Principals
Drew Boley
Sherrie Christian
Lonny/Record Company Man
Stacee Jaxx/Sherrie’s Father
Dennis Dupree/Record Co Man
Franz Klinemann
Regina/Candi
Justice/Sherrie’s Mother
Hertz Klinemann
Joey Primo
Mayor/Ja’Keith
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Chorus Size - Small - Med
Musical Style - Rock "n" Roll
Vocal Demands - Difficult
Period - The late 80`s
Setting - Los Angeles, California. Sunset Strip.
During the performance, the performers frequently break the "fourth wall", directly addressing the audience and seemingly forgetting (or perhaps reminding the audience) that they are actors in a musical.
Show trivia: Despite the musical's title, the Def Leppard song of the same name is not included in the musical.
Synopsis Rock of Ages.
Act I Lonny Barnett, who serves as the show's narrator, sets up the story: In 1987, an aspiring rocker named Drew Boley works as a busboy in the Hollywood bar/club called the Bourbon Room, owned by Dennis Dupree and assisted by Lonny . He falls instantly for a girl, Sherrie Christian, who just arrived from Paola, Kansas, hoping to make it big in acting . Drew convinces Dennis to hire Sherrie as a waitress. A pair of German developers, Hertz Klinemann and his son Franz, persuade the city's mayor to abandon the "sex, drugs and rock-n-roll" lifestyle of the Sunset Strip and introduce "clean living" into the area, much to the anger of the City Planner, Regina . When Dennis learns that part of the plan involves demolishing The Bourbon Room, he believes the club can generate more money by having rock star Stacee Jaxx and his band Arsenal, who recently announced their break-up, perform their last show at the Bourbon . He calls Stacee and convinces him to play the band's last show in the club where he had begun. As Drew struggles to write new lyrics, Sherrie urges him to go after his dreams. Regina begins protesting Hertz and Franz's redevelopment plans . Later, after arguing with her parents during a phone call, Sherrie begins to discover feelings for Drew, who supports her dream. Also, Drew, auditioning to open for Arsenal, finds the lyrics he has been searching for and realises that they have come from his feelings for Sherrie .
After obtaining the opening slot for Arsenal, Drew invites Sherrie to have a picnic in the hills overlooking Los Angeles . There, he mistakenly suggests that the two are merely friends to calm their nerves, disappointing both of them and ruining the date. Stacee Jaxx arrives at the Bourbon and gives an interview about his life . Sherrie is immediately smitten with him, and believing she means nothing to Drew, has sex with Stacee in the men's room. While Stacee and Sherrie are copulating, Drew opens for Stacee and Arsenal, not knowing a record producer is in the audience. After their tryst, Stacee tells Dennis to dismiss Sherrie before the concert begins. His guitarist realises what Stacee did and knocks him out. The record producer in the club was impressed with Drew's performance and suggests he take over for Stacee. He then offers Drew a contract, which he accepts. Sherrie seeks comfort from Drew after she is fired, but having seen her go into the men's room with Stacee, he dismisses her. In the midst of these events, Regina continues her protest.
An upset and unemployed Sherrie meets Justice Charlier, the owner of the nearby Venus Club, which Justice prefers to call a "gentleman's club." She relates to Sherrie's story, saying that many of the small-town girls hoping to hit it big in LA end up making a living as strippers. Grudgingly, Sherrie accepts Justice's offer to work in her club. As the act closes, everyone is alone – Drew, as an upcoming rock star; Sherrie, fending for herself as an exotic dancer; Regina protesting the redevelopment; and Dennis, trying to save his club.
Act II Hertz and Franz begin demolition on the Sunset Strip, alienating them from each other as Franz falls for Regina and sees "the error of their ways." Dennis and Lonny join the fight with little success. Drew's rocker image is upsetting the record producer, and Sherrie is learning how things work at the Venus Club. When they meet on the street, Sherrie is embarrassed about her job and Drew is upset that his record company is attempting to reshape him into part of a boy band. They argue and Sherrie admits that she was crazy about Drew, but failed to make a move because he said they were friends. They part ways more troubled by these new revelations. A drunken Stacee arrives at the Venus Club and is pleased to see Sherrie. After being forced to give him a lap-dance, she beats him up while dancing. Drew arrives to admit his feelings to her, but becomes angry when he sees the two in a suggestive position and storms off. Justice later tells Drew that as soon as he left, Sherrie had punched Stacee in the jaw. Regina continues her protest against the destruction of the Strip, but yields no success. She convinces Franz to stand up to his father if he does not believe in his father's vision. Franz admits that he has his own dream, namely to open a confectioner's store in Germany. He rebels against his father and admits his love for Regina. Meanwhile, Dennis and Lonny, upset at the loss of The Bourbon Room, suggest they have feelings for each other. Sherrie decides to leave the Venus Club after the scene with Drew, and Justice tells her that she had a similar experience with her first love. Everyone is in turmoil as they attempt to move on with their lives.
Franz leaves for Germany and Hertz begins to regret the hurtful way he treated his son. Regina arrives and explains to Hertz that Franz does not hate him; he simply wants his father to support his dream. Hertz later returns the deed to the Bourbon Room to Dennis and invests in Franz's confectionery store. Drew, now a pizza delivery boy, realises none of his dreams have come true—he still is not a rock star, and Sherrie is leaving on a midnight train. Lonny arrives and explains to Drew that his life is so miserable because they are all characters in a musical and that it was their book writer who made it so. He also reveals to Drew that he serves as the show's "dramatic conjurer" that if Drew wants a happy ending, it is up to him to get the girl. After hearing this, Drew realises that he does not need fame to make him happy, only Sherrie. He reaches her at the train station in time, and they realise that their love has survived all their trials and reconcile. In the epilogue, The Bourbon Room is spared from demolition and Stacee Jaxx, now a washed-up has-been who has been charged with statutory rape, flees to Uruguay. Franz opens his confectionery store in Germany and has a long distance relationship with Regina, who becomes the new mayor of West Hollywood. Dennis passes away, leaving the Bourbon Room to Lonny, and Sherrie and Drew move to Glendale and start a family. Lonny notes that on The Strip, sometimes the dreams with which you enter are not always the dreams with which you leave, but they still rock.
