ROCK OF AGES, the critically acclaimed, five-time Tony Award® nominated Broadway musical, which continues to play to packed houses on Broadway, across the United States in its first national tour and in Toronto, will open at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday, April 9, 2011.
Following a massive casting search across Australia and New Zealand with the final audition in New York for the role of Drew, two brilliant young performers have been cast as the lead characters in this high energy 80's Broadway love story.
"There was little doubt having seen ROCK OF AGES on Broadway that the leading role of Drew was going to be one of the most challenging roles in musical theatre to cast. After casting the entire company we continued our search for Drew for another two months, when in Melbourne, having heard about ROCK OF AGES, Justin Burford walked in, auditioned and then flew to New York for the final audition with the Broadway creative team and producing group - we had found our Drew!" said Producer Rodney Rigby.
With a couple of ARIAs under his belt, an APRA nomination for ‘Song of the Year', record sales reaching Platinum status and sold out tours in Australia and internationally with his band End Of Fashion, Justin Burford will make his stage debut in ROCK OF AGES playing Drew. Born and raised in Perth, Justin began his musical career at age 17 and in 2001, he joined acclaimed group The Sleepy Jackson. He went on to form End of Fashion, taking on the role of lead singer, guitarist and principal song-writer. End of Fashion has released two albums and is currently working on a third.
Amy Lehpamer will play Sherrie. Amy's theatre credits include Malthouse/Victorian Opera's acclaimed The Threepenny Opera, The Production Company's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Follies, Eddie Perfect's Shane Warne The Musical. Amy is featured in the HBO/Dreamworks series The Pacific.
Producer Carl Levin said "We can't wait to open in Melbourne next year, and the Australian cast is just brilliant," whilst Matt Weaver, Producer said "Even when ROCK OF AGES was playing in a bar on Hollywood Boulevard we would dream about one day playing in Australia...it's a dream come true".
The Melbourne ROCK OF AGES will also feature Rachel Bickerton, Francine Cain, Brendan Coustley, Rachel Dunham, Alexander Ellis, Samantha Hagen, Lincoln Hall, Anthony Harkin, Melanie Hawkins, Brent Hill, Shaye Hopkins, John O'Hara, Jensen Overend, Thern Reynolds, Ellen Sutton, David Whitney and marks Michael Falzon's return to the Australian stage from London.
Tickets to the Australian production of ROCK OF AGES at The Comedy Theatre (240 Exhibition Street, Melbourne) go on sale via ticketmaster.com on November 29, 2010. The performance schedule will be Tuesday at 7pm, Wednesday at 7pm, Thursday at 8pm, Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm, and Sunday at 2pm & 7pm.
ROCK OF AGES on Broadway currently stars Dee Snider, frontman for the 80's sensation Twisted Sister, in his Broadway debut, now through December 23, 2010 at The Brooks Atkinson Theatre (256 West 47th Street). Snider plays the role of "Dennis," the owner of the famed Bourbon Room.
While perhaps best known as the lead singer of Twisted Sister, Dee Snider can also claim credit as the writer of their hits 'I Wanna Rock' and 'We're Not Gonna Take It', both of which are featured in ROCK OF AGES. His film acting credits include the cult horror movie classic StrangeLand, which he also wrote, and VH1's "Warning: Parental Advisory," with Jason Priestley and Mariel Hemingway. Amongst his many television appearances, he starred in CMT's hit reality show "Gone Country" and this summer saw the launch of his own A&E reality show "Growing Up Twisted." Dee has been doing radio in various forms for well over a decade now and his nationally syndicated radio show 'House of Hair' is heard on more than 200 stations in North America.
During his Broadway engagement, Dee Snider will host post-show "Rock Senate Hearings," which will occur every Tuesday night and feature Q & A's with special guests and ROA stars.
The show is written by Chris D'Arienzo (writer and director of the upcoming film Barry Munday), directed by Kristin Hanggi (Bare, Pussycat Dolls on the Sunset Strip) and choreographed by Kelly Devine (Jersey Boys - Associate Choreographer). Scenic design is by Beowulf Boritt, costume design is by Tony Nominee Gregory Gale, lighting design is by Jason Lyons, sound design is by Peter Hylenski, and projection design is by Zachary Borovay.
In addition to Snider , ROCK OF AGES stars Emily Padgett, Joey Taranto, Mitchell Jarvis, Jay Klaitz, Michele Mais, Josephine Rose Roberts, Paul Schoeffler, Derek St. Pierre, Jenifer Foote, Ericka Hunter, Michael Minarik, Julie Nelson, Justin Matthew Sargent, Matthew Stocke, Sarrah Strimel, Andre Ward, Katie Webber and Jeremy Woodard.
Rockin' in the on-stage band, ARSENAL, are Music Director/ keyboardist Henry Aronson, lead guitarist Joel Hoekstra (Night Ranger), drummer Jon Weber, bassist Winston Roye and guitar player Tommy Kessler. The Music Supervision, Arrangements & Orchestrations are by Ethan Popp, with Original Arrangements by David Gibbs.
ROCK OF AGES opened to rave reviews in Canada on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 where it is currently playing the legendary Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto and recently launched its first National Tour starring Tony Nominee Constantine Maroulis.
Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster.com/ 877-250-2929 or in person at The Brooks Atkinson Box Office (256 W. 47th Street).
The performance schedule is Monday at 8pm, Tuesday at 7pm, Thursday at 8pm, Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm and Sunday at 3pm & 7:30pm.
www.RockofAgesMusical.com
