Rock of Ages, a show featuring Eighties hits from Poison, Styx and Journey, made the leap to the Great White Way last night, April 7th, after a three-month off-Broadway stint.
The musical, which features onetime American Idol hopeful Constantine Maroulis and an onstage metal band led by Night Ranger’s Joel Hoekstra, uses familiar tunes including “More Than Words” and “Heat of the Moment” to tell the story of a wanna-be rocker who works in a legendary L.A. dive and chases the girl of his dreams while German developers threaten to demolish the Sunset Strip.
Broadway has been hit hard by the recession, but Rock of Ages producer Janet Billig Rich says the production is thriving thanks to low ticket prices and the music’s accessibility. The 30-plus crowd has “so many emotional memories attached to these songs,” and “from Behind the Music to Rock Band, these songs are in teenagers’ canon too,” she says (the full set list is available on the Rock of Ages Website). “We’re the musical dudes like.” Strippers pack the aisles, attendees wave LED lighters and swill beer in their seats, and unlike Mamma Mia and Jersey Boys, which feature songs by one act (Abba and the Four Seasons, respectively) Rock of Ages is a “mixtape musical” that draws from 20-plus artists, says its writer, Chris D’Arienzo
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