ROCK OF AGES Comes to Houston 5/31-6/12

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) will present ROCK OF AGES at Hobby Center for the Performing Arts from May 31 to June 12, 2011. In 1987 on the Sunset Strip, a small-town girl met a big-city dreamer - and in L.A.'s most legendary rock club, they fell in love to the greatest songs of the ‘80's. ROCK OF AGES is a hilarious, feel-good love story told through the hit songs of iconic rockers Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Pat Benatar, Whitesnake, and many more. Don't miss this bodacious good time where big hair meets big dreams and the result is totally awesome.

Coming direct from Broadway, Tony Award® Nominee Constantine Maroulis of "American Idol" fame will reprise his acclaimed performance as Drew in the First National Tour of the five-time Tony Award® nominated smash-hit musical ROCK OF AGES. Rolling Stone says, "Rock of Ages has found a perfect lead in Maroulis," and so like Bartles & Jaymes, big hair and Dep, some things are just meant for each other.

ROCK OF AGES is directed by Tony Award® Nominee Kristin Hanggi (Bare, Pussycat Dolls on the Sunset Strip) and choreographed by Kelly Devine (Jersey Boys - Associate Choreographer). The book is by Chris D'Arienzo (writer and director of the film Barry Munday), the original arrangements are by David Gibbs (Counting Crows, Film: That Thing You Do) and the Music Supervision, Arrangements & Orchestrations are by Ethan Popp (Tarzan; Europe: We Will Rock You, Mamma Mia).

Scenic design is by Beowulf Boritt (Spelling Bee, LoveMusik), costume design is by Tony Award® Nominee Gregory Gale (Cyrano, The Wedding Singer), lighting design is by Jason Lyons (The Threepenny Opera), sound design is by Tony Award® Nominee Peter Hylenski (Shrek), and projection design is by Zachary Borovay (A Catered Affair).

ROCK OF AGES opened on April 7, 2009 at Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre to critical acclaim, following an off-Broadway engagement in the fall of 2008. The Broadway production was nominated for Five 2009 Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, and New Line Records released the Original Broadway Cast Recording in July 2009, featuring 28 songs from the show. A New Line Cinema/Warner Bros. film of the musical, directed by Adam Shankman (Hairspray), is scheduled to be released in 2011.

ROCK OF AGES will head down under and open at the Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Australia in April 2011.

ROCK OF AGES is produced by Matthew Weaver, Carl Levin, Jeff Davis, Barry Habib, Scott Prisand, Janet Billig Rich, Hillary Weaver, Relativity Media and The Araca Group.

In celebration of ROCK OF AGES, Theatre Under The Stars will offer a number of special events and opportunities:

Power Ballads Sing-Along: Tuesday, May 3 at 8 p.m. at the Continental Club (3700 Main Street)
TUTS and the Aurora Picture Show will partner for a special free screening: a Sing-Along Extravaganza hosted by Henri Mazza of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, highlighting the best music videos from the 1980s hair band era. Get ready to "Come On, Feel the Noise" and rock out to your favorite 80's power ballads. Sing-a-long screenings take the best parts of going to a concert and the best of going to a movie theater, and mix it all together, leaving you with something completely new. Included in the lineup for this special ROCK OF AGES screening are videos from Journey, Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake and more. Get your lighters ready!

VIP Seating: Sit in the "Mosh Pit"!!!
If you "Wanna Rock" in the front row of a concert, this is your chance! Each performance features special stage-side seating. A total of 6 tables (4 chairs per table) are available in the VIP section, complete with a delicious selection of favorite gourmet concert snacks, bottled water and 8 artisan beers. There are only a select number of these seats available, so buy your tickets today and rock out as a VIP! Visit TUTS.com or call 713-887-TUTS (8887) to purchase tickets. The VIP seating is sponsored by Silver Eagle Distributors.

Dinner & Theatre Package: Wednesday, June 1 or June 8

Guests can enjoy dinner at III Forks at 5:30 p.m. with a performance of ROCK OF AGES immediately following at 7:30 p.m. These packages are available online only at TUTS.com

OUT@TUTS Post-Show Cast Party: Thursday, June 2
A cabaret-style event at Artista Restaurant for TUTS' GLBT friends. Visit TUTS.com/OUT for more information.

Saint Arnold Brewery Pre-Party and ROCK OF AGES Package: Thursday, June 2

Toast to the awesome 80s at the Saint Arnold Brewery (2000 Lyons Avenue). Embrace your inner rock star with a tour of the brewery, appetizers from Spaghetti Warehouse and mind-blowing, face-melting music from the era starting at 5 p.m. Keep the throw-back night rollin' with a school bus ride to the Hobby Center at 6:30 p.m. for a performance of ROCK OF AGES. The bus will return guests to Saint Arnold Brewery immediately following the performance. Prices for this package start at $42. Visit TUTS.com or call 713-887-TUTS (8887) to purchase tickets.
Tickets for ROCK OF AGES (starting at only $24) are available on-line at TUTS.com, by phone at (713) 558-TUTS (8887), outside the Houston area at (888) 558-3882, or in person at the Theatre Under The Stars Box Office, located at 800 Bagby at Walker, Monday - Friday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., and Saturday - Sunday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. An audio described performance is available Sunday, June 12 at 2 p.m.; open captioning is available Sunday, June 12 at 7:30 p.m. The Hobby Center is wheelchair accessible. Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more and may be purchased by calling (713) 558-8888 or via email at groupsales@tuts.com.

TUTS' presentation of ROCK OF AGES is made possible by the generosity of Fluor and Berg & Androphy.

Theatre Under The Stars 2010-11 Sensational Season is generously sponsored by St. Luke's Episcopal Health System. For all of Theatre Under The Stars' 2010-2011 shows, air transportation is provided by United Airlines, the official airline of Theatre Under The Stars. Media sponsors include ABC-13 and Houston Chronicle. Season support is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Theater District Association and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Founded in 1968, Theatre Under The Stars is Houston's acclaimed non-profit musical theatre company under the direction of President and CEO John C. Breckenridge. TUTS was the first theatrical organization in Houston to perform free to the public in 1968 at Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park, and is the only Houston arts organization that has performed there free to the public every year since the building opened. Since its founding by Frank M. Young, TUTS has produced more than 300 musicals including many local, national and world premieres such as Kopit and Yeston's Phantom, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Jekyll & Hyde, and Irving Berlin's White Christmas as well as critically acclaimed re-inventions of classics Cabaret and Les Miserables. Through its membership in the Independent Presenters Network, TUTS has helped bring Bombay Dreams, 9 to 5, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Spamalot, Legally Blonde, Ragtime, Curtains and The Color Purple to Broadway.

As a way to continue the tradition of musical theatre, TUTS Education provides instruction and stage experience for more than 21,000 students annually, allowing students to flourish in a year-round schedule of classes. With a common goal - to expand arts access to children of all abilities - The River Performing and Visual Arts Center (The River) merged with Theatre Under The Stars in 2010, creating a unique, barrier free, arts education model for non-profit musical theatre performing arts organizations. With the merger, TUTS Education now provides extended on-site programming as well as off-site programming for children in schools, hospitals and other community-based sites. Housed in the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, TUTS also annually presents the Tommy Tune Awards, honoring the best and brightest in Houston's high school musical theatre programs.

Visit www.TUTS.com for more information.

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