THE BOURBON ROOM ANNOUNCES ROCK OF AGES RETURN TO HOLLYWOOD WITH A NEW FULLY IMMERSIVE NIGHTLIFE EXPERIENCE
By Nick Ghilardi
Hollywood, CA (The Hollywood Times) 1/7/20 – Rock of Ages Hollywood will open on January 15th at a specially built performance venue and nightlife destination on Hollywood Boulevard named after the venue at the center of the show, The Bourbon Room. With 6 years on Broadway and over 2,350 performances, 5 Tony Nominations, 12+ productions worldwide and featuring 30 hit songs from the 80s, Rock of Ages is the best-reviewed- most-nominated-longest-
“We couldn’t be more excited to bring Rock of Ages back home to Hollywood in such a fun and unique way, hitting the scene with a completely immersive live show,” said Matthew Weaver, Producer. “From the moment guests arrive, our legendary Bourbon Room brings together the ultimate theater, rock and culinary experience while rocking out to the greatest hits of the 80’s that we all know and love.”
Rock of Ages at The Bourbon Room in Hollywood promises to be more than just a great rock show with some of the best Broadway talent. To commemorate Rock of Ages’ return to Hollywood Boulevard, producers have imagined a fully immersive experience bringing the shows’ legendary Bourbon Room to life. The immersive experience begins about 2 hours before each performance, with a cast of characters and experiences woven throughout the main bar and lounge at The Bourbon Room. For guests that want to fully engage in the immersive theatrical experience, they can interact with a variety of characters ranging from record producers to aspiring rock stars to small town girls, living in a lonely world hoping to make it. The Bourbon Room lounge itself also has several interactive elements hidden throughout, from payphones featuring voicemails to hidden messages in posters and flyers. The Bourbon Room itself also changes from pre-show to post-show to reflect some of the storyline of the show. To begin your journey unlocking the hidden secrets of The Bourbon Room, visitors can talk with any staff member.
Great food and drinks are also part of the immersive experience. The 250-seat theater is connected to a 4,000 square foot bar and nightlife venue led by Andy Paxson and Dave Gibbs, who are behind Augustine Wine Bar and Sushi Note, recently named one of Esquire Magazine’s Best New Restaurants of 2019. The Bourbon Room reunites Paxson and Gibbs with Matt Wever, Producer of Rock of Ages Hollywood and an investor in Sushi Note. The Bourbon Room will be a prime new Hollywood hangout offering a full-service menu with upscale comfort and bar food, craft cocktails and fine wine to be enjoyed by theatergoers, locals, and tourists alike, with or without a ticket to the show. The space has been designed and is being brought to life by the team at BUILT Inc., known for their design at hugely popular LA venues such as Guys Bar, Trousdale, Bootsy Bellows, The Nice Guy, The Peppermint Club and Pink Taco.
Rock of Ages Hollywood will star Rock of Ages alum and Tony Award Nominee Nick Cordero as “Dennis,” Rock of Ages Broadway alum, star of Big Brother and Nickelodeon’s Henry Danger, Frankie Grande as “Franz Klineman,” Regina Levert as “Justice Charlier,” Sean Yves Lessard as “Stacee Jaxx,” Stephanie Renee Wall as “Regina”, Tiffany Mallari, Marisa Matthews, Callandra Olivia as “Sherrie,” Stefan Raulston, Justin Ray as “Joey Primo,” Chuck Saculla, Pat Towne as “Hertz Klineman,” Zoe Unkovich, Ian Ward as “Drew,” Matt Wolpe as “Lonny,” and Neka Zang as “Constance.”
The cast, filled with Tony Nominees, Rock of Ages Alums, Broadway talent and fresh faces, joins an incredible producing team. Rock of Ages Hollywood will be presented by Tony, Emmy and Grammy nominee Matthew Weaver. Producers include Tony-nominee Hillary Weaver, Tony-nominee Janet Billig Rich, and Kimberly Helms, who will also serve as General Manager. Jimmy Kimmel Live co-executive producer Doug Deluca and early Rock of Ages investor Bill Bodnar, Scott Prisand and Krista Llamas will serve as executive producers. Rounding out the team will be multiple Academy Award-nominee Stacey Sher and multi-platinum producer and CAS Award winner Kerry Brown, as producers and Tony Award winner, Steve Fickinger as executive producer.
The award-winning Broadway creative team is also back as Chris D’Arienzo’s original book will be directed by Tony-nominated director Kristin Hanggi (Accidentally Brave) and choreographed by Olivier Award winner Kelly Devine (Come From Away) with casting by Michael Donovan. Original creative and set design by Beowulf Boritt and Jo Winiarski, Jason Lyons (lighting), Ben Soldate (sound), Eva Maciek (costumes), Zach Borovay (projection design), and Dave Gibbs, who played in the original Los Angeles and Broadway productions of Rock of Ages, will serve as music supervisor for the production.
Featuring some of the greatest rock anthems and power ballads of the 80s, Previews for Rock of Ages began in December and the show will officially open on Wednesday, January 15th with 6 shows a week performing Wednesday through Sunday. For all the latest Rock of Ages Hollywood details or to buy tickets, visit RockOfAgesHollywood.com or follow @rockofageshollywood on social media.
# # #
About Rock of Ages
With its start at King King, ROCK OF AGES had its world premiere in January 2006 at The Vanguard Hollywood nightclub in Los Angeles, where it played a six-week engagement before opening a limited run at The Flamingo in Las Vegas in May 2006. The musical made its New York debut in October 2008 at Off-Broadway’s New World Stages, playing 110 performances before transferring to Broadway and opening to widespread critical acclaim at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Tuesday, April 7, 2009. The musical moved to The Helen Hayes Theatre, on March 24, 2011, where it continued its triumphant run for another four years, grossing $129 million and breaking the theater’s box office record ten times and remains tied for the 30th longest running show on Broadway.
In addition to being known as a bona fide Broadway hit musical, ROCK OF AGES has celebrated over a dozen productions worldwide on four continents including long runs at the Venetian Resort on the Las Vegas Strip, the open seas on Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship The Breakaway, and the open road on national tour through both the U.S. and U.K. Furthermore, the show was a runaway success in Toronto, Australia and London’s West End and has licensed productions in several additional countries including Sweden, Korea and Japan. In June 2012, ROCK OF AGES hit the silver screen in a major feature film starring Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand and Catherine Zeta-Jones and continues to resonate with fans on the silver screen in Seth Rogan’s new film, The Good Boys.