ML - Vegas Magazine

2013 - Issue 1 - Winter

Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.

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HOTTEST TICKET Stacee Jaxx rocks the stage as a fictional hair metal icon. i wanna rock MADE IN THE '80S: METAL MUSICAL ROCK OF AGES HITS US WITH ITS BEST SHOT. BY ABBY TEGNELIA F or anyone looking for a night on the town that includes a show and a nightclub, the Strip now offers two in one. Broadway's biggest party, Rock of Ages, has moved into Venetian—and it's hoping that you wanna rock. From the very first bars of the opening "Nothin' But a Good Time," the Rock of Ages crowd can't help but go wild. Who can blame them? This is '80s glam metal at its finest, a bully of a playlist that ranges from "We're Naïve Not Gonna Take it" and "Sister Christian" to Sherrie gets "Can't Fight This Feeling" and "Every Rose caught up with Stacee. Has Its Thorn." Meanwhile, cans of Coors Light and Jell-O shots served during the show keep everyone in the mood to sing along. "There are specials of the day, and we serve retro beers," says producer Jonathan Linden. "It's all about making it feel like a nightclub." Such is the setting of the fictional Bourbon Room, the legendary hotbed of hair metal music that anchored the Sunset Strip in the '80s. But don't let the cheesy nostalgia fool you: This is a direct-from-Broadway musical with some serious talent. A doe-eyed Carrie St. Louis portrays Sherrie Christian, who gets mugged within five of the show's funniest moments: a Jazzercize-esque numminutes of deboarding the bus from Tulsa before ber to "Hit Me With Your Best Shot." getting swept into the drama at the Bourbon Venetian has thrown itself behind the show, too, with a Room, where music legend Stacee Jaxx, played Bourbon Room bar near the theater and Rock of Ages table by Kyle Lowder, is about to perform. The hulkfelts and slots. "There's a lot of excitement about coming ing but goofy owner Dennis Dupree (Troy to Vegas," Linden says. "You come here to let loose, and Burgess) and wannabe star Drew Boley ( Justin Rock of Ages is all about having a good time." Mortelliti) complete the motley crew. Vegas has had its share of Broadway flops, but this —JONATHAN LINDEN When a father-son team of German investime, a show is coming in with super-fans of '80s music tors threatens to swoop in and shut the place who will see Rock of Ages again and again. "Even if you've down, the iconic live music hot spot must find help in unusual places. already seen it, it's the kind of show where you'll go, 'Oh, we're in Vegas; Narrating the shenanigans: mullet-sporting Lonny Barnett, played by let's see it again,'" Linden says. "It's also a show that a lot of guys go to." Mark Shunock, who sings his heart out and often provides comic relief. The show does have some dark moments, even though in the beginning "The music is intertwined into a funny story," Linden says. "It's not just it's hard to imagine our heroine having even one bitter thought. But with the about the music: It's a love story, a romantic comedy." guidance of Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Journey, and Styx, it'd be impossible to Rock of Ages opened on Broadway in 2009 (after only a year on off- walk out of the theater without a certain anything-is-possible feeling. Just ask the Broadway) and became an immediate guilty pleasure among the theater Bourbon Room groupies, who will belt out their answer: "Don't Stop Believin'." crowd. Wine-cooler and John Sununu jokes keep the '80s alive, as does one For tickets, visit rockofagesmusical.com/las-vegas V 44 PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL KOLNIK "Rock of Ages is all about having a good time." VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 044_V_SC_HottestTicket_Win13.indd 44 1/2/13 2:08 PM

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