Today's memorable Tony Awards moment for the ages comes courtesy of a former AMERICAN IDOL contestant-cum-Broadway leading man - Constantine Maroulis, who was nominated for Best Actor In A Musical at the 2009 Tony Awards ceremony for his role in this show - leading a cast of 80s mall-hair-ed New Jerseyians all armed with a song a prayer in a all-out performance from the Tony-nominated 80s stadium metal jukebox hit ROCK OF AGES.
Launching into the classic 80s Journey anthem made even more famous in the final moments of the New Jersey-set THE SOPRANOS, "Don't Stop Believing" as performed by Constantine, Amy Spanger and the rest of the original cast of the lovable outside-the-box musical comedy is the perfect realization of what was always one of those songs that somehow seemed destined for a theatrical milieu, but it was not until ROCK OF AGES that it actually appeared onstage - and blasted off. Now, with the forthcoming splashy big screen movie musical of ROCK OF AGES on the horizon - which, as Constantine related to me himself in our InDepth InterView (available here), he will be appearing in and singing in, though as a different character than his stage counterpart - this inspiring and hilarious crowd-pleaser seems poised to deliver the laughs and love story that has kept the show running on Broadway for almost four years and counting to an international audience in a whole new way. And, hey, that's big, man - really, really big.
So, before you catch the movie musical in cinemas next month, check out this seriously heavy Tony Awards clip of one of the show's best moments - "Don't Stop Believing" - as well as some cute and funny patter with the one and only Liza With A Z beforehand.As a special bonus, check out the trailer for the Adam Shankman-directed feature film adaptation starring Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand, Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta below.
And, check out some of the cast of the ROCK OF AGES movie - Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta and R&B queen Mary J. Blige - performing a song from the film on Tuesday's DANCING WITH THE STARS.
So, what is the song you are looking forward to most in the ROCK OF AGES movie musical? Is "Don't Stop Believing" the song you just cannot wait to see on the silver screen or is it another hair metal jam? What about Tom Cruise crooning "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "Wanted Dead Or Alive"? Or, better yet, Mary J. Blige infusing "Any Way You Want It" with some serious soul as only she can? We still have to wait a few weeks to see how it will all turn out, but ROCK OF AGES seems as though it could very well be a hit with Broadway babies, metal-heads and everyone else in between once the movie hits theaters - just as it was an instant hit on the Great White Way. Let's hope the film is as big of a knockout as the show was on the stage of the Tony Awards - just ask poor Bret Michaels!
