THEATRE REVIEW: "Rock of Ages" at the Nederlander Theatre (Chicago, IL)
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On April 24th, 2019, I saw the first act of "Rock of Ages" at the Nederlander Theatre in Chicago, IL. This production was the Tenth Anniversary Tour, which was also a non-equity tour. Katie LaMark (Sherrie Christian), Anthony Nuccio (Drew Boley), John-Michael Breen (Lonny), and Sam Harvey (Stacee Jaxx) starred in the production. "Rock of Ages" features '80s music from iconic bands including Styx, Twisted Sister, Poison, and Whitesnake. It also features a book by Chris A'Rienzo.
From what I remember, I was in slightly better shape while seeing this show than I was while seeing "Falsettos." But I could be wrong, since I left this show during intermission too. "Rock of Ages" wasn't a bad show. It just didn't peak my interest. The cast members sang really well. I never saw the show before, and I never saw the film version. From September 21st through October 3rd, 2010, "Rock of Ages" made its First National Tour premiere in Chicago at the Bank of America Theatre (now called the CIBC Theatre), with Constantine Maroulis in the starring role.
Anyway, as intermission was drawing near, the cast appeared on stage doing "jazz hands." I'm not sure if that's was a recurring joke from previous tours or the Broadway Production, but they certainly kept bringing it up in this production. At one point, they made the audience do "jazz hands." I've never been a fan of shows that require audience-participation. Seeing this show was no exception. I'm just grateful they didn't make the audience sing along to any of the Rock songs. Then again, that probably happened in Act Two. Too bad I missed it.
Even though I wasn't exactly fond of "Rock of Ages" while seeing the show, I wish I had stayed for the entire performance. I feel like it's one thing to leave halfway through when it is a shoe I've seen before. But since I had never seen "Rock of Ages" prior to seeing the first act on April 24th, 2019, it doesn't really count as seeing the show in my opinion. The same goes for "Falsettos." So I try to write my imput about how I like the first act when it is a show at which I left during intermission. The cast of this production of "Rock of Ages" did fine. They were sprightly and funny. I laughed a couple times in spite of myself.
This production of "Rock of Ages" was a non-equity tour, as was the touring production of "42nd Street" that Kathryn and I saw three years before. I mention this because I found the scenic design of some scenes to be similar in both productions. Particularly, I am referring to the two-level structure that was mainly used (in both productions) for songs where the entire cast was on stage. The only difference in both productions (besides the genre of music) is that Kathryn and I stayed for the entirety of "42nd Street," while I left during intermission of "Rock of Ages."
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