If you’re a fan of 1980s hits like “Any Way You Want It,” and “Don’t Stop Believin,” then MunOpCo Music Theatre’s enthusiastic and energetic “Rock of Ages” will be a raucous walk down memory lane.
The juke-box musical which features songs from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Whitesnake, Poison, Europe and more, is rocking the stage through Oct. 6 at Scottish Rite Cathedral, 1533 Hamilton St., Allentown.
Thin on plot, but heavy on hits like “Can't Fight This Feeling,” “Wanted Dead or Alive,” and “The Final Countdown;” “Rock of Ages” is more a send-up of the indulgent ‘80s than a typical musical. The show keeps its tongue firmly in its cheek with inside references to everything from 1980s pop culture to the “Rock of Ages” film adaptation.
MunOpCo has employed gender-blind casting, so the show opens with Katy Hartzell as Lonnie, the right hand man of Dennis Dupree (a well-cast Jim Hoffman), the owner of Bourbon Room, one of the Sunset Strip’s last legendary venues. Lonnie who serves as a narrator, frequently breaks the fourth wall to talk to the audience. Hartzell is dynamic in the role and ably leads the cast kicking off the first ‘80s hit in “Cum on Feel the Noize.”
Anthony Rizzuto is earnest as aspiring musician Drew Boley, who works as a bus boy in the club but dreams of rock star fame as he sings with typical 80s shrieks and belts on songs like “I Wanna Rock” and “Nothin’ But a Good Time.”
Jordan Frantz is winning as small-town girl Sherri Christian who dreams of acting and is hired as a server at the club. She delivers on songs like “Harden my Heart” and “High Enough.”
As a German developer who wants to turn the strip into a strip mall. Kerry McGuire is crusty and acerbic, with an amusingly exaggerated German accent. As the developer’s son Franz, who seems to be what he isn’t, Alanna McLaughlin starts out low-key and grows as the show progresses.
Shannon Cornish’s hedonistic rock star Stacee Jaxx is appropriately flamboyant and over-the-top, when he is hired to perform his final show with his band at the Bourbon Room.
City planner Regina Koontz, played fervently by Katie MacMillan, tirelessly leads protests against tearing down the strip as she leads the ensemble on “We Built This City.”
The on-stage five person band adds the requisite guitars, bass and percussion, as well as ‘80s style guitar solos.
Director Brenda McGuire keeps the stage hopping from beginning to end.
A two-story scaffolding set, provides lots of space for gyrating, sexily-clad dancers, choreographed by Mariel Letourneau, and a video screen that adds background images.
Some issues with the sound made it hard to understand some of the actors at times.
Performances are 2 p.m. Sept. 29 and Oct. 6; and 7 p.m. Oct. 4 and 5.
Tickets are $25 for adults and $22 for students and seniors.
For information, call 610-437-2441, or go to www.munopco.org.