Cain Park Opens 2017 Season with ROCK OF AGES

The City of Cleveland Heights announces the regional premiere of ROCK OF AGES will be produced in the Alma Theater June 8-25 as part of Cain Parks 2017 season. Newly appointed Cain Park Theater Artistic Director Joanna May Hunkins will direct, with music direction by Jordan Cooper. ROCK OF AGES is a Tony-nominated Broadway musical that features a book by Chris D'Arienzo, arrangements and orchestrations by Ethan Popp and the classic rock hits of bands including Bon Jovi, Styx, Journey, Whitesnake, Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, and others.

Set in LA's infamous Sunset Strip in 1987, ROCK OF AGES tells the story of Drew, a boy from South Detroit, and Sherrie, a small-town girl, both in LA to chase their dreams of making it big and falling in love. ROCK OF AGES takes audiences back to the times of glam metal bands with big egos playing big guitar solos and sporting even bigger hair. The Cain Park cast features Shane Lonergan (Drew), Lauren Berry (Sherrie), Douglas F. Bailey II (Lonny), Phil Carroll (Dennis Dupree), Neely Gevaart (Regina), David Turner (Franz Klinemann), Connor Bogart O'Brien (Stacee Jaxx), Trinidad Snider (Justice), Kevin Kelly (Hertz Klinemann), Lavour Addison (Mayor/JaKeith), Tony Heffner and Grace Hunt (Band Singers), and Ensemble members Meredith Zahn, Natalie Girard, Brooke Turner, Alec Chock Irion. Swings are Tekla Gaughan and David James Grant.

The artistic staff is completed by Kevin Marr (Choreographer), Trad A Burns (Scenic and Lighting Designer), Tesia Benson (Costume Designer), Carlton Guc (Sound Designer), and Tom Humes (Stage Manager).

The original Broadway production ran for 2,328 performances, closing on January 18, 2015 as the 27th-longest running show in Broadway history. ROCK OF AGES was nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical. It also received two Drama League nominations as well as two Outer Critics Circle Award nominations. Since debuting on Broadway in 2009, it has spawned replica productions worldwide in Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom as well as several touring productions. Joanna May Hunkins has worked at Cain Park in various capacities over the past 20 years, most recently directing the critically acclaimed 2015 production of Godspell. She is also the associate director of The Musical Theater Project. As a freelance director/performer throughout northeast Ohio, Joanna has worked with Great Lakes Theater, The Cleveland Play House, Mercury Theatre Company, Ensemble Theatre, and Beck Center among others. Joanna graduated from Baldwin-Wallace University with a B.A. in Theatre and completed the graduate studies program in Arts Management at The University of Akron. She also attended The National Cabaret Conference at Yale University where she worked with multiple Broadway legends and Tony award nominees.

Jordan Cooper is the artistic director for Shining Star CLE 2017 and has worked at Dobama Theatre, the Cleveland Play House, Playhouse Square, Lakeland Civic Theatre, Cain Park, The Florida Repertory Theatre Company, Near West Theatre and the Cassidy Theatre. His favorite Cleveland theater credits include: Next To Normal, The Light In the Piazza, Violet, Into the Woods (Lakeland); The Toxic Avenger, Godspell, The Frogs (Cain Park); The Little Foxes (Cleveland Play House); A Civil War Christmas, Peter & The Starcatcher (Dobama).

Sponsors for the 2017 season include the Ohio Arts Council, Friends of Cain Park, Motorcars Honda/Toyota, Hyatt Place Legacy Village, and the Westin Cleveland Downtown. ROCK OF AGES production sponsors include the Cedar Lee Special Improvement District, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, and Big Fun. Cain Park, a municipally owned and operated summer performing arts park and one of the nation's oldest landmark outdoors entering its 79th season in 2017, is produced by the City of Cleveland Heights and is located on Superior Road between Lee and South Taylor roads.

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