Rock of Ages
Nothin’ but a Good Time
The audience definitely ‘felt the noise’ as the cast of AIS brought the house down with their rendition of Chris D’arienzos classic rock spectacle “Rock of Ages” on the 8th and 9th of February 2019 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. “Rock of Ages” tells the story of Sherrie, a small town girl, and Drew, the city boy, who find each other amidst the hustle and bustle of the music scene on Sunset Boulevard.
The story also tells the tale of Hilda Kleinemann, a ruthless businesswoman, her son Franz, and her plans to change Sunset Boulevard, starting with the Bourbon Room. Doing such a well-known musical with equally or even more well-known songs could be a daunting task, especially at school level, but it seems that was of no problem to their director, Anushka Senanayaka, who surpassed expectations with a stellar cast that delivered a mind-blowing performance from the moment the music began and a stage that was vibrantly decorated with the neon signs that took the audience all the way to Sunset Boulevard. Radesh Vethakan captured the likeness of the soulful yet slightly clumsy rock star, Drew, with Sade Greenwood taking on the role of Sherrie, showing off her amazing voice and youthful energy as a girl from a small town looking to make it big in the city. Lonny, played by Nismath Thasleem, carried the narration of the play with a little bit of swagger to his step and a wonderful execution of breaking the fourth wall. Another notable performance was that of Nethmi Gunasekera, who brought a new kind of energy to her character with her captivating performance as Hilda Klienemann. Joshua Weerasingham gave a superb performance as Franz, Hilda’s flamboyant son. At the end of the evening, more than just entertaining the audience, the cast was beaming as they all sang along to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”, thoroughly enjoying themselves as they did so.
From beginning till end, the night was full of rock classics by the likes of Pat Benetar, Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, Poison and many other legendary artistes from the 1980’s. It was the perfect combination for anyone who loves rock music as much as they love musical theatre. Here’s what the audience had to say:
From beginning till end, the night was full of rock classics