The Tenth Anniversary Tour of Rock of Ages, brought the Hippodrome to it’s feet! For those of you who have never seen “Rock of Ages” the stage show, this is not the same premise as the movie of the same name. Yes, a lot is the same, but there are vast differences. Characters and plot lines, but who really cares about that when you’re rocking out to killer 80’s tunes!? This show is fun from beginning to end. It’s rocktastic!

This Tenth Anniversary Tour is phenomenal! Without a doubt this is the best cast I have ever seen! I have attended the live show many times and it’s always fun, but I much preferred the movie, when it came out; until this production. This cast gave life to characters that have been thrown away in the past. Hertz and Franz, played respectively, by Andrew Tebo and Chris Renalds, are typically characters that I don’t care about. Tebo and Renalds brought actual dimension and expert talent and magnified these characters in a way that I’ve never seen before. Tebo has a fantastic singing voice and Renalds hot notes that I don’t even remember from previous performances.

Our leads, Drew and Sherrie give very convincing performances. Drew, portrayed by Anthony Nuccio, has an amazing voice. He is exceptional at his long notes, to say the least and plays the character very well. Katie LaMark as Sherrie doesn’t strike me the same way. Her belt is unreal. She has real power that you don’t expect. Her head voice however is an aquired taste. If they ever made a rock musical centered around The Little Mermaid, this is the gal to cast! I think that both of them did their best over-acting (which the show calls for) together. The tongue-in-cheek antics of the stage show would not be complete without our narrator/sound guy, Lonny, brilliantly played by John-Michael Breen. Breen slays this character with seeming ease! Trust me, there’s no ease about it! This character is another that I have hardly noticed in the past, but Breen has made Lonny my favorite of the show now! His voice is a-maz-ing! His acting alone is going to take him very far, but the singing is rock to the enth degree. I can’t wait to see what he does next. He creates a larger character than what was written and doesn’t over run anyone but adds to the entire production. I can’t say enough!

Kristina Walz is another cast member who makes a real mark with a throw away character. Her singing is awesome and I really enjoy her depth of character. Our Stacee Jaxx (Sam Harvey) did not disappoint either! Harvey was exactly the rock god that he needed to be. Dripping with sex appeal and unreal notes, he’s perfection. This whole cast brings their A-game.
If can catch this production, you really should!

For more information on “Rock of Ages, The Tenth Anniversary Tour” go to: www.rockofagesmusicaltour.com
And for more information on The Hippodrome’s season, go to: www.france-merrickpac.com

About The Author

Denise A.

Theatre/Concert Reviewer

A member of the Actors’ Center since 2000, she is a professionally trained actor, singer and dancer, she has graced stages all over the country with various musicals and plays, receiving many awards and accolades. She was an award-nominated host for Eclipse Magazine TV and has also been seen on such shows as The Mickey Mouse Club, Homicide: Life on the Streets, and Ally McBeal. She is a professional magician’s assistant, who has worked with Carnegie and Bradley Fields. Denise has also done her share behind the scenes with many projects. Aside from choreography, she’s been doing costuming and makeup (award winning) for more than a decade. She has been a writer since middle school, mostly short stories and poetry. As English was a favorite subject always, she easily took to journalism courses in high school, followed by college. Her writing has spanned many different markets. In recent years, she has been co-authoring an original musical that she hopes gets to see the light of day 🙂

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