Forest Park High School will part the curtains on “Rock of Ages” this weekend as students breathe new life into the hard-rocking tunes of yesteryear. Show times will be 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday with a finale performance at 2 p.m. Sunday in the school auditorium. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students, including those in college.
This production challenges the young actors to live up to the glamor of an iconic era of music. From glam metal to hard rock, anyone who has ever caught rhythm on the radio can expect to find some kinship with the characters on stage.
The “teen edition” will take the audience back in time to an era of larger-than-life bands, reality-defying hair, rapturous guitar solos and a certain peculiar mysticism that can only be captured in the moment. The Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical features several big hits, including selections from Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister and others.
The original Broadway production debuted in 2009 and racked up more than 2,300 performances on that circuit until it closed in early 2015. It has seen replica productions across the world, anywhere rock ‘n’ roll left its mark. It received a film adaptation in 2012 starring Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta.
Set in Hollywood at the tail end of the Reagan Administration, the 1980s have left an enduring mark on its musical devotees. Aqua Net, Lycra and Heavy Metal flow freely at one of the Sunset Strip’s last premier venues, where legendary rocker Stacee Jaxx takes the stage and groupies line up in a bid to secure autographs. Amidst the madness, aspiring rock star (and resident toilet cleaner) Drew longs to take the stage as the next big thing (and longs for small-town girl Sherri, fresh off the bus from Kansas with stars in her eyes). However, the rock ‘n’ roll fairy tale is about to end when German developers sweep into town with plans to turn this fabled Mecca of metal music into just another unremarkable strip mall. Can Drew, Sherri and the gang save the strip – and themselves – before it’s too late? Only the music of hit bands Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake and more hold the answer.
The cast includes Eli Berg as Lonny Barnett, Brice Austin as Drew Boley, Nicholas Lichtey as Dennis Dupree, Emma Hall as Sherrie Christian, Ava Widolff as Hilda Klinemann, Gavin Winkler as Franz Klinemann, Kenan Erwin as Stacee Jaxx, Lizzy LaGrange as Anita Bath, Amy Nelson as Justice Charlier, Kennedy Staton as Mayor, Mr. Joe Keller as Sherrie’s father, Ellie Hall as Sherrie’s mother, Stori Schaeffer as Constance Sack, Grace Andrews as Ja’Keith Gill and Miles Welp as Joey Primo. Ella Hopf, Grace Wendholt and Emma LaGrange play the role of waitresses. The crew also includes Kale Brames, Abbagail Collignon, John DeWitte, Lydia Devillez, Kelsey Hernandez, Rosalie Kerkhoff, Alexis Lasher, Haley Lorey, Aubrey Mullis, Tyler Oser, Brianna Perry, Serenity Schepers and Brooklyn Whitecotten.
