Review: ROCK OF AGES at Tower Grove Abbey

The hair is big and the music is loud for Stray Dog Theatre’s production of Rock of Ages. This jukebox musical is "nothin' but a good time" as it exuberantly celebrates the oeuvre of 1980s hair bands with a love story smooshed in between.

The production is loaded with hard rock, metal, and glam sounds. The musical tells the story of Sherrie, a small-town girl and Drew, a city boy with rock star dreams. New in town, Sherrie wants to be taken seriously as an actress. As for Drew, he slaves away as a barback at the club, waiting for his big break.

Their dreams of fame and love in Los Angeles lead them to the Bourbon Room, a legendary rock club whose sticky floors are threatened by Hertz Klinemann, a nefarious developer who wants to clean up the Sunset Strip by building a strip mall. Helping him is his son Franz, a wannabee chocolate confectioner who secretly loves musicals and doesn’t want to be a ruthless businessman.

Luckily those who love the Bourbon Room won’t go without a fight. Leading them is Regina (pronounced "Reh-JY-nah") Koontz, a feisty anti-commercialist who relentlessly struggles against the “proletariat” trying to demolish the strip.

The potential closing strikes an emotional nerve with its owner Dennis Dupree who has poured years of time and energy into making his rock club a popular hangout. As closure looms, Dupree struggles to figure out his next steps.

Complicating things is the arrival of Stacee Jaxx. Fresh from breaking from his band Arsenal, he hopes to jumpstart his solo career with a final gig at The Bourbon Room.

Egotistical and ubercreepy, Jaxx embodies the rock and roll lifestyle. Going through women like guitar picks, he spots the naive Sherrie as his next conquest.

The plot rocks hard in Act One. In Act Two it thrashes towards a conclusion as the potential closure of the club and the will-they-or-won’t-they romance of Drew and Sherrie intertwine, bringing drama to a head.

From here bad decisions, dirty deeds, and longing hearts plunge Rock Of Ages into power ballad terrain as the inhabitants of The Bourbon Club wrestle with passion, problems, and the perils of redevelopment.

Directed by Justin Been, Rock Of Ages is a sleazy and cheesy delight. This uproarious show finds the company letting its (teased) hair down and having fun. Silly, goofy, and energetic, Rock of Ages hits audiences with their best shot, leading to a night of singalongs, air guitar solos, and raised fists.

Fueling the drama onstage is a five-piece band whose rad shredding crushes burnout rock classics from Journey, Poison, Night Ranger Twisted Sister, Def Leppard, and more.

The mischievous ensemble is led by Stray Dog mainstay Drew Mizell. Starring as Drew Boley, he clearly enjoys chewing up scenery during his larger-than-life rockstar moments.

Also rocking out is Dawn Schmid as Sherrie. Behind the poofy hair is a charismatic actor giving an electric performance as a small-town girl in a big city.

Clayton Humburg is delightfully scuzzy as Stacee Jaxx. Perfectly embodying a past his prime frontman his turn here is the perfect synergy of lothario and libido.

Helping the production break rules and fourth-wall boundaries is Bradley Bliven who is superb as narrator and club working stiff Lonny Barnett.

Sarah Polizzi’s performance as Regina is filled with some of the production’s funniest moments. Often chained to her co-stars, she plays the role of goofy activist to the hilt.

The rest of the cast shines as well. Together they are as tight as spandex as they sing, dance, and goof around through two acts of headbanger hijinks. Together, they rock over the top to give the production some high energy voltage that propels the popular anthems that proliferated the decade.