Rocking good times at the auditorium
LAST night, I was invited to go and see Rock of Ages at Grimsby Auditorium, the rock and roll musical starring Kevin Clifton as the iconic Stacee Jaxx.
The show promised to be a fun night out filled with singing, dancing, and a whole lot of laughs - and it delivered.
Rock of Ages was good, silly fun, with an immensely talented cast who sang some belting songs and performed some entertaining dances.
Grimsby’s own Kevin Clifton starred as the infamous Stacee Jaxx, the arrogant rock star who all the boys admire and all the girls crave. Kevin gave a convincing performance, proving that his acting and singing talents more than match those of his dancing.
Speaking to the Grimsby Telegraph after the show, Kevin said: “It’s so awesome to be back in Grimsby, performing at my home theatre.
“We are so grateful to be back on stage after the year we’ve all had. Thank you to everyone who came tonight!”
Another local lad, Joe Gash was entertaining throughout with his portrayal of Lonny, the show’s narrator. He brought great amounts of energy and generated a lot of laughs with his charismatic performance and interaction with the audience.
Last night, a lucky woman on the front row called Elaine was the object of Lonny’s desires, and was even invited to his dressing room at the interval.
Elaine, if you’re reading this, thanks for being such a good sport!
Joe said it was “great fun” to perform at the Auditorium and said the venue provided “a great sound and atmosphere” for the cast to perform with.
Luke Walsh and Rhiannon Chesterman impressed as Drew and d Sherrie, with their vocal performances steal- ing the show at times.
The rest of the ensemble were consistent t throughout and much praise needs to be given n for the amount of energy they all maintained d throughout the show. The dance routines s were energetic to say the least.
A special mention should be made for Jenny Fitzpatrick, who cast a strong and convincing figure as Justice and delivered possibly the strongest musical note of the entire performance, which earned her a well-deserved round of applause.
The singing and dancing was phenomenal but there were a few parts of the show that didn’t sit too well with me. It must be stressed that none of these were the cast’s fault - they all did their jobs incredibly well.
Although the show is set in the 1980s and a degree of misogyny is to be expected, some of the scenes in Rock of Ages - in my opinion - passed the point of ‘ironic’ sexism (if there is such a thing).
All of the female characters were dressed in as little as possible, often down to just a bra and hot pants, and their dance routines were all highly sexualised in a way that just wasn’t equal to the male characters.
Even Stacee Jaxx, portrayed as the most sexually desirable character in the entire show, was never seen without his top on, which highlights the disparity between how the male and female characters were portrayed.
One scene that I found particularly problematic was when Gabriella William’s Regina came out in a rainbow leotard.
Regina, one of the only female characters in the show that is not overtly sexualised, takes a stand against the German businessman who wants to destroy the strip.
In one scene, she comes out in a rainbow leotard with a great bushel of pubic hair protruding from either side - clearly a vulgar comment on her ‘liberal ideals’.
I felt to ridicule one of the few female characters in this show who actually stands for something feels like a poor decision from the director, one that left a bad taste in my mouth.
Despite these small problems, the show made for a fantastic night out, one that will feel like a breath of fresh air for those who have not been to see a show for the best part of two years during the pandemic.
The show was well-designed and strikingly well-lit. It all looked and sounded fantastic.
If you’re a fan of 80s rock music, dancing, and tongue-in-cheek humour, then this is certainly the show for you.
You might just need to take some of the scenes with a pinch of salt.
■ The show runs for the rest of the week at Grimsby Auditorium. To buy tickets visit www.grimsbyauditorium.org.uk/show/rock-ofages-2/