If you're like me, and fondly reminisce about the 80's when a song from one of those great hair bands comes on the radio, like "It's the Final Countdown" by Europe or "Oh Sherrie" by Steve Perry, well then, do I have the musical for you. Rock of Ages.
It's a fun easy to follow story line about a girl from the country (Sherrie) arriving at the Sunset Strip in LA wanting to become an actress. A heavy metal musician/music writer (Drew) sees her and falls in love with her. He gets her a waitressing job at the bar where he works and then asks her out on a date. She, of course, accepts. On the date he gets nervous and says that he just wants to be friends, she is disappointed. Back at the bar, Stacee Jaxx (a famous heavy metal singer - think Axel Rose) comes into the picture. He says that his band is going to play at the bar where Drew and Sherrie work. He locks eyes on Sherrie and decides to woo her in the men's toilet (if you get me! *wink, *wink). Drew sees Sherrie and Stacee going into the men's toilet and becomes angry. After Stacee has his way with Sherrie, he demands that she is fired. That then leads Sherrie to become a stripper because she cannot get work anywhere else. In the meantime Drew is discovered by a record producer when he performs at the bar before Stacee Jaxxs' Band.
A few weeks pass and Drew and Sherrie bump into each other on the street. Drew is not happy because he is missing Sherrie and the music producer wants him to be in a boy band as opposed to a rock band, and Sherrie is embarrassed by her stripping gig. They realize they really do care for each other. They kiss and make up and decide to leave the Sunset Strip behind.
This musical has a feel similar to "Mumma Mia" in that the writer has fantastically weaved some of the great songs of the 80's through the story line. Songs like "I wanna know what love is", "More than Words", "Waiting for a girl like you", "Every Rose has its Thorn" and "We built this city".
From the moment it started, Bryan and I were tapping our toes and singing along. This musical is great fun and if it comes to Australia I highly recommend you go see it.
