Rock of Ages at PCS Ain't Nothin' but a Good Time!

by Stephen Kreal

On Thursday, April 24th, I had the pleasure of seeing Player’s Club of Swarthmore’s production of Rock of Ages. Seeing this production always brings me back to my teenage years in the early/mid 1980’s , so it is a favorite of mine! PCS’s production was directed by Anthony SanFilippo and Assistant Director Angie Scholl.

Before making its way to Broadway, Rock of Ages ran in Los Angeles and, eventually, off-Broadway. The original Broadway production opened on April 7th, 2009 and ran for 2,328 performances, closing on January 18, 2015, tied as the 32nd-longest running show in Broadway history. From the promotional material: “Set on L.A.'s famous Sunset Strip in 1987, Rock of Ages tells the story of Drew, a city boy from South Detroit, and Sherrie, a small-town girl, who have both travelled to L.A. to chase their dreams of making it big and falling in love. Rock of Ages is a jukebox musical built around classic rock songs from the 1980s, especially from the famous glam metal bands of that decade.” Rock of Ages is a fun, lighthearted, romp through the 1980’s rock scene.

Before the show, PCS had the cast members on stage performing live karaoke, which definitely got the audience singing along. The set was primarily a shabby rock-and-roll bar, which was set up (house) left, but with several other locations on the other side of the stage. Scene changes were done swiftly and efficiently with the cleverly designed set pieces that moved quickly or spun around. Congratulations to Scenic Designer Colin Malee, Scenic Artist Sue Abla, Master Carpenter Jimmy Psitos and Prop Designer Denise Klodziej. Lighting Design by Jack Janovsky and Assistant Lighting Designer Andrew SanFilippo beautifully complimented the set. This production was truly complex, with a lot of motion. Keeping it all together was Stage Manager Courtney Bundens and Assistant Stage Manager Geena Shaw.

We are first introduced to Lonny Barnett (played by P.J. Witkowski), who is both a character in the play, but also acts as a narrator. Witkowski did an excellent job at keeping the substantial energy level up in the audience. He masterfully drew the audience in all night by strategically breaking the fourth wall, and making several references to knowing that this was a theatre performance. Witkowski sang like a true rock and roll star!

Next we meet the characters Sherrie Christian and Drew Boley (played by Catherine Callahan and Charles Harrison, respectively. These two characters meet and hit it off at The Bourbon Room bar, owned by Dennis Dupree (played by Mark Thompson). The two spend time together and before things really take off, Drew makes the mistake of referring to her as a friend. The pair had good stage chemistry, and sang beautifully and powerfully.

This comes back to work against Drew as she falls hard for glam rock star Stacee Jaxx, played by Andrew Staub.  Staub’s performance was perfection as the quintessential, self-absorbed rock star. He perfectly nails the classic “rock scream”, and the over-the-top personality associated with rock stars. This is a good place to mention the costuming of this production. Costume Design is credited to Claire Ennis and Lucy Moth (with Lucy Moth also credited with Wig & Hair Design). The costume choices added so much to the production. The hair and clothing choices reinforced that this was quintessential 1980’s. The costumes also were balanced, not too much of any one color or style. I don’t like to reveal too much in my reviews, but there is even one scene where the cast was costumed as a gospel choir! The costume choices fully enhanced the production.

As mentioned, much of the action takes place in The Bourbon Room bar, owned by Dennis Dupree, himself an aging rocker. The character was played with enthusiasm and gusto by Mark Thompson. Mr. Thompson portrayed the older, slightly jaded bar/club owner with great enthusiasm and sang with a powerful voice in the 1980’s rock style.

The plot conflict is quite simple, a pair of German father/son businessmen, Hertz Klinemann and Franz Klinemann (played by Ken Locicero and Nicholas Sewcheck respectively). These two gentlemen provide quite a few laughs as they try to strong arm the Mayor to reshape the neighborhood. Both actors get to showcase their considerable talent more so in Act 2. Sewcheck is comedic gold as he reveals a quirky, delightful personality. Locicero sings beautifully and is himself quite funny. Trying to foil their redevelopment plan, is activist Regina Koontz, played by Meg Cranney. Ms. Cranney was particularly funny in this role, with wonderful facial expressions and vocal inflection (and, like her castmates) a wonderful singing voice. Her interactions with Franz are especially entertaining.

In Act 2, we see that Sherrie, unable to find acting work to sustain employment, has taken a job as an “exotic dancer”.  The Venus Club strip club (oooops, sorry: "gentleman's club”) is owned/operated by Justice Charlier, played by Deirdre McGettigan Henry. Ms. McGettigan Henry is a highlight of the evening, with her absolutely beautiful, powerful, operatic singing voice.

The live band was a five-piece rock band, with percussion, bass, keyboards, and two guitarists, who alternated lead and rhythm. The band was on stage and fully visible rocking the house all night! The program lists eight musicians: Rodney Atienza, Pete Bretz, Jon Cooper, Ahmet Erispaha, Dylan Harrington, George Livanos, Anthony Reuter, and Gene Whitaker. Musical direction was done phenomenally by Theodora K. Psitos (Music Director) and assisted by Zander Meisner (Assistant Music Director). And we cannot forget the work of the Sound Designer K Cook who brought all of the music and sound together harmoniously.

The high-energy ensemble was comprised of: Emma Bradley, John Casertano (who sang “Sister Christian” beautifully), John Dingle, Emily Harrison, Victoria Heppard (also sang beautifully in the “Sister Christian”), Gabrielle Impriano (Waitress # 1, ha ha ha), Riley Newman, Amelia San Filippo, Samantha Solar, Shawn Weaver (played Mayor and J’Keith Gill). The ensemble maintained the lively, dynamic energy required for this production throughout and seamlessly conducted several costume quick-changes.

There were two singers who mostly sang as Pit Singers, who were on stage with the band most of the time. These two actors/singers were Kallie Miholics and Gavin Wycuff along with two off-stage singers (also Sherrie and Drew's understudies) Erika Dandridge and Michael Mann. Choreographer Kaity Levesque, Assistant Choreographer James Martinelli and Dance Captain Gabrielle Impriano's hard work was evident in the tightly choreographed, energetic dance numbers. The kinesthetic nature of this production required the astounding talents of Fight Choreographer, Andrew Staub and Intimacy Director Liz Bradley.

The story is wrapped up very nicely in a fairy-tale ending with a fantastic closing number sung and danced by the entire cast with unwavering enthusiasm until the final musical note. In the words of director Anthony San Filippo: "While jukebox musicals aren't for the theatre snobbery, for those of us who enjoy the genre from the cheapest seats, this one in particular was, to steal our own tagline, "nothing but a good time." Unfortunately, Rock of Ages closed tonight (4/27), but I highly recommend getting out to Players Club of Swarthmore for any and all future performances! https://pcstheater.org/shows-tickets/