Rock Of Ages (Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, Personal)
🌟 Rock Of Ages 🌟
11 March 2023 at 2:30pm at Alhambra Theatre, Bradford
First of
all, I just want to commend the whole team on the Rock Of Ages farewell tour,
an incredibly talented team, and it’s so clear to see the hard work that went
into the making of the show. To reiterate, my star rating does not reflect upon
the actor’s individual performances, rather my personal take on the production
itself. A big theme for the show was the essence of nostalgia (definitely a
show for the dads), and this is what really lets the show thrive. However only
being 18 and watching this show, many of the references and knockout songs
followed a generation or two behind my own, so that hype was missing for me.
Although,
it’s impossible to deny the true rocker’s spirit felt throughout the audience,
able to get everyone up on their feet during the final number, it was certainly
a very special moment to share. The first character we are greeted by is the
charming and wildly brassy Lonny, played by the over-excitable yet somewhat
contained Tim Oxbrow, nailing the role with incomparable energy. As our
narrator for the afternoon, we saw him break the fourth wall many times across
the show, though I kind of feel there was an essence of overusing this
technique, particularly with the lady selected from the front of the stalls as
a reference across the whole show. The reason this wasn’t my favourite is
because my focus kept on shifting between this “theatrical world” and the “audience’s
world” to the point where it’s difficult to focus purely on the musical, as the
awareness of the audience was slightly too strong. And in return from this
interaction, it encouraged audience members to feel more relaxed, perhaps too
relaxed which could slightly disturb the enjoyment of the show.
There were
some wonderfully charming moments of the musical, particularly that of Franz
and Regina’s budding relationship during Act 2, both stripping to rainbow
leotards as Franz rebels against his father in “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”. Did
it make sense within the plot? Absolutely not, but it was delightfully camp and
regardless of the storyline, it was so infectious and just allowed such a
beautiful moment to laugh. Sherrie and Drew’s on/off love story was certainly
the strongest with most heart. Particularly seeing Sherrie’s progression from a
lost, vulnerable young lady to a feisty woman who is prepared to fight for her
love. Rock Of Ages attempts to conquer a variety of small subplots within the
show’s greater story, though it just left me feeling a bit overwhelmed, and
struggling to follow on. And this was interpreted onto the stage where the
actors would flood the space in the melded stories, but personally I missed
some quite integral parts to the story because there was just so much to look
at.
I think just
a slightly clearer intention for the performance could’ve suited better,
because it swayed between the boundaries of musical and concert. Though some
scenes (certainly the umbrella-ography sequence ahead of the Gentleman’s Club)
were so flawlessly refined, and it was the little gems such as these that
really thrived for me. The big numbers, in my honest opinion, were where the
finer details lacked. If anything, it was just the issue of sound, as
everything (actors, musicians, sound effects) was really boosted in volume,
meaning particularly the actors, seemed to have to shout over the music, and a
lot of the enunciation was lost, in turn drowning the singing out, which was a
shame because every element, including the live band, were part of this glam
rock vision, just balanced unevenly.
As the
interval came to a close and Act 2 began, the speakers weren’t producing the
correct sound, prompting actors to leave the stage temporarily. They were all
dressed in construction outfits, and their improvisation, with props to Vas
Constanti, helped to find the humour with the technical error. The nostalgia
might not have reflected on me, though the vocal capabilities rivalled the rock
legends. I can’t go without mentioning Sam Turrell and Natalie Winsor’s (Drew
and Justice respectively) belts in their solos, the breath control to hold
those notes is just out of this world, some of the best I’ve ever seen! Ultimately,
this is my take and personal enjoyment. The buzz in the auditorium was just
amazing, there was such a sense of community and it really makes you happy to
see, so I would still really encourage theatre goers, particularly rock fans,
to watch the show, the raw talent is simply amazing.
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