By Gracey Murphy
The ’80s: a time full of teased hair, neon clothing, and lots of rock ’n’ roll bands. I — and many others — however, was too young to experience any of the decade firsthand. So, at Rock of the Ages this past weekend, I had my first ’80s experience with soul-shaking numbers and a plethora of retro outfits.
On July 22, Nolte Academy staged its first adult musical, Rock of Ages, encouraging Iowa City to reminiscence, all while enjoying the music of Whitesnake.
The performance had my head bobbing and fingers tapping within seconds. The show opens up on the songs “Just Like Paradise/Living on a Good time”; though not my favorite, the opening number easily drew me into the show. Here we meet the live five-part rock band that provides the musical’s catchy, harmonic soundtrack. We are also introduced to our fun-loving and hilarious narrator, Lonny (an excellent, versatile Joshua Fryvencid).
Lonny functions as the audience’s unofficial tour guide to the ’80s. He shares insight into the story, while adding a comical element as well. He quickly introduces us to the leads, Sherrie (Victoria Vaughn) and Drew (Aaron Brewer). Sherrie starts as a small-town girl, heading to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Not only could both of these actors sing tremendously well, they also had great chemistry. I fell in love with their love story as soon as they met.
Along with the leads, each individual in the show — whether they were belting a high solo or swaying to “Beaver Hunt,” one of the show’s least catchy tunes — delivered excellent performances.
One number in particular that stood out to me was “Here I go Again,” which ended the first act.
In the scene, Sherrie and Drew are split up, with their dreams seemingly lost and out of sight. They are very far from where they want to be but nonetheless try to make the most of their situations. I might add again that these two leads have voices so compelling they made me what to sing, laugh, and cry simultaneously.
But what really impressed me about this scene was its energy. The choreography had so much excitement, intricacy, and playfulness that I wanted to hop on the stage and join the crowd. Just when I thought I couldn’t like it any more, they added jazz hands. Really, does it get better than that?
The show also had a slew of subplots to keep the narrative interesting. Lonny and Dennis (Michael Benson), owners of the Bourbon Room — where much of the action takes place — may lose the bar. From the beginning, the two seem to have a unique, heartfelt relationship, but when they are faced with the serious possibility of losing their bar, the men step up even further to demonstrate that they will have each other’s backs no matter what.
Then there’s the touching story of Regina (Jessica Murrilo), who leads protests to stop Franz (Michael Penick) and his dad Hertz (Isaac Helgens) from tearing down the bar. Regina and Franz ultimately fall in love and save the day, because Hertz only wants to make his son’s dreams come true.
All of the story lines, actors, and crew made this show unforgettable. Six weeks of hard work and a mutual love of musical theater made for an incredible performance. The show ended on “Don’t Stop Believin’,” in which all get their happy ending and reunions, and a baby is born. Given the opportunity, I’d rewatch this musical over and over again.