Review: MAD Theatre of Tampa Presents ROCK OF AGES at the Shimberg Playhouse in the Straz Center
Rocks On Until Feb. 2nd!
“Rise up, gather 'round/Rock this place to the ground/Burn it up, let's go for broke/Watch the night go up in smoke/Rock on…” --from Def Leppard’s “Rock of Ages,” a song not included in the musical of the same name
“Man, back in the day, if a fella had a dream, a fifth of Jack and a decent amount of hair, there was nowhere else to be!” --from “Just Like Paradise/Nothin’ but a Good Time”
“I miss the 1980s,” bemoaned the Gen Xer in line in front of me for MAD Theatre of Tampa’s ROCK OF AGES. “The music, the movies.”
“And we still had an attention span,” I added. “Nowadays everyone’s on their phone all the time. You’ll see a family of four, seated at a restaurant, completely quiet, their heads bowed down looking at their phones.”
“And they never look up,” the lady said. “No one talks to anyone anymore. It’s all social media these days. The 1980s was a simple time.”
“A simpler time,” I corrected her.
No decade is perfect, and the 1980s, fun as they were, certainly was up to its ears with a plethora of problems: “Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz,” as Billy Joel sang in “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” But it was the last decade of so much unadulterated fun. Turn on NBC on a random Thursday night and you get, in a row, “The Cosby Show,” “Family Ties,” “Cheers,” “Night Court” and “L.A. Law.” Go to the movies, and you’ll find Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Evil Dead II or Blue Velvet (David Lynch, RIP). Turn on the radio, and there’s Whitesnake or Pat Benatar or Def Leppard. It was also the decade of pop’s holy trinity—Prince, Michael Jackson and Madonna, all at their peak. If you’re ever lost in doldrums or having a bad day, tune into Sirius’ 80s on 8 and let the waves of good cheer--Katrina and the Waves or Level 42 or Nu Shooz--splash over you.
The 1980s could really be seen as the Second Coming of the Golden Age of Rock, a Big Hair Band Paradise (or almost paradise), with heavy drums, galvanizing guitars, sweaty shirtless lead singers and girls, girls, girls. How do you refrain from smiling when you live in a world surrounded by the sights and sounds of Def Leppard, Ratt, Winger, Guns N Roses, Skid Row, Warrant, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Poison, Stryper, and of course Motley Crew? Add to that list other rock bands known for their Top-10 power ballads--REO Speedwagon, Journey, Foreigner, Night Ranger--and you have a decade that, like rock, will never die
ROCK OF AGES, the rollicking and rocking jukebox musical written by Chris D’Arienzo with arrangements and orchestrations by Ethan Popp, celebrates this. It’s a balls to the wall, empty-headed but big-hearted musical set in the 1980s that we need as 2025 begins. We’re only a couple of weeks into the new year and already the world is on fire (quite literally, in L.A.). And the future seems scary and bleak for many Americans as “the final countdown” to January 20th looms. So we need to look back sometimes and, like that Gen Xer in front of me in line, embrace those more carefree days. And the 1980s turn out to be the perfect epicenter for this nostalgia, the last days of pure joy (“The Reagan Era!” the narrator of ROCK OF AGES shouts early on). The music is like an oasis in our country’s rather torturous timeline.
MAD Theatre’s ROCK OF AGES, currently playing at the Shimberg in the Straz Center, is a blast of goofy good cheer. In a year where we need to find the joy wherever we can, this show--inane as it is with some issues in the specific production that I ultimately question--delivers. It’s a f*ckload of fun!
Using all the great rock anthems of the 80s to tell its tale, ROCK OF AGES features a wannabe singer, Sherrie Chrisian, who travels to Los Angeles from her small hometown (“337 Waffle Houses away”). She eventually falls for Drew, a busboy in Hollywood’s legendary Bourbon Club who is also an aspiring rocker. Sherrie and Drew must avoid the various obstacles out to destroy their love, especially when it’s threatened by rock god Stacee Jaxx. At the same time, in a plot device more 1950s than 1980s, the Bourbon Club might be closed due to German developers who want to erase the era’s “sex, drugs and rock n roll” mantra for a cleaner, i.e. more boring, alternative. Twists and turns abound, things run amuck and several 80s mash-ups are sung, and everything eventually comes together at the end as the cast bursts into Journey’s iconic “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
It's silly, a hard-rockin’ piffle, utilizing the 1980s songs to bring about the exuberant feeling of a long lost decade. If you’re looking for something Strindberg-serious, then you’ve ventured into the wrong show.
There’s a This is Spinal Tap vibe to ROCK OF AGES, and our likable narrator, Lonny Barnett, brilliantly portrayed by a newcomer to our area stages, Brian Maxwell, plays into this. Wearing a “Camel Toe” t-shirt, he brings out both the schlub side of the part as well as the rock n roll energy, all of his zingers perfectly timed as he breaks the fourth wall and flirts with the various ladies in the audience. There’s one instance where he pantomimes his character’s large endowment (BDE) that’s just so very funny.
Marcus Blake as Dennis Dupree, former rocker (Foghat) and owner of the Bourbon Club, is a mammoth presence onstage, bigger than life, donning a long black wig and Fu Manchu facial hair. It took a short time for him to get comfortable in the role, but he soon became an audience favorite, even though (to me) he sometimes resembled a wigged undercover cop. But he’s so much fun onstage, pushing himself and sporting a killer singing voice, that not even death can keep his character from rocking in the hereafter.
Sydney Beck as Sherrie is always a joy onstage, with a glorious singing voice. I like that she and her boyfriend have matching hairstyles. TJ Howsare is an amazing find as Drew; they are the only member of the cast who legitimately looks like an 80s rocker. In “Oh Sherrie,” they hit a note that is insanely long. And when Drew and Sherrie ultimately kiss at the end, an audience member shouted “YES!” like he was at his own daughter’s wedding.
Heather Lynn Spradlin, one of our area’s finest singers, is terrific as Justice Charlier, strip club owner; in her part of “Harden My Heart,” she stops the show, wonderfully so, with a belt that knows few peers. It’s been years since I saw Ms. Spradlin onstage, and she is certainly a welcome sight here.
Isabella Maria Falber is outstanding as Waitress #1. Wearing a Def Leppard t-shirt, she gets a few lines to belt and shows off some powerful pipes. What a voice!
Lauren Dykes makes the most of the part of Regina, the city planner who stands in the way of the baddies who want to close the club. Jay Morgan is strong as the antagonist, Hertz Klinemann, and Max Carley gets to show off terrific comic timing as his son, Franz. They all get their standout songs (and with his heartfelt rendition of “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” Mr. Morgan never sounded better).
The entire ensemble is fire as they sweat and grind and bounce to the best of Eighties rock. It’s quite an obvious workout, and they all get their moments to shine: Drew Eberhard, Jo Chandler, Tyler Walker, Susan Black, Carlos Santiz, Jules Rector, and an incredible dancer, Dioscar Montesino.
My vote for Best in Cast belongs to an ensemble member, Taylor Skolnick. Donning a Heavy Metal t-shirt and facial piercings, she embodies the power of rock n roll. It’s a youth’s game, and she is always in character, an electric presence as she sticks out her tongue and gives us the sign of the horns (the rock n roll salute). She’s always lighting up the stage and standing out without even trying. To use the Spinal Tap meter, if the rest of the cast may be at a 10, she’s always at an 11.
There is one feat of casting that must be addressed. Stacee Jaxx, lead singer of Arsenal, is one of the more memorable characters in ROCK OF AGES, sort of an amalgam of Axl Rose and Jim Morrison. He’s catnip for the ladies and the men idolize him. But MAD Theatre’s casting of the part leaves us scratching our collective heads, running the gamut from intriguing to entertainingly train wrecky. Casting a female in the role, one who does not physically embody this towering, crotch-grabbing rock god ideal, and changing the gender entirely, makes this a highly questionable stunt. This is no reflection of Jen Martin, a local stalwart and major talent who plays the role so fiercely that you almost forgive the decision.
But it doesn’t change the fact that this casting absolutely alters the storyline. Make no mistake, this is a Stacee Jaxx like no other. Imagine a diminutive Divine in her punkish Female Trouble days, with a Brit accent like Edina's from Ab Fab, leading a group not unlike Winger. It’s such odd casting that viewers must suspend their disbelief quite a long way to see this as a groupie-groping rock star who gets one of the show’s best songs (“Wanted Dead or Alive”). The audience seemed to allow it the night that I attended, but I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief any further. It surely played into the camp anything-goes elements of the production, but it also messed with the plot: Sherrie sharing the night with Stacee now brings on even more layers to the story if you want to seek them out. But you can’t get past the oddness of the insane casting choice.
Still, Ms. Martin is ferociously funny, and she hits some stunning vocal notes, but the part comes across just so very strange here. Like Totie Fields fronting Judas Priest.
The show started off rather shaky and messy, the fine choreography needing a bit more tightening. There are sheer moments of inspiration—a gospel choir in “Heaven”; a ribald “Pour Some Sugar on Me” set in a strip club; the creative pantomiming of a car—but there’s a general messiness as well, which is fine for this type of show. It’s a party, and some parties are messier than others (some of my favorite parties are the messiest ones).
The vocals are wonderful, such as the harmonies in “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” and the music is galvanizing, especially with the band onstage. “Kick-ass Reed Queen” Julia Ford is the music director, and her band rightfully rocks it through the night, all of them with a little bit of welcome attitude and sass: Ms. Ford on reeds, Mark Warren on guitar, Alex Pasut on bass, Nicholas Remy on drums, and Xander McColley on piano.
Mike Buckner’s set is a winner, a very clever use of the intimate confines of the Shimberg. . It has a rundown basement look to it, a seedy bar, with neon lights hanging on the walls and a gigantic guitar painted on the floor. Show posters adorn the scenery: The Pretenders, Mott the Hoople. A license plate hangs from a wall: OUTATIME. Joshua Eberhart’s evocative lighting helps set the party-hardy mood.
The costumes work well, but they also come across as an 80s theme party. Sometimes I asked myself: Is it a parody, looking down on this type of music, or is it a loving salute, celebrating it? Is it Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” or is it Pat Boone’s cringy “In a Metal Mood”? The lines get blurred at times.
Sound was sometimes an issue, especially the feedback that kept rumbling the floors. It’s like the opening of the Beatles “I Feel Fine” played over and over, interrupting some of the songs at a most inopportune time.
And then there is the audience, which on the night I saw it might as well be included as another cast member. Forget the audiences singing along to the movie Wicked; nothing could compare to what we experienced here. On the night I attended, ROCK OF AGES had the audience thinking they were partying outside, singing along (loudly) to their favorite songs. Some of the Gen Xers there were just quietly mouthing the words, but others were singing ultra-loud, sometimes louder than the big hair band members on stage. This was especially apparent during “More Than Words.” But it’s such a party atmosphere, who cares? And the audience grew louder with this singalong as the night went on (alcohol-fueled, of course). The metal-headed joy became infectious. It’s like the messiest, kick-assiest karaoke night ever.
Director and choreographer Jessica Berger Vitalo does a magnificent job. She understands the task at hand: Get the audience to forget the horrors outside the theater that await us. To Escape (which also happens to be the title of a Journey album).
There’s a moment after the curtain call, where the audience stood and the cast jumps up and down, all singing along to “Don’t Stop Believin’.” It’s a spectacular moment, where the cast and audience merge as one, the joy being so contagious that we don’t want it to end. I didn’t realize how much we need shows like ROCK OF AGES to forget all our troubles and get happy. But we do. Now more than ever, so don’t miss out on all the frolicking fun.
MAD Theatre’s ROCK OF AGES plays at the Shimberg in the Straz Center until February 2nd.
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