Review of Rock of Ages (Broadway in Chicago)

Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called Rock of Ages. The book was by Chris D'Arienzo and it was directed by Kristin Hanggi. And it was choreographed by Kelly Devine. It was about a waiter and a waitress who fell in love. Their names were Drew (Dominique Scott) and Sherrie (Shannon Mullen). They were a city boy and a small-town girl that started to work at this rock and roll club called The Bourbon Room. It is making fun of all those movies in the 80s. It had a message: that love can happen anywhere, even a rock and roll bar. It said that being famous isn't always the best because Stacie Jaxx (Joshua Hobbs) is famous and a horrible guy. I think this was a good show; my favorite act was clearly the second act because that one I found way more funny. I think everyone did a good job acting like insane rock people.

Two of my favorite characters were Regina (Jessica Pucek) and Franz (Tanner Hussar). I think that they were a perfect couple because they both wanted to save The Bourbon Room and how they both went against his father in their own matching suits. The song was "Hit Me with Your Best Shot," and I have heard that song a lot in the car with my friends. They were in pink and blue sparkly outfits--cotton candy colors, perfect for Franz because he was interested in confectionary sweets. I thought it was hilarious. I was laughing very hard.

Stacee Jaxx and Drew are completely different people. One of them is completely nice. The other is completely jerk. And Joshua Hobbs I think did a great job being a jerk. He was a jerk because he liked to make out with women every time that it was possible. And he treated them like he didn't know who they were afterwards. He kept calling her Rachel, but her real name was Sherrie. Ring a bell? That made you feel very angry at Stacee Jaxx. He liked to make out with women in the men's bathroom which was very strange because there was a toilet then. I think that Dominique Scott did a great job at pretending that he is not very good at talking on first dates…or opening bottles. I loved it when he was trying to open the bottle while he was trying to talk romantically to Sherrie. I thought it was hilarious; I was laughing so hard I almost fell over.

Mama Justice (Kadejah Oné) I think was an amazing singer. She could hold notes longer than I could even imagine. And I also think Drew was amazing at that. Mama Justice runs a strip club but she is the nicest person ever to own a strip club. I loved how she seemed to give good advice even though what she thought was the best job was stripping. Sherrie I thought was also a very good singer and she could sing very very high and it still sounds nice. Sherrie basically accidentally goes into stripping. I thought that seemed like Flashdance, and that is an 80s movie. It reminded me of that and Gypsy. I don't think that is very reasonable or very much like real life. Except for Gypsy, which is about a real person.

Lonny (Andrew Sklar) and Dennis (Brian Ashton Miller) were basically like the bar's owners. One of my favorite moments was when they sang "Can't Fight This Feeling." I loved it when Lonny jumped into Dennis' arms and he started twirling him around up in the air. I also really liked how at the end Lonny grabbed the little smoke machine and he wrote in smoke a heart and Lonny and Dennis stuck their heads into it. I'm not sure they were in love with each other, but I think that they were like best friends. I think they were RBBFF, rock beer best friends forever. And they loved to be silly together.

People who would like this show are people who like unexpectedly nice strip bar owners, rock and roll waiters who can't open bottles, and RBBFFs. When people go and see this show, they should definitely take earplugs. I forgot mine and my mom had to make some out of tissues. People should definitely go and see this show. It is a really funny show and most of the show cracked me up.

Photos: Scott Suchman