Musical – “Rock of Ages”: The Leopard as an elephant

“Rock of Ages”, the title was first. On a contract for a movie. A jukebox musical, like Abba’s “Mamma Mia!”, Full of well-known songs as fun for the whole family. Traceable for a million that is rocking, previously undeveloped consumer types. Whether in the sports stadium or on the cruise ship: Headbanger is everywhere, with and without cowl, but always the wallet. What do you do with them? Please: a musical to the biggest rock hits of the 1980s. That was the idea. Incidentally, the film went under in 2012. The musical has been touring the world with various ensembles since 2005. And now in German until the end of May. In 2018 it was premiered in this country.

Its genesis was very quick as one-two-three. Rather with the handbrake and headwind. “Rock of Ages” was premiered in King King, a shed in West Hollywood. Rock stop: sometimes greasy, sometimes difficult. But where a will is a business, musical author Chris D’Arienzo found his way.

Every semi-professional musician in Paderborn or Indianapolis understands his story: it’s about money and fame and love and sex. Eighties? Please don’t think about Guns N’rose now, metallica or even slayer; And, RTL for the sake, this is noted, Kajagoogoo or Boy George are not even hidden. “Rock of Ages”, the title is already drilling into the mind like the most aggressive catchy tune. This is the name of a song by Def Leppard. We painted their names earlier on the school issues, as angular and geometrically as he was on their records because it looked cool.

But what was planned as a musical displeased the band that was rather inconspicuous in this century. DEF Leppard did not freely use their millionder. Def Leppard are the elephant in this musical in this musical. Or rather the Taube Leopard. But there are songs from Poison, Twisted Sister, Damn Yankees, Journey, Lita Ford, Pat Benatar and-where we are slowly at the not completely fully developed sell-outs-Bon Jovi and Foreigner.

When entering the hall of the theater on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, you are amazed: no curtain, neither red nor solemn. What you see is what you get. A stage design, as rough as a back yard, a wall full of posters as insignia of the 1980s, as is rumored in the “Metal Hammer” at the time. Charles Manson grins from any S/W photo-populated flyer. It is smelled that the half-cooked, thought out of singing you animated: “FFF-Foooolin” (by Def Leppard), nobody puts us in here.

Affirmation is good and good, but not the whole rent. Some facades and stair railings on stage are decorated like the bass drums from Tommy Lee-with underwear of two dozen models. This staffage is downright grotesque, somehow as a nose popping as a pubes as boys in the party cellar, the audience is rather Ü50, the gender ratio is also 50/50.

At Tommy Lee von Mötley Crüe it was laughable at the time, but we were young and between loose and jammed. The scraps draped over the drums should be the trophies of a heartbreaker, after all, Lee was the ex of Heather Locklear, Bobbie Brown and Pamela Anderson, of which we dreamed of in the 80s. Forty years later, most of them aged and fifty years old, gags of this caliber come half -heartedly and sad or metaphorically as if from the toilet, which actually occurs several times in the musical.

Def Leppard, the elephant in the musical, has it behind: the long climb and the history full of abrasions, the funerals, far too many tears for two thousand life with coke and crises and disasters and collapse. In the musical it goes over the PVC corridor to the stars over hell. Unfortunately with Powerballads by long -haired, who actually always played pop with distorted guitars, all at the same pace (approximately 120 bpm).

Since the songs were selected according to US criteria, they were only perceived here peripherally (stuffs from Styx, Reo Speedwagon, Warrant) or not at all (quarter flash). Nevertheless, for some in the audience it is such as cuddly rock karaoke, spiced up and cleverly to bed with the other hits. The person responsible for this was apparently so much fun with the-rather super-simplen arrangements here that he also contributed a piece (all unknown): Beaver Hunt. You can find online, including the text that is more symptomatic than the music for the level of this musical.

The lyrics follow the story and are nutritious like popcorn: topics are love and striptease, sex and greed. Lonny, who tears down the fourth wall, acts as a narrator and entrusted himself to the audience. Then – it is in 1987 – the young musician Drew is added. He works in the club and cleans the toilet, acts with garbage bags full of vomit. Lonny is an assistant to owner Dennis. It is old, semi-clever, but loved (you know from every discotheque). The underlining song is David Lee Roth’s “Just Like Paradise”, entangled with “Nothin ‘But a Good Time” by Poison.

Drew is about the way you were at 23, comes from far away (from Michigan, like the musical author) and falls in love with Hollywood logo in Sherrie, who gets from the Greyhound bus to the city of broken dreams to become a film star. It comes from the country (like the musical author). She is already stolen on the bus stop and immediately knows what to do: she wants to go to waiters in the Bourbon Room. When she speaks in the mini skirt, the men stare at her, but she-proud and aware of her value-turns away from you and leans forward to read a lucky penny from her feet. Huch! -that convinces bar operators.

In any case, it is impressive how really everyone performs in the ensemble: dancing and singing, with a little acrobatics or acting. Reliable as Kiss. Also reassuring that nobody tries to sing like Lou Gramm or Joan Jett. The e-drums probably didn’t notice anyone. Analogous to the parade of hits from the constant wave, choreography is open or tidy or tough as the spread legs and stretch exercises on the pole in strip clubs, in which Mötley Crüe and van Halen are running. Aging is also not really good for clichés and sexisms from twenty or forty years ago.

In addition, hyperbel and the most blatant ultra idiocy have been hard to top since Spinal Tap. That was already the case, that was better, was actually sucking. By the way, comes to the cinema for the 41st birthday this summer: “Spinal Tap II – The End Continues”.

2.4. Hamburg, Inselpark Arena; 11.4., 12.4.2025 Dresden, trade fair; April 15, April 16, 17.4. Stuttgart, Liederhalle; April 19, April 20, April 21. Vienna, Stadthalle, April 25, April 26, 27.4. Nuremberg, Meistersingerhalle (continues)