Rock Of Ages The Musical At The Regent Theatre, Stoke Review

Reviewed by H Chan

Last night I was privileged enough to see Rock of Ages at The Regent Theatre in Stoke. I love this theatre, the stage is big enough to hold some really good sets and a good amount of people without looking too crowded. The lighting and sound in the auditorium is fantastic. Everywhere feels bright and airy, although it was really warm.

When we arrived we parked a few minutes walk away. If you don’t know the area it is worth having a look at Google maps and planning where you are going to park in advance as the one way streets through the city centre and bus lanes seem to come out of nowhere. You can’t pull up right outside the front doors to drop off, but can drop off around the side of the theatre if needed, it is only a minute to walk.

Outside the venue we were directed into a short line to produce either our proof of Covid 19 vaccinations or proof of negative Covid tests. Once these had been checked we were able to show our tickets and enter the venue. The line did get longer after we were inside. It was busy inside too, but very clearly signposted so we knew where to go to get out of the way. Toilets were very clean, as were the bar and foyer areas. There were plenty of friendly staff around to help you to your seats. We sat in the stalls, Row K, seats 1 and 2. From here we could see almost the whole stage, the only little bit we couldn’t see was the top right of the stage. I’d happily sit here again. On our way to our seats we were given a little bookmark with a QR code on it, this was so that you could order your drinks via your phone, pay and collect without spending so much time in the bar area. A great feature I thought. You can also hire little opera glasses just in case you needed to.

The show itself follows a basic love storyline. Drew, played by Luke Walsh and Sherrie, played by Rhiannon Chesterman, they’re destined to be together yet kept apart due to circumstances. The wannabee rocker who works in a bar and the wannabee actress from the country. This story follows the time they met and their relationship development in a time of rock and roll in the late 1980’s. I loved the nostalgia and the choices of songs used. The playlist was one you’d expect to find in retro clubs with well known numbers such as The Final Countdown, Dead or Alive and I wanna Rock. The show is set on the Sunset Strip, mainly in The Bourbon Rooms bar and the Venus gentlemans club. Two European tycoons want to rip down the entertainment venues and build luxury apartments, but the locals want to stop them! There were a couple of characters who I thought would only have smaller parts but ended up having more to do with the show, which I loved and their interactions were so funny. I also particularly liked that there were no real minor characters, everyone on stage had their own role. Dennis Dupree, played by Ross Dawes had me laughing away, and the voice of Justice, Jenny Fitzpatrick, blew us all away.

One thing I only saw in the program in a very small list of names, but would have loved advertised properly was that the band on stage was live. I found this out when reading about the musical on the Regent Theatre website and had to go back through the program to find them. The band were brilliant and definitely deserved a lot more credit. To be honest I read a few reviews for the show before going myself and I feel that many are quite unfair. When you go to a show such as this you don’t expect a complicated storyline, but a bit of fun with some well known tracks thrown in which is exactly what you get. I found the jokes and situations the characters found themselves in hilarious, but in some cases you need to find humour in portrayal of stereotypes. There are quite a few sexist jokes and the ladies in tiny shorts bending over or riding across the stage to provoke a reaction from other characters, if you don’t find the inclusion of these in the musical amusing then this isn’t the show for you. I found the way the characters behaved to match my expectation of the 80’s rock and roll scene in the USA. I did overhear someone comment on the way that the ladies in the show were portrayed, having doors slammed in their faces and having sexual jokes made about them which yes is not OK however the characters are representing different people in a different era and in this context, for the sake of the storyline I didn’t think it was an actual attack on women at all. Merely storytelling.

Although everyone played their parts really well, their singing voices simply outstanding, I did feel a couple of cast members deserved a little more stage time and a bigger part in the story. Stacee Jaxx in particular played by Kevin Clifton of Strictly Come Dancing fame. I felt his character was a little rushed and although he was meant to portray a stereotypical 80’s Rock legend, his character often hinted at there being much more to his story and I would have liked to see this explored. Another ten minutes added to the show would not have been detrimental in this case. Similarly with Drew, who’s love story was the focus of the storyline. Luke Walsh had an incredible voice, able to hit long and high notes, he belted out those 80’s classics and put his own spin on them but I felt his character in the second act was rushed to make way for other things going on in the show.

For me the star of the show was Lonny, played by Joe Gash. Lonny was just incredible, cheeky and loud, he reminded me of the character Klaus from The Umbrella Academy mixed with Jack Sparrow. He often broke the fourth wall, encouraging audience participation and talking to those on the front row. He singled out one lady in particular and spoke to her regularly throughout, even coming in with her name on a placard at one point, which she found absolutely hilarious and the audience loved it. I can see how this might be taken the wrong way by some, so it is something to be mindful of when choosing seats near the front. When he narrated and spoke to us all, it fit in so perfectly with the musical and I believe it wouldn’t have been as good a show without him doing this. I had two favourite tracks, not because of the songs but because of the show and what was happening on stage! I loved Hit me with your best shot, sang by the son of tycoon Hertz (Vas Constanti) Franz played by Andrew Carthy and activist Regina (Gabriella Williams) and I can’t fight this feeling, sang by Lonny and Dennis Dupree.

I loved how the cast had the audience standing at the end, singing and clapping along. It was just an enjoyable atmosphere and I couldn’t see a single person not out of their seats with a big grin on their faces.
With some of the jokes being very inappropriate, I wouldn’t recommend this show for younger children but teenagers would find it funny. There were a lot of references to sex and drugs and many sexual actions acted out. Look out for the mini moped scene, I could not stop laughing.

The auditorium cleared very quickly out into the street. There were no bottle necks or obstacles, and although no ramps outside the seating area there were lifts for those with limited mobility. Outside was very well lit.

Overall I gave this a 4.5 out of 5! The show received 5 stars from me, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would have no problem with seeing it again. I only took off half a star as the foyer area was quite crowded when we arrived and the line to get in did get longer after we had collected our tickets. Because of this the show started almost ten minutes late, I understand proof of Covid testing will take people longer to get in but I also feel it was a shame to keep everyone who had showed up on time waiting.

The show runs until Saturday November 6th, with tickets starting from only £13. These can be purchased here https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/rock-of-ages/regent-theatre/calendar/2021-11-04. The show running time is 2 hours and 25 minutes including the interval.