Review: ROCK OF AGES by Melody Lane Performing Arts Center

Melody Lane Performing Arts Center's production of ROCK OF AGES is on stage now at Cultural Park Theater.

The show follows Sherrie Christian (Pepper Rhodes) and Drew Boley (Jeremy Garzon) as they fall in love with each other, with many ups and downs along the way. The show is narrated by Lonny Barnett (Theo Rosso) and takes place in the Bourbon Room on the Sunset Strip, owned by Dennis Dupree (Spencer Barney). Meanwhile, Hilda Klineman (Madison Tripp) is trying to tear down the Bourbon Room to develop the Strip, but Anita Bath (Sophia Albrecht) works hard to protest the destruction. This is a jukebox musical, and uses many famous rock songs from various artists to tell the story.

This is the high school edition of ROCK OF AGES, and the cast and crew put the show together in just a week. The show was directed by Dana Alvarez, with choreography by Sami Doherty and Assistant Choreographer Athena Belis, musical direction by Jeremy Garzon, and technical direction by Tyler Young.

It was definitely fun to see what these students put together in a week. They had a few issues, but that is understandable with the little time they had to put it together (and we also had a hurricane come through this week!). They had flashy costumes, a fitting set, high energy dancing, many well-known rock songs, and a lot of passion. They did their best to get the audience into the production. One note I'll make is that the music was loud enough at some points that I don't think the cast could hear themselves sing, which threw it off a bit, but they were evidently great singers when it wasn't quite as loud. I do really enjoy when shows break the "fourth wall" and talking to the audience, that happened a lot in this show. It really adds to the entertainment value and gives you a different perspective.

Check out Melody Lane Performing Arts Center's production of ROCK OF AGES! It is playing at Cultural Park Theater now through July 11, so you only have a few more chances to see the show. For more information and tickets, click here: http://melodylanepac.com/theater-dept/rock-of-ages-3/

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