WE BUILT THIS SILLY ON ROCK AND ROLL
Most musicals start with a premise, develop a plot, and then write songs to fit the themes. Rock of Ages flips the process by starting with classic rock songs of the 1980s (Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Poison, and more) and tying them together with a connecting story. One of the best known examples of a jukebox musical is Mamma Mia, but Rock of Ages succeeds more easily because (one) ABBA’s songlist, albeit long, is still limited compared to “all rock in the 80s” and (two) ABBA songs are often convoluted while plenty of rock songs are simple in content, making them more adaptable for a musical.
Rock of Ages debuted in Los Angeles in 2005 and in four short years landed on Broadway, running for over 2300 shows. Already an ’˜80s period piece in 2005, performing it in 2023 feels in no way dated, with costumer Brooke Aliceon clearly relishing the chance to revisit and exaggerate the glam-rock fashion of the 1980s.
Our premise is classic boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, and ’¦ and I’m certainly not going to tell you if the ending follows the usual pattern here! Sherrie (Amanda Blair) is just a small town girl (did you already just start singing Journey in your head there?) who has had it with Podunk life and runs off to Manhattan, where she is overwhelmed and almost immediately gets mugged. Rushing over to see if the dazed woman is okay, Drew (Chris Bona) brings the pretty young woman back the rock club he works, where club owner Dennis (Michael Harrison, recently so funny in Wildsong’s Spelling Bee) and his assistant Lonnie (Will Corkery) give her a waitressing job.
Drew just barely summons the courage to ask her out, but really fumbles the date and the potential couple struggle and part, facing various personal challenges that all lend themselves to one rock ’˜n’ roll song after another in their tale.
The show not only breaks the fourth wall now and then but, especially in Act II, does so in some unique, playful ways that tie into the fate of the characters. Lonnie, at times, serves as something of a narrator, including opening the show to set the stage for us and commenting on it periodically.
Despite all the fun in this show – and there’s plenty – it’s primarily an homage to the music it’s based upon. The struggle in reviewing this production is that it’s almost as if Act I and Act II each need separate reviews. Up to intermission, the singing quality varied tremendously. Some voices were too weak, some were off-pitch in places, and many songs could have been stronger purely by modulating keys to avoid straining. The gusto and joy was absolutely there, keeping the show quite enjoyable, but it’s odd that some fell short of nailing the songs they were saluting. In addition, underscoring music frequently drowned out spoken voices; one whole scene between two antagonists (Matt Sayre and Mykaila Istvanyi) was followed purely from context, as few of the lines were audible.
And then, like a football team that got just the right pep talk during half-time (at least that’s how it happens in the movies), they came out in Act II and just nailed it. We heard better pitch, sweeter harmonies, and mostly clear diction (although miking still could use a review by the tech team). What’s more, there were far more gags in Act II and they all worked beautifully. Silliness abounds and it’s delightful. Mr. Corkery’s John Belushi-esque style (always a pleasure to catch on stage) is given liberty to flourish. Intermission humdrums were replaced by an audience beaming with smiles as we sang along in the “Don’t Stop Believing” finale.
Beyond the singing and exuberant acting, an award should go to Brooke Aliceon for pulling off so much choreography on the tiny O.B. Playhouse stage (as well as to the cast for rising to no small challenge in her vision). If Ms. Aliceon ever gets to take Wildsong to the bigger stage she surely must crave, the results will likely be remarkable. In her third duty as director, she managed the show’s complicated blocking and pacing beautifully.
Note that this outing deserves between a PG-13 and R-rating for its content and simulated seÓ³ual activity. That said, it was refreshing in this age of political correctness and overt concern for performers’ feelings to see the show’s sexual interaction portrayed with — what appeared to be, at least — carefree abandon.
Chris D’Arienzo doesn’t take his book seriously and this program could easily be ruined by a company who tried to do so. Happily, Wildsong is clearly loving letting their goofy side shine and we get to bask in the glory of it.
photos by Brooke Aliceon McDougal
Rock of Ages
Wildsong Productions
OB Playhouse (in Ocean Beach) 4944 Newport Ave in San Diego
performance dates and times vary; see website for specificsends on April 22, 2023for tickets, visit Wildsong