Rock of Ages continues at the Milton Keynes Theatre until 2 October 2021 and then tours until 10 September 2022.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Rock of Ages storms the stage of Milton Keynes Theatre this week with plenty of glam, headbanging and cheesy ballads. With firm favourites from Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar and Poison, this jukebox musical packs a punch, but be warned the tongue and check humour isn’t for the faint-hearted.
Bringing its Broadway roots to the UK, Rock of Ages follows the love story of hopeful, small-town girl, Sherrie (Rhiannon Chesterman) and wannabe rock star Drew (Luke Walsh) as they navigate their rocky road to romance, alongside dreams of ‘making it’ in 1980s LA. Set in front of a backdrop of the seedy Sunset Strip, the focal point of the story is the famous Bourbon Room, where audiences are introduced to club owner, Dennis (Ross Dawes) and his hilarious sidekick, Lonny (Joe Gash), who also acts as narrator of this unusual tale.
In true pantomime style, villains, Hertz (Vas Constanti) and Mugger (Sam Turrell) threaten the high-spirited Strip with plans to destroy the iconic venues for a cleaner, more modern cityscape. This is where free-loving, hippy Regina (Gabriella Williams) joins the cast, fighting to keep the soul of the city. The comical character produces many a laugh from the audience, especially during her joint performance with Mugger of ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’ – the rainbow leotards are unforgettable in many ways!
The impressive set with three levels of staging consumes the stage, and a large screen cleverly transitions the scenes from club to backstreet. Combined with the rock‘n’roll costumes, or lack of costumes in some cases, the audience is transported back to the era of sticky floors, big hair and leather trousers.
Leading man and lady (Chesterman and Walsh) propel the story through hit after hit, but personally the show is made by the quick quips of Gash as Lonny. The standout performance vocally comes from Jenny Fitzpatrick as Justice, it’s just a shame that we don’t see more of her in the show. Praise must also be given to Kevin Clifton as Stacee Jaxx, who leaves the Strictly ballroom behind and fully embraces his role as the womanising, rather slimy lead singer.
Perhaps not a show that’s to everyone’s tastes, but it was enjoyed by a large chunk of the audience as the show ended to rapturous applause. What resonated with me as I left the auditorium was how much the cast appeared to enjoy their time on stage, which is refreshing to see after months of theatres being closed.
Hannah Grimmette
SHARE THIS POST:
Comments are closed.