'80s rock, with its hair bands, codpieced lead singers, and rainbow-bright guitar heroes, was all about excess and pomp. It was hard to take seriously then; today it's experienced as gaudy kitsch. But as with all genres of pop music, catchy songs were what made bands like Journey, Poison, and Night Ranger popular in the first place, so these bands are as ripe for the Broadway treatment as popsters of any other era.
After successful runs in Los Angeles and off-Broadway, Rock of Ages has crash-landed at the Brooks Atkinson — noisy, flashy, and most of all, funny. The creators of the show smartly decided to play it entirely for laughs, and the result is an evening of pure escapist fun, exactly what a city weary of bad news needs.
The book, by Chris D'Arienzo, tells a story so self-consciously cliched it can't help bursting out of its boy-meets-girl envelope and turning on itself with in-jokes and outrageous mugging. Mitchell Jarvis, in a Jack Black-like turn, plays Lonny, a sound man at a rock club on the Sunset Strip who also functions as the narrator. 
"I wanted to explore deep and thoughtful theater," he complains late in the proceedings, but instead was hired for a show with "poop jokes and Whitesnake songs."
When aspiring rock star Drew (Constantine Maroulis), the taller, masculine member of the show's star-crossed pair, denies having referred to ingenue Sherrie (Amy Spanger) as a mere "friend," Lonny pops out of a side doorway to remind him, "Actually, you did." The show is loaded with self-reference and toilet humor; there's really nothing going on beneath the music and dancing and horsing around. But the action and the fun never stop, and they're all we need. This show is pure visceral experience. What it's about is the music.
Article comments
1 - Kitty
I love this show. I saw it when it played off-Broadway and it's so much fun!.. The cast is awesome. The songs are awesome. You can't beat a night of extreme fun, extreme talent by the cast and not a bad ticket price to boot. Just gotta add.. that the lead, Constantine, is not only a fantastic actor and singer, but he's a fine looking specimen of a man.
2 - Elisa Peimer
Extreme fun, extreme talent... - not to mention Extreme "More Than Words". Which goes perfectly with the fake lighters they give you when you get to the theater.
3 - jim
I WENT TO THE SHOW IN MARCH AND IAM GOING BACK IN MAY IT WAS A GREAT SHOW!!! I LIKE IT BETTER THAN JERSEY BOYS
4 - JOJO
We're traveling to NY on fam vacation. Is content appropriate for 11/14 year olds?thinking back to the 80's, I'm guessing not.
5 - Jon Sobel
Nothing graphic, JOJO, but a lot of sexual innuendo.