The Rock of Ages farewell tour reached Wolverhampton last night, and, once again, it proved to be an absolute wow! The musical that is a tribute to fright wigs, spandex, and music that can only be described as ROCK! has been one of the best nights you can have without being drunk for years, and now, in it’s farewell tour, we have one of the most iconic Dennis Dupree’s back in the cast, with Kevin Kennedy once again returning as the King of the Sunset Strip. I have seen Rock of Ages on numerous occasions, and have to say this is one of the great fun musicals of our times. Last night, at the Wolverhampton Grand, I loved it!

Opening with Quiet Riots version of ‘Come on Feel the Noise’, Rock of Ages starts high octane, and never lets up. The mixture of stories in the musical are all tied together by The Bourbon Room, Dennis Dupree’s legendary Sunset Strip music venue. It is here that wannabe rock star Drew meets wannabe actress Sherrie and falls in love, here that Dennis and Lonny rule the roost, here that rock star Stacee Jaxx finally leaves his ultra successful band for a solo venture (but not before driving a wedge between Drew and Sherrie in a toilet cubicle – ahem!), and here that the cartoon German’s Hertz and Franz Klineman plan to demolish in order to create mega sports shops, but not if the feisty Regina has her way. It’s a busy night, and all is resolved by the end, although not necessarily in the ways you might think.

The beauty of Rock of Ages are those wonderful songs, which are all classics that you know and love. Poison, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Bon Jovi, Extreme, Foreigner, Europe..they just keep on coming. The best are saved for the finales at the end of each half, with Whitesnake’s brilliant ‘Here I go again’ sounding just incredible, and Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ bringing the audience to it’s feet for a standing ovation.

The cast is just full of stand outs who are just perfect in their roles. The narrator Lonny (a standout performance from the charismatic Tim Oxbrow) has such fun ad-libbing and connecting with the audience (poor Joanna!), whilst the young stars Sam Turrell and Gabriella Williams are suitably sweet and winsome, but show a tougher edge as the musical turns darker, and both have powerful singing voices fully able to match the great songs. Cameron Sharp is superb as the debauched Stacee Jaxx, a raddled mixture of Dave Lee Roth and Axl Rose, wearing those skintight white pants and stetson with aplomb and turning in a scene stealing performance, particularly when riding a llama. Coronation Street Legend Kevin Kennedy is also superb, showing his class as Dennis with a series of knowing one liners. His scene with Lonny when they sing the REO Speedwagon classic ‘Can’t fight this feeling’ is the funniest, and yet most touching scene in the whole show, with a real pathos as well as laugh out loud moments. Vas Constanti, David Breeds, Jenny Fitzpatrick and Stephanie Chanos also deserve a mention as they add their charm and personalities to the cast in the roles of Hertz, Franz, Justice and the very funny Regina.

Rock of Ages is the ultimate, crowd pleasing musical with a soundtrack that is forever, brilliantly, ROCK!

ROCK OF AGES

24 May–27 May 2023

Click here for ticket information

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