Ayr Amateur Opera Company presents their latest stage musical production – Rock of Ages – a big, brash, energetic tribute to classic rock, over-the-top ballads, and fierce guitar riffs. It captures the gritty glamour and raw energy of the Sunset Strip. This jukebox musical features 80s hits such as “We Built This City”, “I Wanna Rock”, and “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
It is 1987, and the fabled West Hollywood club, the Bourbon Room, is the seedy, sordid, yet vibrant heart of the Sunset Strip. The music venue has seen better days, but under the management of chilled-out former rock impresario Dennis Dupree and his mischievous assistant Lonny, it embodies the essence of rock and roll.
Bright-eyed young hopeful Sherrie Christian, a small-town girl dreaming of becoming an actress, arrives in town and bumps into Drew, a Bourbon Room busboy with aspirations of rock stardom. Love-struck, Drew convinces Dennis to hire Sherrie, and the stage seems set for their romance.
However, when the Mayor of West Hollywood, under the influence of scheming German real estate developers, announces plans to demolish the Bourbon Room and the entire Sunset Strip, the stakes are raised. Dennis enlists rock god Stacee Jaxx, lead singer of the megaband Arsenal, to play the band’s last show at the Bourbon Room, hoping the money raised will save the venue.
Stacee, a man of massive charisma and even bigger ego, leaves chaos in his wake. He seduces Sherrie and gets knocked out by his own band before the concert ends. Amid the chaos of anti-demolition protests, Sherrie flees to a nearby strip club, while Drew is lured into the clutches of a boy band. Who can save the Bourbon Room, the young lovers, and the feuding Germans? Only Lonny, the “dramatic conjurer,” holds the answer.
Based on the book by Chris D’Arienzo, with arrangements and orchestrations by Ethan Popp, this amateur production of Rock of Ages is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
BSL & Audio Description performance: Tuesday, 25th February.
