Rock of Ages revival at New World Stages

[suzycat]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 11:37am

Will this be the same staging as the current non-equity tour? Im assuming the cast at NWS would have to be equity - are they hiring a new company or will it be the tour cast?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 12:07pm

https://www.broadway.com/buzz/195807/mitchell-jarvis-will-return-to-rock-of-ages-for-off-broadway-revival-full-cast-announced/

[Tag]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 1:26pm

Will this be the same staging as the current non-equity tour? 

It looks like it will be a replica production of the original Broadway production (direction & design).

[suzycat]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 2:56pm

Fabulous, I missed this news! Thanks!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 4:25pm

The current tour is so-so.  Glad they're going back to the original design.  It's such a fun show.

[Pose2]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 5:15pm

NWS is so great, and them taking over shows after they are done on Broadway seems to have worked out incredibly well for them.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 6:13pm

Pose2 said: "NWS is so great, and them taking over shows after they are done on Broadway seems to have worked out incredibly well for them."

In part because most tourists probably aren’t aware they’re seeing an Off-Broadway production and not the original Broadway production.

[Zamedy154]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 6:15pm

I saw the tour last night in Buffalo. The current cast is incredibly talented. All of their voices are INSANE. It's a fun show that never takes itself too seriously.

That said, it had a 'cheap' feel to it compared to the original touring production I saw several years ago - from the set to the wigs to the wardrobe. I didn't enjoy a lot of the show being staged on a catwalk between two spiral staircases above the main stage. It also seemed longer - but maybe that's just my bad memory. I thought Act II actually could have been 10 minutes shorter. And by the time it was all over, I found Franz's character more annoying and over-the-top than endearing.

 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/6/19 at 11:11am

Regarding the current tour:

I was disappointed in the guy playing Drew.  I mean, it wasn't his fault that he had the most awkward wig (bearing no relation to the 80s whatsoever...there were no men sporting nearly-shoulder-length wavy hair with a side part) of all the awkward male wigs, but as the show went on, his voice was getting tired and he started going flat on a lot of the money notes, straining to keep belting them out.  Franz was out of control OTT and nearly impossible to understand most of the time.  And the guy playing Lonny was just so horribly miscast in every way possible.  It looked like he was trying to channel Neal Patrick Harris, but he's not Neal Patrick Harris and he doesn't know how to do it.  Other than the actors playing Sherrie and maybe Stacee Jaxx, the acting was too obviously amateur and the tongue-in-cheek style was all over the place.  I think the biggest misstep in the direction and staging was I Can't Fight This Feeling.  It looked like two straight dudes pretending to be gay and then abandoning it because it was just a joke for straight people to laugh at.

It was still fun to hear the songs performed and the band was fantastic.  My husband had never seen the show and I was disappointed that this was his introduction to it.

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 6/6/19 at 7:53pm

I've only seen this show in Vegas and wasn't impressed. Was the original Broadway production very different? I'm intrigued by this coming to NWS but if it's going to be exactly what I saw in Vegas, I don't think I'll bother.

[mufish]

Posted: 6/6/19 at 8:59pm

Tag said: "Will this be the same staging as the current non-equity tour?

It looks like it will be a replica production of the original Broadway production (direction & design)."

This makes me immensely happy! 

Rock of Ages was the first Broadway show I ever saw, and people can say what they will about jukebox musicals but it was a gateway drug for me and I've made countless trips to NYC since to take in as many shows as I can - but I digress.  Having seen one or two of the non-equity tours years ago, I knew there would be some changes given how those tours function and by and large I thought the changes were perfectly fine and didn't bother me at all (I still have a "Save our Strip!" flyer from Regina as she ran up the aisle!). 

But while the recent 10th Anniversary tour was fine, there were a few things that bothered me a bit.  I agree with Zamedy that the catwalk was used too much, and while maybe this is inconsequential to most, but I despised that they changed the costumes for "Hit Me With Your Best Shot".  It just didn't make any sense to me whatsoever. 

Knowing that the show will be more of what I enjoyed the first few times I saw it (plus Mitch Jarvis is back!) I hope to get down to NYC to see this once or twice.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/6/19 at 9:07pm

Itll be just like the Vegas production.

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/6/19 at 10:18pm

It will be a homecoming since the show started at New World in Stage 1.

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 6/7/19 at 8:20am

uncageg said: "It will be a homecoming since the show started at New World in Stage 1."

 

i mean it technically started in LA...

 

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/7/19 at 11:36am

LightsOut90 said: "uncageg said: "It will be a homecoming since the show started at New World in Stage 1."



i mean it technically started in LA..."

 

I know. But still a homecoming.

 

[dadaguza]

Posted: 9/4/19 at 1:28pm

Went to TKTS this past Saturday hoping to get Waitress tickets but ended up seeing this instead, and I just wanted to comment on how great it was. I know most people either loved or hated this show but for those of you who loved it, definitely check it out again! I went in not expecting much since it's an off-broadway revival but it was just as good as the original, with a few new jokes/references and song added in. Constantine will always be Drew for me but CJ Eldred is absolutely adorable in the role. And Mitchell Jarvis is still fantastic and hilarious - the main reason to see the show. Tickets are pretty inexpensive/easy to get. (I got 8th row center orchestra for 72 bux).

If you're in town and on the fence about seeing something, it definitely makes for a fun and light-hearted evening. 

[darquegk]

Posted: 9/4/19 at 1:46pm

What's the new song added for Off-Broadway?

And in regards to "Can't Fight This Feeling," I saw a production at Pittsburgh CLO with Ace Young, and the direction there played up the fact that Lonny and Dennis were both bisexual. It was subtle, but before their love duet, you could catch both of them ogling the men and the women alike.

[The Pecan Sandies]

Posted: 9/4/19 at 2:40pm

darquegk said: "What's the new song added for Off-Broadway?

And in regards to "Can't Fight This Feeling," I saw a production at Pittsburgh CLO with Ace Young, and the direction there played up the fact that Lonny and Dennis were both bisexual. It was subtle, but before their love duet, you could catch both of them ogling the men and the women alike."

Pour Some Sugar on Me was added to the show in place of Anyway you want it