Reviewed by Melanie Allen
Having seen this glam-rock musical in Las Vegas, I was delighted to hear it was coming to a venue near me. I love going to the Liverpool Empire as it’s so easy to get to, park and access. Last night was no different, and the staff were as welcoming and polite as usual. The debut show was a little late starting, but it was certainly worth the wait as the Empire was turned into a raunchy, rocktastic theatre of dreams.
Rock of Ages is a hapless love story based on over 25 well known popular rock anthems from the 80’s. It is set in LA around the Bourbon Club which is owned by Dennis Dupree (played by Kevin Kennedy and ironically Alec Baldwin played the same role in the film version of this! Kevin plays a great role and has come a long way since his Coronation Street days. Dennis is assisted in the club by Lonny Barnett (Lucas Rush) who comically narrates the whole show and interacts with the audience using cue cards and banter. Together they employ wannabe heartthrob rocker Drew Boley (Luke Walsh) as a busboy in the bar who meets sexy Sherrie Christian (Danielle Hope) after she arrives from Kansas seeking her fame and fortune. Sherrie becomes a waitress and the two of them hit it off. However, the life of the bar is to be short lived as a German father and son act, Hertz and Franz Klinemann (Vas Constanti and Andrew Carthy) decide to clean up the Hollywood strip and redevelop the area. In a last-ditch attempt to save the club, they decide to put on one last concert by rockstar Stacee Jaxx (Sam Ferriday) with disastrous consequences for all…
I didn’t expect this musical to be so funny (and I certainly don’t remember this humour when I saw it in Las Vegas). Franz the German son was fantastic and had the crowd in hoots of laughter with his camp displays of overacting. Some of the scenes where they ride on the tiny motorbike and the digger were just hilarious. My favourite though was Lenny who I’m sure adlibbed quite a few times and the audience just loved the way he spoke with ‘Sandy’ throughout.
The standard of singing was outstanding, the power behind the voices was immense and the provocative dancing in the strip club ran by Justice (Zoe Birkett) certainly made most male members of the audience open their eyes and mouths wide.
It was different to see a theatre show without the usual orchestra, but the onstage band gave an awe-inspiring display of rock and roll to compensate for this.
At the climax of the show the crowd were waiting for the first person to stand up dancing in the aisles and then once they did, the whole theatre erupted into dance for the finale with a standing ovation. Last night the city of Liverpool was built on rock and roll!
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £12 to £54 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).
Rock of Ages is at the Liverpool Empire from 23-27 October 2018, for more information or to book tickets visit www.atgtickets.com/liverpool or call the box office on 0844 8713017.
Liverpool Empire Theatre, Lime Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, L1 1JE | 0844 8713017
