Don't Stop Believin' - The BROADWAY "Rock of Ages" Love Thread- Page 9

[VocalLizzy]

Posted: 6/27/09 at 12:07am

Wesley's last performance in Rock of Ages will be Sunday September 13th at 7pm.

Lizzy

[frapperia]

Posted: 6/27/09 at 6:45am

Thank you, Lizzy. I'm from the UK and only just discovered him, so will definitely have to move my planned trip forward to catch him while I can!

[hmpeterson]

Posted: 6/27/09 at 8:47pm

Just saw the matinee today. Amy Spanger was out and Savannah Wise was on for her.

I really liked Savannah. I have never seen Amy but I saw the Tony performance and some of the You Tube clips from the Today Show, etc with Amy. I think I liked Savannah a little better. She seems better suited for the naiveness of Sherrie...Amy comes across more mature I guess. But Amy could be completely different on stage than in the clips....but Savannah was AWESOME!!!!

Actually the whole cast was great. I just had the best time.

If you haven't seen ROA and want to have a rockin' good time, GO SEE THIS SHOW!!!!!

BTW, have not been able to stop listening to the cast recording!!!!

[BlueforBroadway]

Posted: 6/27/09 at 9:43pm

A friend of mine is in NYC for the Hope and Possibility Run tomorrow in Central Park. He went to ROA last night at my urging.

He called at intermission and said the show was AWESOME! That made me so happy.

Friends here in Ohio are looking forward for a ROA tour.

Posted: 6/28/09 at 3:44am

Has anyone ever seen a Lonny understudy?

I can't imagine the show without Mitch Jarvis!

If anyone has seen Michael Minarik or Tad Wilson play the role, please give a review!

[MrJNLong]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 4:29am

OK, so, uh, I have a couple of questions for ROA fans:

What are your thoughts on:
1-the negative representations of African Americans in the show (the only 3 black characters in the show are a money-grubbing sell-out mayor, a money-grubbing sell-out record producer, and a female pimp)
2-the obvious objectification of women (nameless bargirls, numerous strip scenes that don't advance the plot, etc...)

Are these accidental oversights/coincidences? Statements being made by the creative team? Meant to be noticed to be ironic? Just thoughtless directing?

Yes, I know, the show isn't supposed to have any meaning, it's just supposed to be 'fun.' But, hey, it is attempting to be a piece of theatre, not just a rock concert.
Thoughts?

[lstbutifulgrl2]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 9:45am

I've seen Michael on for Lonny twice, actually my first two times seeing the show, so having nothing to compare him to I thought he was hystercial. I actually like both Mitch and Michael for different reasons. Their delivery in certain scenes is different which makes them both funny in their own way.

In response to MrJNLong's questions.

not by any means calling this a period piece... but the obvious objectification of women is how it was in the late 80s, look at any music video and most TV shows from that era and you can see that. as a female, it doesn't bother me.

[snarkywannabedreamer]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 10:09am

i think you would be hard pressed to find ANY people of color in the world of 80's metal to be totally truthful, but I know people involved in the show and the role of the Mayor (who also in the original concept plays the manager) was not written for a person of color but Andre Ward was so funny in his audition that they cast him in the role. (Off-broadway the role was played by a white guy). No racism was intended. The show is very open about how it takes cliches and stereotypes of the era and shines a light on them to show how ridiculous and silly they are... this is why the women are so over-the-top objectified. Fact is, that was how women were treated in 80s music videos and in the world of "rock groupies." the show just makes this behavior a cartoon... again to show how silly it all was.

[BlueforBroadway]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 10:39am

Maisey has been Justice since the beginning of ROA. I don't think anyone else could play that role.

The mayor was white off Broadway. Andre Ward is freaking hilarious.

I don't even think about the color thing.

As for the girls, it is as also stated above, a parody of 80's videos. Tawny Kitaen anyone?

[Kaykohl]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 10:47am

In response to MrJNLong, as an African American and a woman, I don't see anything negative about these roles or the actors playing them. The roles are all caricatures and no amount of relevance was ever intended.
Updated On: 6/28/09 at 10:47 AM

[Jersey Girl2]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 2:07pm

>>Has anyone ever seen a Lonny understudy

I saw Michael play the role too.
He was excellent.
I think it was his first time in the role and I thought a few of the lines were rushed- but aside from that I enjoyed his performance. He has a really nice voice.

[Mistress_Spouzic]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 5:28pm

***spoilers below***

MrJNLong,

Its an interesting question but I dont see the show in such harsh light.

Sure Justice is a female pimp, but shes often the voice of reason too, sharing her love story with Sherri, telling Drew that Sherri loves him. And wouldn't it be harder to swallow if the character was a white male, furthering the objectification of the women? Instead they have a woman playing the role with power over the other women and one who came to LA with a failed dream of her own... I think it makes her sympathetic and not a negative portayal. Im sure if her race is at all relevant (ie: in a character breakdown) its just a preconcieved notion on the type of ladies who can produce that powerhouse sound.

As already said the mayor/producer role was played by a white man off broadway and it works well either way, and doubt any intent was put into that character's race. Theres really only two differences in the results. When he enters and theyre playing that presidential office type music people laugh expecting him to be a jab at Obama, and then again when he says 'Von Colt is too ethnic', people laugh more there too.

There is another african american in the cast, shes a swing I guess? I've seen her go on as waitress #1, where again I saw little affect on the portayal, aside from this actress being slightly older than savannah who normally plays the role.

As for the objectification of women... Well, first Id disagree that the strip scenes dont advance the plot because one is the introduction to the lifestyle and all the girls and another is the motivator for Sherri leaving the strip club and a nice plot twist, but I digress. Do you think if the strippers and bargirls had bigger roles itd feel less like objectification? Because its nearly impossible to give everyone a character arc, still the show gave names & tidbits about lots of the girls and the one girl who we do relate to who turns stripper (Sherri) realizes its not what she wants in life, showing that stint in her life as hitting rock bottom. And of course theres Regina who despite being a bit eccentric does go somewhere grand with her life, she ends up as mayor, bringing another type of woman into the mix.

Ill definitely agree it doesnt give the best message about women, and I do scratch my head when I see a kid in the audience who looks no more than 8yrs old because Im sure a kid says "wow that chicks half naked" and comprehension ends there but I dont think its as bad as it seems on the surface either when you've got an audience who is smart enough (and I'll say it, sober enough) to catch the details.

And sure you could say its a parody and spoof of an 80s music video and be done with the argument but you dont have to go back 20 yrs to find these types of women either. If you watch Rock of Love on TV, theyre alive and well. Many of them strippers and proud of their sexuality and that they get to do something fun and sexy for work. One of those girls talked about producing her own porn as a means for empowering women... bizarre concept maybe, but if it works for her, hey whatever. Theyre wearing ripped up barely there clothes with dyed hair and renaming themselves to portay a caracature of themselves. (gee message board people dont know what thats like AT ALL!)


Updated On: 6/28/09 at 05:28 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 5:37pm

It's a show for straight dudes. Of course there are gonna be women in skimpy clothing.

[MrJNLong]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 6:11pm

Hmmm
I appreciate the thoughtful responses to my questions.
I'm a tad insulted by the last comment, considering I am a "straight dude." Do I have to be a mindless sex-machine to be a straight guy? Of course, I do understand they are attempting to get a different demographic to the theatre...and I appreciate that...I'm just sad that they felt that beer and naked women was the way to go about that. More a sad comment on society than anything else...
I will admit though that the women and black issues were noticed first by the girl I was with. But I felt they were good points.

Concerning it being a parody of 80s rock videos, hence the objectification of women: Hmmm Interesting. I guess I didn't see it as much of a parody as I did a glorification. But is there much of an argument that the objectification of women in the 80's was a good thing? I just didn't get the feeling from the show that they were saying "Hey, look at the objectification of women. Aren't you glad we got over that?" It came off more like "Hey, look at the objectification of women...weren't those the good times? Wish we could go back to that..." Which is odd considering it was directed by a woman.

Oh, and the reason why I felt the strip scenes didn't advance the plot was because they managed to gloss over Drew's sell-out moment in a short dialogue scene. But Sherri got multiple strip numbers to show how she had sold out. Up until that point I thought we were following Drew's character arc more than Sherri's...then all of a sudden it was the Sherri show as soon as she became a stripper. Odd writing I thought.

Interesting to know that the mayor/record producer track was originally a white man. I guess that was just an unfortunate coincidence then about the only black characters being sell-outs.

And yes, I do appreciate the character of Regina and her strength as a woman...but isn't the pronunciation of her name another subtle way of only seeing women for the sexual pleasure they can give?

PS---Loved the 80's music in the show.

[snarkywannabedreamer]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 7:41pm

sounds like you just didn't get it. If you were paying attention you'd see that ALL the characters sold themselves out... not just the black characters. (it's actually a commentary on 80s excess). And as far as the women.... The parody IS the glorification. THAT is the point. This was a culture (80s metal) that glorified their objectification of women. The show is comedically spotlighting a ridiculous time and attitude... not endorsing it. Again, if you were paying attention you'd see that those characters that indulge those excesses get punished or are victimized by them. Sounds like a touch of liberal guilt to me.

[MrJNLong]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 9:04pm

snarky, I would agree with you that I just didn't get it. That's the same conclusion I came to. Which is why I brought it up here. And also, I think I would say the problem was I was perhaps paying attention too much, as opposed to not paying attention at all like you inferred.

But in my opinion and from my observations (which could very well be wrong), if the whole point is parodying the gratification of women, then they simply just didn't do a good enough job. They didn't get their point across. I say that because it seems to me more men are leaving that theatre thinking "wow, I need to go to a strip club now" than thinking "wow, I need to objectify women less in my life." Maybe that wasn't the intention, but its what seems to be happening...

I do also recognize that lots of people are getting it, which is why I came to this thread to find those people who could help me get it more, so thanks!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 9:22pm

"I'm a tad insulted by the last comment, considering I am a "straight dude." Do I have to be a mindless sex-machine to be a straight guy?"

As a fellow member of your club, the answer is YES.

[mikem]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 10:35pm

Hey guys,
I went to the box office to confirm that Amy Spanger was
coming back this upcoming week, and the b o person mAde it sound like she wasn't coming back, ever. It didn't seem like that person was confused. It sounded like Amy has left the show. Has anyone else heard anything similar to this?

[Mistress_Spouzic]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 11:33pm

MrJNLong,

Maybe its semantics. Why do you feel glorification and parody have to be mutually exclusive? Parody doesnt have to mean that you walk away thinking wow those times sucked, a parody is just an "amusing caricature" of something else. If the show didn't make you laugh at it then I guess it didnt succeed for you, but you can't say it didnt succeed because you didnt walk away thinking you need to treat women better. It wasn't a piece designed to further the feminist cause, it was a look at the ridiculousness of rock n roll. Some of the strip scenes are the most ridiculous there- with two guys labelled Sleazy Producer 1 & 2 and later the last strip scene shows Sherri beating a guy up through her dance routine. If that makes you wanna get a lap dance, well thats cool I guess.

mikem,

If Amy Spanger is out on vocal rest pending a doctors approval, I could easily see why the box office would be hesitant to give a return date for someone specifically wanting to see her. Im sure they dont want to have to deal with ticket returns, which are generally reserved for above title billing, should she return late or not resolve her vocal problems. Illnesses are not exactly predictable, and it is up to her doctor. *shrug*

[lstbutifulgrl2]

Posted: 6/28/09 at 11:37pm

Amy isn't above the title, no one is, so getting a refund would be tough.

[Barney Stinson]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 12:36am

I saw Mike Minarik as Lonny. He was great. Despite saying the same lines, his character is very different than when Jarvis plays it. Not nearly as fay, which actually makes the duet even funnier.

[Rudy2]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 12:53am

YankeeFan, as another fellow member of your club, I wish to revise what you have said for clarification...

A straight guy has to be mindless to be a sex machine. :)

Updated On: 6/29/09 at 12:53 AM

[massofmen]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 9:49am

so is Amy Spanger back tonight?

[dramatothemax]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 10:36am

I don't believe so. Sad.

[Jersey Girl2]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 11:29am

I hope she is OK.
& I hope Savannah gets the part.