Rock of Ages

As I mentioned in my last post I went to see Rock of Ages at the Pantages Theater on Tuesday night.  My aunt's best friend, Julie (who I sometimes refer to as my "LA guardian angel"), invited me to be her plus one.  I had seen this hilarious high-energy musical on Broadway with Mary last year, and I was stoked to see it again. 

I thought this was just going to be a normal, fun-filled night watching an awesome show.  Much to my surprise, however, it was opening night and since Rock of Ages is being made into a movie (from Warner Bros... holla!!), that constituted a red carpet event in Hollywood.  We walked up to the historical theater to find a red carpet and tons of press.  Come to find out, it was a star-studded event with notable attendees including Zac Efron, Camilla Belle, Carmen Electra, Malin Akerman, Adam Shankman, Juliann Hough, Lisa Vanderpump (and her husband Ken Todd who I know and love from the Sports Club!), etc, etc, etc.  

After the show, I witnessed paparazzi up close and personal for the first time.  As we were leaving, we were literally inches away from Malin Akerman as she was surrounded by paparazzi.  It was a strange thing to witness... there were several of them all calling out her name and snapping photos as she tried not to fall on the slippery sidewalk (it rained during the show) and pretty much ignoring them.  I pray that I don't awkwardly end up candidly in the background of some photo in US Weekly sometime soon... eek. 

I wish I would have had the slightest inkling of who my company was going to be that evening... I would have changed out of my work outfit which included a blazer, jeans and glasses.  Not exactly my normal red carpet event look.  Whoops... haha.  

Okay, enough about the red carpet stuff.... now about the show... :-) 

Rock of Ages is set in 1987 on the Sunset Strip, where a small town girl meets a big city rocker in L.A.’s most famous rock club. Their love story is told through a quirky narrator and 80s hits that will have you singing along and dancing in your seat. It received five Tony nominations (including Best Musical) after opening in 2009.  Oftentimes, shows that go on tour across the country aren't nearly as good as they are on Broadway. This show, however, absolutely matched its Broadway counterpart and did not disappoint in the slightest.  Much of the original cast (including the Tony nominated lead, Constantine Maroulis) is traveling with the show which helps significantly.  It's hilarious and snarky and fun.  My favorite character, Franz (a sassy German who dreams of owning a confectionary shop), had me 'lol-ing' the whole time. 

If you're in LA, you should absolutely go see it.  (Don't delay... it's only here until Feb. 27)!  You can buy tickets here OR if you'd like to save a little moolah, you can go to the box office 2 hours before the show begins to purchase $25 rush tickets (subject to availability, naturally). I've done this rush ticket method for a few shows and it's great!  I highly recommend it.  :-)

Here's their performance at the 2009 Tony's to give you a little preview...

Currently listening to: Rock of Ages soundtrack... duh. 

Why: See above. ;-) 

Don't Stop Believin'...

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