By Gracey Murphy
Band posters and cutouts of song lyrics plaster the walls of a hip, grungy Los Angeles bar. Giant up-dos, leather pants, and fishnets sway to the music as a live rock band begins playing the first number “Just like Paradise/Nothin’ but a Good Time.”
Coralville dance studio Nolte Academy will present Rock of Ages this weekend at the Englert, 221 E. Washington St. The story of the musical follows Sherrie (Victoria Vaughn), a small-town girl from Kansas, as she travels to LA in pursuit of fame as an actress. Along the way she meets Drew, who helps her get a job, thus beginning a love story.
“I actually relate a lot to my part, and I didn’t realize that until I started reading through the script,” Vaughn said. “She’s from the Midwest, [a] smaller town. She’s sheltered, comes from a good family life, and she’s basically forging her independence the entire show, which is something I kind of had to do when I was 18.”
Leslie Nolte, the owner of Nolte Academy and a choreographer, wanted to introduce Nolte Academy’s first adult musical and decided on Rock of Ages because to her it embodied the spirit of Iowa City and the Englert and had yet to be performed in town, she said.
“I’m looking forward to finally getting to share the talent and hard work with the community and people that I love,” Nolte said, “We’re going to have a party in this audience, and it’s going to be amazing.”
Chad Larabee, the director of Rock of Ages, and Nolte have worked with many professionals from around the region, many of whom also graduated from the University of Iowa, to achieve as realistic and extravagant a wardrobe as possible.
“We’ve all come from different disciplines at Iowa; it’s fun to kind of collaborate together and take what we’ve learned,” Larabee said. “I credit the UI Theater Department for my career. It’s great to come back from where I started and work with such talented people — and to listen to White Snakes every night.”
Help has also come from New York-based costumer Karle Meyer, Theater Cedar Rapids, Buzz Salon, and hair and wig designer Ken Vanegdon to make the 1980s costumes as realistic as possible.
“What is nice about my character is you kind of see her transition through her life in her costumes,” Vaughn said. “She starts off the show in a very kind of sweet dress, and as she descends into her lowest low, her clothes get a lot darker.”
Scene designer S. Benjamin Farrar has examined different historical periods to produce the best set. He originally signed on to the project when Larabee met with him in Queens in March.
But what really takes this show to the ’80s is the music. Along with the cast, a five-piece rock band will be there for the entirety of the show. Lee Nguyen (music director) and Andrew Stewart (sound designer) have been the main people in charge of music. The crew members were excited to see their work in action and were particularly happy to be working with the set they had.
“ ‘Harden my Heart’ is my favorite number because I get to work with Mia [Justice], she’s amazing, and it is such a powerhouse song,” Vaughn said. “It has great, great vocals — and I love belting.”
Nolte said she is impressed with the production as a whole.