Rock of Ages is a retro-rock musical with ol'-timey R & R from the '80's with good loose action and half-naked ladies dancing in the aisles. What's not to like? They have jig-sawed a pastiche into an almost romantic story as the plot. It's soft-edged when they construct a story based on the songs, though the numbers are hard-edged.
I brought with me Australian singer Chloe Walton, who grew up with these songs, and knew every word and melody. I knew none of them, so here are her comments on the show: "It's a blast! It brings in the new and the best of the past. The pop hits were delivered as if they had been written for Broadway -- just got here twenty years later. The clever intertwining of dialogue into song shows progressive writing, and I almost knew what song was coming and how it fit the narrative. It brought back memories of growing up in a somewhat awkward pop-culture era where clothes, hair and musical taste were loud and proud. It reminded us to dream the dream, endure the darkness, and be brave enough to sing about it."
For me, though, the simplistic story doesn't work, but the music and dancing (hot choreography by Kelly Devine) do. It's all flashily directed by Kristen Hanggi with spectacular costumes by Gregory Gale on Beowulf Boritt's imaginative set with super lighting by Jason Lyons, and, on Broadway, a lap dance -- I'm shocked! It's all a joyous romp.
