Brad Wiebe, Aaron Walpole, Kale Penny in Rock of Ages, Mayfield Theatre. Photo by Ian Jackson.

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca

In the immortal words of Whitesnake “I don’t know where I’m going. But I sure know where I’ve been….”

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And, hey, there’s a big-ass Broadway musical at the Mayfield to take you there. Back to the hair and the hits of those halcyon ‘80s MTV years, one of the most trashified (and contagious) eras in rock music.

Rock of Ages, a spoofy mullet-levitating jukebox musical with nostalgia on its mind, takes its cue from Twisted Sister, and the existentialist mantra “turn the power up … I’ve waited for so long so I could hear my favourite song.” And Kate Ryan’s production, which populates T. Erin Gruber’s flashy triple-decker set design with 16 performers and a crack five-piece band (musical director Jennifer McMillan), wants to immerse you in the songs you can’t forget — in some cases try as you might, in other cases, songs you didn’t know you knew but you DO or songs you hate yourself for lovin’.

The spirit of the entertainment comes at you right away, with the pre-show instruction that “if you don’t turn off your cellphone you’ll look like a douche.”    

Anyhow, there’s no use just dipping a toe in shamelessness. If you’re going to have fun, as Ryan’s production well knows, Rock of Ages is a full immersion experience. This is a musical that’s knowing about its cheeky self-teasing (beyond the hair, of course). “Come on, the coast is clear,” advises Lonnie (the amusing Aaron Walpole), a denizen of the Bourbon Room on Sunset Strip c. 1987 — and “not just a rocker, I’m the narrator, the ‘dramatic conjurer’.”

Kaleigh Gorka and Kale Penny in Rock of Ages, Mayfield Theatre. Photo by Ian Jackson.

For one thing, this is a jukebox musical with a story — the classic boy meets girl/ falls for girl/ loses girl/ regains girl arc — that makes merry with jukebox musicals with stories. It might be the loudest rom-com of this or any other season. And unlike jukebox musicals (like Mamma Mia!) that are solemn about fitting songs into some sort of preposterous narrative, Rock of Ages is likeably breezy and self-mocking when it goes (dare one say it?) meta.

“Screw the writer!” cries Lonnie advising a dissatisfied character and tossing the Mayfield program. The hits of Styx and Journey, Twisted Sister, Foreigner, Poison among the rock aristocracy on a song list that keeps coming, are delivered non-stop, with real exuberance and skill by an aerobic cast with vocal cords of steel. They can really sing and really dance. And they give ‘er. Kudos to choreographer Robin Calvert, whose high-style (and raunchy) inspirations keep this large cast in motion, anchored in ‘80s allusions.

Back to the (timeless) story. Our shy hero Drew from Detroit, stage name Wolfgang von Cult, doing busboy shifts at the legendary Sunset Strip “temple” the Bourbon Room, has rock star dreams. And in Kale Penny’s performance he has the slightly beleaguered vibe of someone whose dreams have taken a bit of a beating. In the course of his duties, Drew meets Sherrie (Kayleigh Gorka), an exuberant aspiring actor who’s taken the train to L.A. from small-town Kansas with dreams of screen stardom. Could they end up together? Both actors, newcomers to the Mayfield stage, have great rock pipes, and conjure complementary airs of innocence in a tarnished demi-monde (lighting by Gail Ksionzyk and video design by Matt Schuurman).

Lauren Bowler (centre) in Rock of Ages, Mayfield Theatre. Photo by Ian Jackson.

Since there is a rom-com in the room along with killer guitar solos, there have to be obstacles to both stardom and romantic resolution. The villains of the former “plot” (to speak grandly of something meagre that Rock of Ages itself mocks) are Hertz and Franz, a father-son team of be-suited German developers with a Teutonic sense of order, and accents to match. Played by Vance Avery and Ryan Maschke respectively, both comically grave, they’re hot to destroy the authentic sex drugs and rock n’ roll soul of the Strip in the interests of making it clean, efficient and profitable (by putting in a Foot Locker). And a brigade of Save Our Strip activists, led by city planner Regina (Lauren Bowler), mounts a campaign under the Starship banner “we built this city …”

It is a measure of the general tone of proceedings that in the hands (and long legs) of Maschke, armed with Calvert’s choreography, Hit Me With Your Best Shot turns out to be one of the comic highlights of the evening.   

Robbie Towns in Rock of Ages, Mayfield Theatre. Photo by Ian Jackson

Yes, my friends, be very anxious: the Bourbon Room, run by aging rocker Dennis (in a convincingly jaded turn by Brad Wiebe), is in jeopardy. And so is the romance between Drew and Sherrie when swaggering entitled rock star and sexist jerk Stacee Jaxx, lead singer of the band Arsenal, arrives on the scene. Oh Sherrie, don’t do it! Robbie Towns is very funny in the role; his Dead or Alive is a hoot. And he’s decked out in showstopper fringed gear by costume designer Ivan Brozic, whose inspirations in the non-minimalist field of ‘80s kitsch, both in clothes and hair, are amusing in themselves.

At the Venus Room, the strip club where the disillusioned Sherrie ends up, worldly wise “Mom” (the always excellent Pamela Gordon) presides, and  Stacee gets his come-uppance. Oops, I fear I may have hinted at a happy ending that you’re not supposed to see coming.

In Ryan’s perpetual motion production, which was all ready to go three years ago when the pandemic struck it down, it’s an evening devoted to goofball jokiness, irony, and the entertainment value of your own past, as delivered by impressively first-rate musical forces, hot dancing, and great sound (Harley Symington). True, Rock of Ages is trashy, loud, and goofy; that’s what it’s for. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not a show about urban renewal. Just kidding. The point is that you can have your guilty pleasure guilt-free, high gloss, and with a cocktail. So cum on feel the noize.

REVIEW

Rock of Ages

Theatre: Mayfield Dinner Theatre

Created by: Chris D’Arienzo and the rock artists of the ‘80s

Directed by: Kate Ryan

Starring: Kaleigh Gorka, Kale Penny, Robbie Towns, Aaron Walpole, Brad Wiebe, Pamela Gordon, Lauren Bowler,  Brian Christensen, Jill Agopsowicz, Vance Avery, Ryan Maschke, Davis Okey-Azunnah, Dani Jazzar, Amanda Struthman, Christine Watson

Running: through June 11

Tickets: mayfieldtheatre.ca, 780-483-4051