ROCK OF AGES Reviews- Page 5

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 4/8/09 at 11:26pm

We could list the countless shows that closed in the red with rave reviews. While Rock of Ages has more mass appeal than Passing Strange, I wouldn't, at least in this economy, call it a hit until the producers announce they've recouped.

[SINGASIMPLESONG]

Posted: 4/9/09 at 4:47am

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

SUCK IT HATERS. ROCK OF AGES IS A HIT. RECOUP THIS.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 4/9/09 at 8:06am

Good lord, why do all the review threads recently end the same way, the same person stalking the one and insulting them.

[Hest882]

Posted: 4/9/09 at 11:04am

Bloomberg VERY negative.

"?Rock of Ages? is innovative even for the most experienced critics: For the first time, we are asked to review Noise. Not pure noise, to be sure, but noise encroached on by a smattering of unmusical music, stultifying lyrics, banal dialogue and a story that carries triviality to new heights, or lows. It is impure noise, against which the best earplugs offer only partial relief."
Bloomberg ROA Review

[CSonBroadway]

Posted: 4/9/09 at 11:08am

SUCK IT HATERS. ROCK OF AGES IS A HIT. RECOUP THIS.


It is not a hit and won't be for a long time if they are making a little above 200K a week.

[LadyDramaturg2]

Posted: 4/9/09 at 12:44pm

Re: WRONG reviews:
Sometimes people don't seem to see the same show that I saw. I'm tempted to say, "boy, you got it WRONG," but I try to say, "wow, I don't agree," or (more-aggressive), "you just didn't GET IT."

Re: ACTUAL reviews:
YAY! to Variety for singling-out the Orchestrator: "Arranger-orchestrator Ethan Popp does a nifty job overlapping thematically related songs to further the flimsy plot..."

and YAY! to this sentiment from AP: "Spanger...is perhaps the cast's most polished, all-around performer." 'cause I think she is the BEST!

YAY! to a new musical that feels like a HIT, whether it attains the recoupment-related definition or not. Congratulations to the successful creative and producing team who achieved it. It feels good.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/9/09 at 12:59pm

"The show straddles a delicate balance between openly mocking the silliness of that whole, old scene and laboriously giving it a blow job. It's loving, but not overwrought. Poking fun, but not mean. And it's just really fun. If you have a friend or surly younger brother in town who hates Broadway shows but kinda secretly wants to see a Broadway show, you could definitely do worse than this. Charles Isherwood agrees!"

"The whole party left me feeling just a bit sad?sure there were crazy ladies drunkenly clapping and whooping during the show, but there in the safe confines of Pretend Land, it all seemed OK, it was kicky good fun. But out there in the real-ish world, a place that's long ago left these big-haired oddities behind, it all suddenly seemed so melancholy. These people, lost in time. Now beholden and grateful to their once most hated (and, let's be honest, rightfully so) enemy, musical theatre folk.

But on stage! On stage it's still quite alive and happy. I feel bound by some innate corniness to say this:

It rocks."
Gawker ROA review

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/9/09 at 1:04pm

Nice review for Constantine:

"Best of all is Maroulis, who anchors the show with a sweet, aw-shucks characterization that makes it impossible not to root for him. Maroulis' obvious stage chops might surprise those who know him only from American Idol, but his authentic rock vocals will not. "
TheaterMania

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/9/09 at 1:11pm

And finally, this ought to stick in the craw of the snobby, loquacious types around here:

"In a Broadway season with only one new hit musical ? "Billy Elliot" ? the rousing reception accorded to "Rock of Ages" is particularly noteworthy. The well-reviewed show, which opened Tuesday, uses ..."
'Rock of Ages' reviews boost Tony Awards chances

[blueroses]

Posted: 4/9/09 at 1:12pm

Constantine was fantastic. I'm so happy for him!

[LadyDramaturg2]

Posted: 4/9/09 at 1:21pm

I am really, REALLY picky about the quality of actors' performances, either in the singing category, or the pure acting category, --

So before I saw Constantine in The Wedding Singer, I was loading up my shotgun shells for that one (Harrummmph...Stunt casting!).

He blew me away. There was no Caricature, there was just that stupid guy [I'm with Stupid]. I'm glad for his good reviews, and I'm looking forward to seeing this show as soon as I can save my pennies for a ticket.

[Mistress_Spouzic]

Posted: 4/9/09 at 2:45pm

Now the photo coverage is rolling in, BWW has 3 pieces covering arrivals, curtain call and the after party and then theres these too:

http://www.broadway.com/Broadway-com-Opening-Night-Special-Rock-of-Ages/broadway_news/5025070

http://wireimage.com/SearchResults.aspx?igi=367223&s=rock%20of%20ages&sfld=C&vwmd=e

http://wireimage.com/SearchResults.aspx?igi=367244&s=rock%20of%20ages&sfld=C&vwmd=e

http://wireimage.com/SearchResults.aspx?igi=367303&s=rock%20of%20ages&sfld=C&vwmd=e

http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?EventId=85827235#

http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?EventId=85827236#

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/9/09 at 11:15pm

"Broadway has been hit hard by the recession, but Rock of Ages producer Janet Billig Rich says the production is thriving thanks to low ticket prices and the music?s accessibility. The 30-plus crowd has ?so many emotional memories attached to these songs,? and ?from Behind the Music to Rock Band, these songs are in teenagers? canon too,? she says "

The producers were smart in designing the poster to resemble the graphics for Guitar Hero and Rock Band. I know 12 year old boys who are into these 80s songs because of the video games. They're a blast to play because they have the greatest guitar riffs.
Rolling Stone

[Jersey Girl2]

Posted: 4/9/09 at 11:24pm

>>I feel bound by some innate corniness to say this:
It rocks."

YES- it certainly does.
Its a great, fun, entertaining show.
GO SEE IT!!

~ Just don't enter any of their contests- they're not quite legit.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/9/09 at 11:31pm

I heard the contest was won by the person with the highest number. It behooves people to read the fine print about any contest.
Updated On: 4/10/09 at 11:31 PM

[Jersey Girl2]

Posted: 4/9/09 at 11:55pm

Thanks Starlight for the suggestion.
>>It behooves people to read the fine print about any contest.

I did.

What I know is that the rules and the outcome did not match.
I am not talking about the Grand prize winners.
They offered prizes for people who fulfilled certain requirements and then they did not deliver what was promised.
& why isn't this the place to discuss it? Everything else is discussed here.

Updated On: 4/10/09 at 11:55 PM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 12:03am

It just sounds like so much sour grapes. You may think you worked real hard to win but that doesn't mean you deserve to win. This is only my opinion!

Updated On: 4/10/09 at 12:03 AM

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 12:31am

"This thread is full of happy reviews and doesn't need the drama"

Correction: this thread is full of reviews, not all of them are happy, and god knows you've added your share of drama to it. Also, you keep talking about class and maturity while displaying none of your own.

"How about you don't tell me what I can say and, I don't tell you (which I never, ever have) the same?"

Yeah, how about that, starlight? You said that in this very thread. How about practicing what you preach? Jersey Girl seems to me to have been a staunch supporter of the show. She has every right to post here, about whatever she wishes. There's ROA love thread. Maybe you'd be better off there.
Updated On: 4/10/09 at 12:31 AM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 12:49am

You are correct ghostlight2. Therefore, I have edited my 2 previous posts.

However, I reserve my right to hold the opinion that implying and whining about possible gaming fraud on message boards does not solve anything. Yet, it is certainly Jersey's or anyone's right to do so.

[SINGASIMPLESONG]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 7:08am

is that the smell of tonys in the air? charleston? CS? you guys smell that?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 7:57am

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

[Jersey Girl2]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 9:05am

>>>is that the smell of tonys in the air

What a nice smell.


>>>You may think you worked real hard to win but that doesn't mean you deserve to win
LOL- yes it does.
I didn't make the rules.
It said do THIS and you get THIS.

I did. But I didn't get what I was promised.
I have a right to be upset.
I have a right to express my disappointment.
Maybe this isn't the right thread- but I'm not the first person here to get off topic in a thread.

The reviews have been FANTASTIC- I'm thrilled.
Maybe I could win tickets to the Tonys??

Updated On: 4/10/09 at 09:05 AM

[Jersey Girl2]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 12:19am

And nothing betrayed the schism of the first-nighters more than the symbolic hoisting of the lighters, swaying supportively to and fro with the music. With this particular group, that gesture came off like ill-coordinated lightning bugs colliding in the dark.

I love my lighter.
I love lightening bugs too.

Playbill

Updated On: 4/11/09 at 12:19 AM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 1:38am

Chicago Tribune: POSITIVE
"Unlike ?Mamma Mia!? and, god knows, ?Xanadu,? ?Rock of Ages? is managing to attract that rarest of species inside an American theater: the middle-class, heterosexual all-American male. I even overheard one who bought his own ticket (which are priced 15 percent to 20 percent below other Broadway shows) and talked his girlfriend into coming, instead of the other way around, which is how every other show gets sold. That?s not just because ?Rock of Ages? lets you drink at your seat?you use casino chips to buy cans of Coors?but mostly because the names of say, Whitesnake or Pat Benatar on the marquee do not induce rampant masculine sexual insecurity, although they probably should.

In other words, by combining power ballads such as ?I?ve Been Waiting? and ?I Want to Know What Love Is? with the street cred of legitimate rock anthems such as ?We Built This City,? the show (book by Chris D?Arienzo ) gets to poke fun at romantic ballads?and thus attract the soft-rock crowd?and also make it safe for former headbangers to show up from their mousy white-collar jobs and re live the only time in their lives when they actually felt a rush of power. Nobody has really put this era or style of music on the stage before. ?The Wedding Singer,? which comes from this era, screwed up by using sappy original music to which no one could relate. It died a terrible death. ?Rock of Ages? will live on.

For there?s at least one other crucially important thing going on here. Sex. ?Rock of Ages? doesn?t sanitize the sexism of an era noted for objectification and images of bondage on album covers. Both the material and Kristin Hanggi?s shrewd production sends it all up?which is something entirely different, because send ups allow for the simultaneous enjoyment (if one is so inclined) of that which is being sent up. Nothing is more lucrative than old-fashioned rock voyeurism?just look at the grosses of those old stadium tours. Those old habits are alive and well here, maintained and protected by a satirical veneer

So it goes with this surely golden piece of rock, which, like the 1980s, gets to have it all kinds of ways."


Chicago Tribune

[Jersey Girl2]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 3:43pm

I like this part-

This lead character is played, with dazzling vocal pyrotechnics, by the former ?American Idol? dude Constantine Maroulis