We have so many more great shows heading our way this year, all of them a real joy after empty stages during lockdown. One of them is two hours of non-stop fun and music, with hits we all know and love from back in the day.
ROCK OF AGES is not only hilarious, but we guarantee you’ll be singing along from start to finish with something like 25 classic rock anthems, including, ‘We Built This City’, ‘The Final Countdown’, ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’, ‘Here I Go Again’, ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’ and ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’, all played loud and proud by an awesome live band.
Now you may have seen the movie which was out a decade ago, with Tom Cruise no less, but seeing it live on stage, where you can really let your 80s hair down and rock down, is the only way to fully appreciate the power of the show.
The producers have just announced the cast for the tour, which bring them to the New Theatre in Cardiff from Tuesday 17th to Saturday 21st of the month, and Corrie fans get ready, as Curly Watts heading our way.
It’s a welcome return to Rock Of Ages for KEVIN KENNEDY who is back as ‘Dennis Dupree’, a role he previously played to huge acclaim in 2018. Kevin actually jpoins the tour on the 10th May in Edinburgh, which is just a week before it gets to South Wales. He’ll be sharing the stage with former X Factor winner and musical theatre star MATT TERRY as ‘Stacee Jaxx’.
VICKI MANSER is on this tour and you may well recognise her from a few other appearances in South Wales. She was ‘Katherine Howard’ in “Six” both at the Arts Theatre and on a UK tour, “Beautiful the Carole King Musical” at the Aldwych Theatre and on a UK tour, “Bat Out of Hell” at the Dominion Theatre and “Sunny Afternoon” at the Harold Pinter Theatre.
Vicki plays ‘Regina’ and before she packed her bags to head over the water to the New Theatre we put in a Zoom call to have a chat with her. We of course talked ROCK OF AGES, as usual we found out how her lockdown was. We also take a listen to some of her own brilliant country music, and even had time for a little SIX.
But this isn’t a show of individuals, it really is a full cast effort, and the rest of the cast are ready to set the stage alight. They include….
Sam Turrell as ‘Drew’, Gabriella Williams as ‘Sherrie’ and Kellie Rhianne as ‘Justice’, as well as returning cast members Joe Gash as ‘Lonny’, Vas Constanti as ‘Hertz Klinemann’, Andrew Carthy as ‘Franz Klinenmann’ and Erin Bell as ‘Constance’.
The full cast is completed by Billy Roberts, Scott Hayward, Darius James, Siobhan James, Hollie-Ann Lowe, Phoebe Samuel-Gray and Morgan Scott.
As with all great musicals Rock Of Ages is a boy meets girl tale, but don’t expect hearts and flowers, this is pure rock and roll. I think when you’ve seen the trailer for this tour you’ll get what we mean. In the nicest possible way, it’s wild and bonkers, and all you want to do is sing and dance.
Kevin Kennedy is probably best known for his portrayal of ‘Curly Watts’ in “Coronation Street”, but his West End theatre credits are pretty impressive too. He’s been ‘Amos’ in “Chicago” at the Adelphi Theatre and “We Will Rock You” at the Dominion Theatre. Kevin has played both ‘Caractacus Potts’ and ‘The Child Catcher’ in the hit musical “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, becoming the first actor to have played both roles.
He appeared as ‘Dennis Dupree’ in the 2018 UK Tour of “Rock of Ages” and has also appeared in the national tours of the musicals “The Rocky Horror Show”, “The Commitments” and Kay Mellor’s “Fat Friends”.
As for performer, singer and songwriter Matt Terry you may remember him as the champion of the 2016 series of ITV’s “The X Factor”, gaining a Top 3 hit with his Ed Sheeran penned winner’s single, “When Christmas Comes Around”. He was also featured on Enrique Iglesias’ smash Summer single ‘Subeme La Radio’ with Sean Paul, which spent 14 weeks in the Top 10. Matt’s debut album ‘Trouble’ was released in November 2017 which featured the lead single ‘Sucker For You’, which has now been streamed over 100 million times.
In addition to music, Matt has also fronted his own radio show for Capital FM and has toured the world in leading roles in “Dreamwork’s Madagascar The Musical” and Broadway’s “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical”.
The Rock Of Ages set is outstanding and the costumes will take you right back to those denim and leather filled days of big hair and even bigger songs. And those songs are played by the best live band you’ll hear in a show. Musical Director and Keys is Liam Holmes, Guitar 1 Liam Stevenson, Guitar 2 Alex Ward, Bass Guitar Elliot Mason and Drums Vito Guerrieri.“ROCK OF AGES” has a book by Chris D’Arienzo and arrangements and orchestrations by Ethan Popp.
ROCK OF AGES is a naughty, funny and music filled night, with songs we all know and love. It gets to the New Theatre in Cardiff from Tuesday 17th through to Saturday 21st of this month. Performances are at 7:30pm Monday to Thursday and 8:30pm on Friday and Saturday. There’s also a 2:30pm matinee show on Wednesday and 5pm on Saturday.
There are ticket prices to suit all pockets from £18 up. You can get more details, and book yours HERE.
Incidentally, when Rock of Ages rocks into town you really won’t miss them. Their tour truck is – well, should we say, more than a little noticeable
