Review: Rock of Ages (in previews)

Where: Shaftesbury Theatre, London

Previews: Until 27 September
Opening Night: 28 September
Great night out: for friends and couples, and those who don’t usually “do musicals”. Leave the kids at home for this one though - there’s quite a bit of sexual/drugs references and swearing throughout.
Morning after effect: singing “I Can't Fight This Feeling” in the shower
Recommend to friends: Hell yeah! (extend index and little finger in ‘rock out’ gesture)
Best bit: Dennis and Lonny’s heartfelt duet over the Fogmaster 5000 machine.


From first appearances, Rock of Ages, fresh from Broadway and now previewing at the Shaftesbury Theatre, may strike you as another run-of-the-mill jukebox musical. Basing an entire narrative around rock anthems from the Eighties could be a huge risk. But in this case, the risk has paid off extremely well.

Rock of Ages has been adapted for the London stage by starring British favourites Justin Lee Collins (famous for reuniting the A-Team, and for presenting his talk show) and Shayne Ward, winner of X-Factor’s second series. Those raising their eyebrows at this pairing needn’t be worried; Collins as Bourbon Bar owner Dennis Dupree makes a wonderfully gruff, aging hippy; Ward pulls off a hilariously narcissistic performance as anti-hero rock star Stacee Jaxx - no mean feat considering his relative inexperience on the stage. His singing is matched only by Oliver Tompsett, who plays angst-ridden romantic lead Drew.  But the real star is Simon Lipkin as Lonny the Narrator. In character, he is sex-obsessed, cheeky and provides a great comic foil to Dupree. As a narrator, he keeps the audience in stitches whether it be frequently targeting the front five rows with raunchy asides, or just passing through the scene.

From the outset, Lonny makes it clear to the audience that it is a musical, which immediately relaxes  those who are fearful of jazz hands and glitzy Broadway numbers. The premise of a  love story is also laid out straight away; the two leads, Drew and Sherrie have arrived in LA to chase their dreams of making rock music and acting, respectively but who fall in love despite some miscommunication. Both are instantly likeable, especially the naive Sherrie, played to vulnerably perfection by Natalie Andreou (standing in for Amy Pemberton).

A parallel plotline focuses on the arrival of two German property developers, who threaten the Bourbon Bar and the wider Sunset Strip, in order to phase out the ‘sleazy’ rock scene. The fact that the developers, Hertz (Rohan Tickle) and Franz (Sandy Moffatt), are also father and son inevitably means that there will be trouble down the line. Moffatt’s rebellious Franz channels a younger, version of campy Gil Chesterton in Frasier, almost manages to steal every scene he appears in, especially when making romantic overtures to female protestor Regina (pronounced Reg-yna), played with excellent singing and comedy by Jodie Jacobs.

The female ensemble cast are skimpily dressed and dance overtly sexually (hey, it’s rock and roll) but really hold their own against the main characters when singing and acting.

My only criticism would be that club classic singer Rachel McFarlene  is sadly underused thoughout as  the matronly brothel owner Justice. Comparisons can be drawn with the dragon from Shrek The Musical and Mama Morton from Chicago; only seemingly wheeled out for the jazzy numbers where a strong female voice is needed.

Throughout, the cast also makes a point of breaking the fourth wall with self-knowing references; just before the interval Lonny brandishes a copy of Musicals for Dummies before launching a cast-wide rendition of Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” - with jazz-hands thrown in for laughs.

The tracklist features mostly Eighties’ commercial rock tunes, chosen to keep the narrative flowing and the audience happy. No huge surprises here; the list includes Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead or Alive (sung with gusto by Ward), Slade’s Cum on Feel the Noize and Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing.  IIn fact, these wouldn’t be out of place in Supernatural, given Dean Winchester’s penchant for rock anthems.