Review: ROCK OF AGES at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre is 'Nothin' But a Good Time!'

ROCK OF AGES at Broadway Palm, directed by Dean Sobon, is a jukebox musical that tells the rock'n'roll story of a "small town girl" and a "city boy" as they fall in love while chasing their dreams.

Much of the show takes place in the iconic Bourbon Room, a club that is set to be destroyed. All the local rock'n'roll fans are outraged by this and doing their best to save the bar through protesting and by hosting a fundraiser featuring Stacee Jaxx and Arsenal.

Lonny, who narrates a lot of the story, is played by Matt Michael, and he was excellent. He was so funny, and kept the audience captive through the whole show. One of the audience's favorite scenes was Lonny and Dennis (Victor Legarreta) singing "I Can't Fight This Feeling" to each other. Drew, an aspiring rock star, is played by Dale Obermark. He was fantastic in this role. I really enjoyed his acting, and his singing was very strong. Sherrie was played by Ellie Roddy, and I thought she was perfect in this role. Sherrie doesn't quite know what she is getting herself into, and I enjoyed following her journey, especially as she and Drew fell for each other. Roddy's vocals were also wonderful. Justin Wolfe Smith plays Stacee Jaxx, and he did a great job portraying Stacee's arrogant attitude.

Hertz (Robert Tully) and Franz (Nik Olson) are the father and son trying to remove rock'n'roll from the Sunset Strip in favor of "clean living," However, Franz is a fan of rock, and becomes swayed as he befriends Regina (Caitie L. Moss), who is protesting their plan. I loved the duo of Franz and Regina; they were one of the best parts of the show. The other cast members include J'Quay Gibbs, Kira Rangel, Holly Atwood, Asher Van Meter, Nicole Esposito, Frank Hughes, Madison Graham, Joshua Hames Crawford, Sophia Dewald, and Adrianna Michelle Scheer.

This show is full of well-known rock songs, which makes it so fun. You'll know most if not all of the songs, and they are done very well in the show, thanks to Musical Director JP Meyer. The Orchestra joins the cast on stage for the show, which adds another fun element to it. I also thoroughly enjoyed the dancing in the production, which was choreographed by Kerry Lambert. Other creative team members include Evan Adamson as the Set Designer, Russell Thompson as the Lighting Designer, Chris McCleary as the Video Designer, John P. White as the Costume Designer, Abbey Dillard as the Sound Designer, Abbie Garrison as the Light Technician, Karl A. Smith as the Stage Manager, Brian Enzman as the Casting Director, Dominic Lau as the Technical Director, and Marshall Pace as the Assistant Technical Director. They all brought the Bourbon Room to life on stage, and I enjoyed all the details.

I had a lot of fun watching this show, and you could tell the other audience members did too. I enjoyed how all of the songs in the show, which are each incredibly popular outside of the show and written by several different musicians, connected to tell a full story.

I'd definitely check out Broadway Palm's production of ROCK OF AGES while it's playing, now through June 25! It is not the most kid-friendly show, but Broadway Palm does have a kids production running currently as well (The Emperor's New Clothes).

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