Austin Ventura as Drew, right, plays a song for Sherrie, played by Hannah Papizan, in Theatre Baton Rouge’s production of the jukebox musical ‘Rock of Ages.’
Get ready to rock.
Really rock.
Because despite the “hair band” label and the onstage makeup, Broadway showed why 1980s bands were rock gods when the musical “Rock of Ages” premiered in 2009.
Scott Don Bosco Mitchell plays rock god Stacee Jaxx, lead singer for the band Arsenal in Theatre Baton Rouge’s ‘Rock of Ages.’
Now Theatre Baton Rouge will re-create the world of ’80s rock where life is “Nuthin’ But a Good Time” when it opens “Rock of Ages” on Friday, March 17, on its Main Stage.
And “Nuthin’ But a Good Time” perfectly sets the scene for this show considering it was one of Poison’s biggest hits and Poison was fronted by Bret Michaels, the inspiration for the show’s star character.
Confused? Well, don’t feel bad. Some of the cast members were confused when director Jenny Ballard tried explaining the magnitude of Michaels’ stardom at the beginning of rehearsals.
Hannah Papizan plays aspiring actress Sherrie in ‘Rock of Ages.’
“They didn’t grow up during this time, and some of them had never even heard of Bret Michaels or Poison,” she said. “And when I told them that Bret Michaels is the inspiration for the character Stacee Jaxx, to show them just how big Stacee Jaxx is in this play, they were like, ‘Who?'”
So, Ballard rethought her strategy.
“I said, ‘Well, think of how big Harry Styles is today,” she said, laughing.
Brendon Landry, left, is Lonny, and Mason Clark is Bourbon Room owner Dennis, in Theatre Baton Rouge’s production of the jukebox musical, ‘Rock of Ages.’
That made perfect sense to the cast, because Styles does rule the stage in today’s rock and pop circles, yet he’s still no Stacee Jaxx.
Neither was Scott Don Bosco Mitchell at first.
Mitchell plays the superstar rocker in this production, and though he is a big fan of ’80s rock bands through his parents’ love of the genre, he quickly discovered that jukebox musicals are different than other stage musicals.
Nya Skipper as strip club owner Justice Charlier, left, shares stage time with Carley Magette as Chastity in ‘Rock of Ages.’
Why? Because performers are dealing with classic rock, where the songs are purest when they’re raw, because the songs in the production are actual hits by such music legends as Bon Jovi, Twisted Sister, Styx, Pat Benatar, Quiet Riot, Europe, Whitesnake and, yes, Michaels and Poison.
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