Rock of Ages
Book by Chris D'Arienzo. Arrangement and orchestration by Etan Popp.Director. Jim McMullen. Musical Director. Max Gambale. Choreographer. Rachel Thornton. Designed by Ian Croker and Jim McMullen. Canberra Philharmonic Society. By arrangement with Origin Theatrical on behalf of Samuel French. Ltd. Erindale Theatre. March 2 - 19. 2016
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
I have often commented on the
high standard of musical theatre in the National Capital. Under Jim McMullen’s
lively, tight and dynamic direction, Philo’s latest offering is no exception.
It’s hot and it rocks. It’s Rock of Ages,
the 80s tribute/send up musical by ChrisD’Arienzo and Ethan Popp. It’s wild. It’s
anarchic. It’s sexy and it’s ear-splitting fantastic. It takes us back to those
heady days of wild hair,loud sounds, and heavy beats of bands like Bon Jovi,
Def Leppard, Queen and Kiss, It was the age of hard rock and under Max Gambale’s
musical direction his band thunders out the sounds of a time when sex, drugs
and rock ’n roll blasted their way into the hearts, minds and bodies of a new generation.
It was the coming of age time of GenX and they were here to party.
Although
the music pays homage to the great sound of the 80s and Philo’s production
rocks with the energy exploding force of the time, the plot remains
traditional. Boy (Dave Smith) meets girl (Emma McCormack). Boy loses girl. Boy
finds girl and wannabe rock star Drew and wannabe actor Sherie live happily
ever after, after some rough times along the way. And of course there’s the
greedy developer, Hertz Klinemann, and his gawkish son Franz (Hayden
Crossweller), intent on demolishing the entire Strip along with its favourite
small club music venue, the Bourbon Bar, run by the leathery booze weathered Dennis Dupree (Ian
Croker). Through it all snakes the epitome of decadent and arrogant Rock
stardom, Stacee Jaxx (Will Huang) on a collision course to obscurity. It’s a
well-worn musical formula of love and greed and the search for one’s true self
in the glitzy glam, delusionary world of fame and failure. Philo tells it with
panache, colour, comedy and the explosive sound of the age.
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| Emma McCormack as Sherie and Dave Smith as Wolfgang von Colt and the Ensemble in Philo's Rock of Ages Photo by Pat Gallagher |
It makes a refreshing change to see a musical that is not from the Lloyd-Webber
collection or even the stunning Sondheim oeuvre, however successful these
musical productions have been in Canberra and at The Q. Without the talent that
drives this production, Rock of Ages
would be nothing more than a tiny pebble buried beneath the sand. Director McMullen, musical director Gambale
and choreographer Rachel Thornton have inspired their performers, musicians and
dancers with the spirit of this age of wild abandon. There are moments of
crazed hard rock (I Wanna Rock) with
Drew and the Ensemble and tender poignancy (The
Search is Over) with Drew, Sherie and the Ensemble. On Croker and McMullen’s
Broadway look set and under Liam Ashton, Eclipse lighting and sound’s electric
pumped disco/rock lighting design, the production on the Erindale Theatre stage
dazzles with a professional gloss.
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| Tim Stiles as Lonny Barnett with the Ensemble in Rock of Ages Photo by Pat Gallagher |
Although
a nominally amateur production, in that the performers largely hold down
daytime jobs and are not paid Equity rates, there are performances on this
stage that could hold their own on any professional stage. Tim Stiles’ Narrator,
Lonny Barnett, sets the scene with charismatic largess, breaking the fourth
wall and luring his audience in to an experience they will never forget. Love
interests Smith and McCormack instantly endear themselves to an audience with
their naive, innocent and awkward vulnerability.Will Huang’s Stacee is a
triumph of impersonation, the perfectly personified creation of the debauched
and decadent rock idol. Shell Tully’s Justice Charlier, the Venus Club’s manager
with her Siren’s voice of sensual Soul is the very
Madam of seduction. Hayden Crossweller reprises his comic talents that we saw
in the Q Theatre’s production of Grease.
And Ian Croker is the owner of the Bourbon Bar with access to the bar. That is
inspired casting and Croker plays it to his usual perfection.
While
singling out certain performers, this production is clearly an Ensemble piece
with strong performances supported by outstanding musicians, fiery choreography
and finely tuned direction. Above all, Rock of Ages explodes with pure 80s
inspired fun, and with the contagious music of the time still ringing in our
ears, we leave another triumphant production from the team that brought
audiences Cabaret, Evita and Little Shop of Horrors. And for something completely different,
audiences will have the opportunity to travel back in time, when Philo brings
you the Cole Porter classic, Anything Goes later in the year. It is obvious
that Canberra’s long standing musical theatre company is on a roll.