Local Review: The UTEP Dinner Theatre's Production of "Rock of Ages"
"Rock of Ages" is probably my favorite jukebox musical, after Jersey Boys. Although the plot to this show is incredibly silly and cliche, you don't really notice because of the way it is executed and the use of the 80's rock songs in the show.
"Rock of Ages" tells the story of Drew and Sherrie- two aspiring artists who fall in love, but alas...mistakes are made and they have a difficult time getting together. Also in the mix are Lonny and Dennis, who own the Bourbon Room where Drew and Sherrie work, two Germans who threaten to tear down the strip to build other things, Regina, who protests the tearing down of the strip, the owner of a local strip club, and a rock star who is there to create as much conflict as the Germans. I personally think you could probably piece together a lot of the story just reading the lineup of the characters.
In the lead roles of Drew and Sherrie, Jonathan Contreras and Nabil Gonzalez both play their roles with a certain childlike innocence that works perfectly for their characters. In addition to their wonderful acting performances, Contreras and Gonzalez had very strong singing voices that fit perfectly into the all of their numbers.
As the owners of the Bourbon Room (Lonny and Dennis) and the comedic relief, Don Cieslik and Christopher Mitchell seemed to do better than the other people I am familiar with in their roles. I saw the tour of this show almost two years ago, and the actors playing Lonny and Dennis didn't seem to know when enough was enough, comedy wise, while Cieslik and Mitchell never took it to far, and kept their performances to a appropriate amount of hilariousness.
It is difficult for me to talk about the Germans, Hertz and Franz (played by Casi Saldana and David Morgan) because they didn't do enough. While they did contribute to the main plot, I feel like there should have been more scenes to tell us a bit more about their characters. For example, there is a scene in the second act where the audience is supposed to feel bad for the character of Hertz, but I couldn't sympathize with the character because there just wasn't enough material there for me to feel bad for him. Also, Franz has a growing romance with the character of Regina, but it just feels so random since you only see the two characters together for a few moments before we find out that something is between the two characters.
Rounding out the cast are Sebastain Orozco (Stacce Jaxx), Lauren Pena (Regina), and Tanisha Lewis (Justice) who both do terrific jobs in their roles.
In addition to recreating the original staging by Kristin Hanggi, director Gregory L. Taylor did a really great job finding room to make new, interesting choices in the staging of the show. I also really appreciated the set by Michael L. Spence (based on the original set by Bedwul Boritt), as well as the lighting design by Rosa Gutierrez.
Overall, I think a huge reason that "Rock of Ages" works is because the material knows that it is silly and it embraces the fact. It also uses the music correctly, rather than trying to shoehorn every 80's song ever into the plot. Go see it! It is such a fun show! 4 and a half stars!
"ROCK OF AGES"
Book by Chris D'Arienzo
Arrangements and Orchestrations by Ethan Popp
Music by Various Artists
"ROCK OF AGES" runs at the UTEP Dinner Theatre from January 29-February 14 and is directed by Gregory L. Taylor. For more information, visit: http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?alias=academics.utep.edu/udt
The principal cast of the UTEP Dinner Theatre's Production of "ROCK OF AGES" consists of:
Drew- JONATHAN CONTRERAS
Sherrie- NABIL GONZALEZ
Lonny- DON CIESLIK
Dennis- CHRISTOPHER MITCHELL
Franz- DAVID MORGAN
Hertz- CASI SALDANA
Regina- LAUREN PENA
Justice/Mother- TANISHA LEWIS
Waitress #1- MARISSA CASTILLO
"Rock of Ages" tells the story of Drew and Sherrie- two aspiring artists who fall in love, but alas...mistakes are made and they have a difficult time getting together. Also in the mix are Lonny and Dennis, who own the Bourbon Room where Drew and Sherrie work, two Germans who threaten to tear down the strip to build other things, Regina, who protests the tearing down of the strip, the owner of a local strip club, and a rock star who is there to create as much conflict as the Germans. I personally think you could probably piece together a lot of the story just reading the lineup of the characters.
In the lead roles of Drew and Sherrie, Jonathan Contreras and Nabil Gonzalez both play their roles with a certain childlike innocence that works perfectly for their characters. In addition to their wonderful acting performances, Contreras and Gonzalez had very strong singing voices that fit perfectly into the all of their numbers.
As the owners of the Bourbon Room (Lonny and Dennis) and the comedic relief, Don Cieslik and Christopher Mitchell seemed to do better than the other people I am familiar with in their roles. I saw the tour of this show almost two years ago, and the actors playing Lonny and Dennis didn't seem to know when enough was enough, comedy wise, while Cieslik and Mitchell never took it to far, and kept their performances to a appropriate amount of hilariousness.
It is difficult for me to talk about the Germans, Hertz and Franz (played by Casi Saldana and David Morgan) because they didn't do enough. While they did contribute to the main plot, I feel like there should have been more scenes to tell us a bit more about their characters. For example, there is a scene in the second act where the audience is supposed to feel bad for the character of Hertz, but I couldn't sympathize with the character because there just wasn't enough material there for me to feel bad for him. Also, Franz has a growing romance with the character of Regina, but it just feels so random since you only see the two characters together for a few moments before we find out that something is between the two characters.
Rounding out the cast are Sebastain Orozco (Stacce Jaxx), Lauren Pena (Regina), and Tanisha Lewis (Justice) who both do terrific jobs in their roles.
In addition to recreating the original staging by Kristin Hanggi, director Gregory L. Taylor did a really great job finding room to make new, interesting choices in the staging of the show. I also really appreciated the set by Michael L. Spence (based on the original set by Bedwul Boritt), as well as the lighting design by Rosa Gutierrez.
Overall, I think a huge reason that "Rock of Ages" works is because the material knows that it is silly and it embraces the fact. It also uses the music correctly, rather than trying to shoehorn every 80's song ever into the plot. Go see it! It is such a fun show! 4 and a half stars!
 |
"ROCK OF AGES"
Book by Chris D'Arienzo
Arrangements and Orchestrations by Ethan Popp
Music by Various Artists
"ROCK OF AGES" runs at the UTEP Dinner Theatre from January 29-February 14 and is directed by Gregory L. Taylor. For more information, visit: http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?alias=academics.utep.edu/udt
The principal cast of the UTEP Dinner Theatre's Production of "ROCK OF AGES" consists of:
Drew- JONATHAN CONTRERAS
Sherrie- NABIL GONZALEZ
Lonny- DON CIESLIK
Dennis- CHRISTOPHER MITCHELL
Franz- DAVID MORGAN
Hertz- CASI SALDANA
Regina- LAUREN PENA
Justice/Mother- TANISHA LEWIS
Waitress #1- MARISSA CASTILLO
Comments
Post a Comment