Hallie Gallinet | The Republic David Maurey plays the role of Lonny Barnett, the fourth-wall breaking narrator of Mill Race Theatre Company’s “Rock of Ages.”
Get ready to rock n’ roll all the way back to the 1980s as the Mill Race Theatre Company presents “Rock of Ages,” opening Friday at The Commons. Sing along with Sherrie, Drew and a whole cast of colorful characters as they chase their dreams in this jamming musical.
“Rock of Ages” will be performed at The Commons Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Standard tickets cost $20 and VIP Experience tickets cost $40. Tickets can be purchased at millracetheatre.org or at the door. The show is rated R.
Director Julie Hult, who has been involved with the Mill Race Theatre Company for more than 40 years, said this is the first time “Rock of Ages” has been produced locally. The show follows a love story between small-town girl Sherrie and small-town wannabe rock star Drew, who also band together with other colorful characters to save the Sunset Strip, according to millracetheatre.org.
“So it’s what’s called a jukebox musical, so it’s a lot of ‘80s songs that are put together with a very loosely put together plot line,” Hult said. “So, my instructions to the cast were that the scenes are simply a mechanism to get to the next song and every song is just one of those hits from the ’80s that people will want to sing along with. So, just a lot of fun.”
Many in the cast described the show as a fun celebration of the 1980s, including Kaley Gatten who plays Sherrie. She said it is different from most musicals the Mill Race Theatre Company has done as it is more contemporary and features songs from the radio. But what she said she enjoys about it compared to some other jukebox musicals is that the songs make sense in the story and help push it forward, such as her character’s name being “Sherrie Christian” and the songs “Oh Sherrie” and “Sister Christian” being some of the songs featured.
“The club is called the Venus Club, that’s mentioned in one of the songs that’s selected, but all these songs existed before the musical existed, so it was very intentional in the way that they pieced it together and I really love that about this show,” Gatten said. “The humor is there, it’s campy, it’s fun.”
David Maurey plays the narrator and MC character Lonny Barnett, who he said interacts with the audience throughout the show. He said this will be his first character with the Mill Race Theatre Company where he has that audience interaction role since he joined them four years ago.
“Man, my role is so different from me as a person and that is fun because you get to leave yourself at the door and turn into someone else and just go up there and have a good time,” Maurey said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Hult said she loves the show and the material within it, as she and many others in the cast were teenagers in the 1980s. She said anyone who comes to see it is sure to have an excellent time and will be a trip down memory lane for many, and people who attend will also see an incredibly talented and professional caliber cast as well, she said.
“… I think that… Columbus has a deep pool of talent and we don’t realize just how talented people are in this town until you see something like this and then you’re like, ‘man, why aren’t these people famous somewhere?,’” Hult said. “So, it’s just fun to watch them do their thing.”
