The five-time Tony award-nominated Broadway musical, Rock of Ages, returns to the stage with a 10th Anniversary Tour at Atlantic City’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino! Performed in the venue’s ultra-modern Sound Waves theater, Rock of Ages runs from now until November 4, 2018.
Featuring the music of such iconic ’80s bands as Styx, Poison, and Europe, this 10th Anniversary production features a dynamic new cast which revisits the larger than life characters and exhilarating story that turned Rock of Ages into a global phenomenon!
In this musical — where ’80s hair metal meets musical theater — first, we meet narrator Lonny Barnett (John-Michael Breen).
Lonny introduces us to aspiring rocker Drew Boley (Anthony Nuccio) who meets wanna-be actress Sherrie Christian (Katie LaMark).
Drew gets Sherrie a job at Hollywood’s Bourbon Room club where he works as a busboy. However, Hertz (Andrew Tebo) and his son, Franz (Chris Renalds) — a pair of German developers — want to bulldoze the club, much to the dismay of the city planner, Regina (Kristina Walz).
It’s decided that to help raise money to save the club, Stacee Jaxx (Sam Harvey) — a rocker who got his start at the Bourbon Room — will do his final concert there.
High points of the show include Sam Harvey, as Stacee Jaxx, who performs a dynamic rendition of Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive.”
Also, Anthony Nuccio as Drew scores with the crowd on Steve Perry’s “Oh Sherrie,” complete with what feels like a 30-second long note!
Other can’t-miss sequences are the ensemble’s uplifting rendition of Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” — which has audience members unabashedly singing along — and the production’s grand finale, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” — which has the entire crowd dancing on its feet!
One of our favorite numbers features Chris Renalds as Franz and Kristin Walz as Regina doing an outrageous rendition of Pat Benetar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.”
In chatting with Chris Renalds after the show, he says, “I love this show because I get to sing Pat Benetar every night,” adding, “and I love the finale, too — for us, it’s like Soul Train where we get to rock out!”
Explaining, “We’re currently touring North America — we just opened in Boston,” Renalds acknowledges, “I’m having a really great time with this show; I love Rock of Ages because of the music!”
When asked why the show is so appealing, Renalds explains, “Audiences of all ages love it — some because it’s nostalgic — but others because it’s funny,” before noting, “plus there’s all this great music — it’s inevitable that every night, people will sing along!”
We also get a chat with Kristina Walz who plays Regina, the city planner, in the musical.
“I can’t believe I was cast in Rock of Ages,” states Walz, “I auditioned, and I was just my crazy self, and I got the role!”
“It’s fantastic to be a part of this production!” remarks Walz, noting, “It’s different every night — the energy, the feeling, the crowd.”
Explaining, “I’m a Jersey Girl — I’m from Ramsey,” Walz acknowledges that she is the only cast member who hails from the Garden State.
Declaring, “It’s amazing to be performing back home — I told the cast that the crowd was going to be amazing here in Jersey — and they were!” Walz concludes by exclaiming, “The ’80s are coming back. Come see Rock of Ages — it’s a blast!”
Rock of Ages has performances on Wed. Oct. 31 at 8pm; Thurs. Nov. 1 at 8pm; Fri. Nov. 2 at 8pm; Sat. Nov. 3 at 3pm and 8pm; and Sun. Nov. 4 at 3pm and 8pm at Sound Waves in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino located at 1000 Boardwalk, in Atlantic City, NJ. Tickets are $35, $55, and $75 and can be ordered by clicking on hardrockhotelatlanticcity.com.
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