may be added as the musical develops.
-Drew Boley: A small-town boy from Oklahoma, he is the male lead and works as a busboy at The Bourbon Room. He falls in love with Sherrie Christian, a small-town girl from Kansas, and helps her realize her dreams of becoming a Hollywood star.
-Sherrie Christian: The female lead, Sherrie is a small-town girl from Kansas who moves to Hollywood in search of stardom. She falls in love with Drew Boley, but their relationship is put to the test when she achieves her dream of becoming a Hollywood star.
-Lonny Barnett: The narrator of the musical and co-owner of The Bourbon Room, Lonny is a former rock star who has seen better days. He now works as a bartender at the club and is trying to keep it afloat.
-Dennis Dupree: The other co-owner of The Bourbon Room, Dennis is an aging rocker who is also trying to keep the club running. He was once part of a successful band called Zeus, but he has not been able to recapture that success in recent years.
-Stacee Jaxx: A world-famous rock star, Stacee Jaxx is the headliner for The Bourbon Room’s final show. He is arrogant and self-centered, but he also has a softer side that is revealed throughout the course of the musical.
The Movie
The Movie is a 2001 American romantic musical comedy-drama film directed by Adam Shankman. The screenplay by Kristin Hanggi and Deborah Kaplan is based on the hit Broadway musical of the same name by Chris D’Arienzo. The film stars Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Mary J. Blige, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
The film follows Drew Boley (Boneta) and Sherrie Christian (Hough), two young people who meet on the Sunset Strip in 1987 and fall in love to the sounds of rock music. Despite the objections of her protective mother (Zeta-Jones), Sherrie pursues a career as a singer at a local nightclub called The Bourbon Room, where she meets rock star Stacee Jaxx (Cruise). Drew also works at the club as its bartender and is also Aqua’s lead guitarist.
As the film progresses, relations between Stacee and Sherrie cool off while Drew and Sherrie’s mutual affections grow stronger. However, when stifled ambitions reemerge between the two young lovers, their relationship begins to unravel. Meanwhile, The Bourbon Room faces impending foreclosure amid allegations of corruption against its owner Dennis Dupree (Baldwin) by city developer Paul Gill (Brand). In an effort to save The Bourbon Room, Dennis enlists the help of his former bandmate Lonny Barnett (Paul Giamatti) to put on one final show featuring Stacee Jaxx as its headlining act.
The Broadway Show
Rock of Ages is a rock musical built around classic rock hits from the 1980s, especially from the famous hair bands of that decade. The musical features songs from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Poison and Europe.
The show tells the story of Drew Boley, a small-town boy from Duluth who comes to Hollywood in 1987 to become a rock star. He falls in love with Sherrie Christian, a small-town girl who also wants to be a star. They meet at the world-famous Bourbon Room on Sunset Strip, where they try to make their dreams come true.
The Broadway production of Rock of Ages opened on April 7, 2009 at the New World Stages Theatre and ran for 2,328 performances. The original cast included Constantine Maroulis as Drew Boley, Amy Spanger as Sherrie Christian and James Carpinello as Stacee Jaxx.
The Tour
The first North American tour of Rock of Ages began on January 18, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada and concluded on May 8, 2011 in Toronto, Canada. The show then played in Australia for the first time, opening in Melbourne on June 2, 2011, before transferring to Sydney on September 10. The Australian production closed on November 27, 2011. The show then toured New Zealand for the first time, opening in Auckland on February 9, 2012 before transferring to Wellington on March 1. The New Zealand production closed on March 25.
Critical Reception
The original London production received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Michael Billington from The Guardian awarded the show 3 out of 5 stars, saying “there is no denying the sturdy professionalism of the enterprise or the skill with which it deploys its rather limited resources.” Dominic Cavendish from The Telegraph also gave the show 3 out of 5 stars, commenting that “the show isn’t laugh-a-minute, or even whistle-along-a-minute, but there’s something defiantly nostalgic and heartwarming about its faith in old-fashioned musical pleasures.”
However, some reviewers did not enjoy the show. Charles Spencer from The Daily Mail awarded the show 2 out of 5 stars, writing that “the trouble is that apart from a handful of effective moments this is a truly tedious show.” He also said that “it’s dispiriting to find so many fine performers including some excellent young musical theatre talent stranded in such an humdrum musical.” Ben Brantley from The New York Times was also unimpressed, describing the show as “broad and dull” and awarding it 1 out of 5 stars.
Awards
Since opening on Broadway in 2009, Rock of Ages has been nominated for five Tony Awards.
The show was also nominated for five Drama Desk Awards, winning two.
It won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Broadway Musical, and was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.
Trivia
Rock of Ages is a musical comedy-drama that premiered on Broadway in 2009. The show is set in 1987 on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, Los Angeles, and tells the story of a small town girl who falls in love with a big city rocker.
The musical features songs from 1980s hair metal bands such as Journey, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Poison, and Twisted Sister.
Rock of Ages was originally conceived as a movie musical by its writer/director Kristin Hanggi and producer Matt Weaver. The pair sent out a casting call for actors who could also sing and dance to rock songs from the 1980s.
The show received mixed reviews when it opened on Broadway, but was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
