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Poster Image for Rock of Ages

Tompsett & Lipkin Join Full Rock of Ages Cast

Date: 16 June 2011

West End stars Oliver Tompsett and Amy Pemberton will play the leads of small-town boy and girl Drew and Sherrie who fall in love in the West End premiere of Rock of Ages, which opens at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 27 September 2011 (previews from 31 August).

They and fellow West End regular Simon Lipkin join, as previously announced, TV and radio presenter Justin Lee Collins and former X Factor winner Shayne Ward in the production, the full company of which is announced today.

Ahead of the show’s September opening, the cast – including Ward, Tompsett (best known from his long stint as Fiyero in Wicked), Pemberton (Footloose, Jersey Boys) and Lipkin (Avenue Q) – will be performing three of the show’s songs – “Dead or Alive”, “High Enough” and “Don’t Stop Believin’” – this weekend at West End Live, the annual free theatre festival, held this year in Trafalgar Square.

Set in 1987 on the Sunset Strip and billed as an “arena-rock love story”, Rock of Ages centres on Drew, a busboy and aspiring rocker who chases his dreams to Los Angeles’ most famous rock club, where he meets a small-town girl newly arrived from Kansas, named Sherrie.

Rock of Ages incorporates period glam-rock music from the likes of Bon Jovi, Journey, Whitesnake, Poison and Pat Benatar, including over 20 hits such as “Sister Christian”, “I Wanna Rock”, “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, “Come on Feel the Noize”, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”, “The Final Countdown” and “Don’t Stop Believin’” , “Dead or Alive”, “We Built This City”, “I Wanna Know What Love Is” and “The Final Countdown”.

The musical, which has a book by Chris D'Arienzo, premiered in LA in 2006. It opened Off-Broadway in October 2008, before transferring to Broadway’s Brooks Atkinston Theater in April 2009 and, subsequently, the Helen Hayes Theater. The show is currently being made into a film, starring Tom Cruise, Russell Brand, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Alec Baldwin.

The London cast will also feature Rohan Tickell, Rachel McFarlane, Jodie Jacobs and Sandy Moffat, as well as Nathan Amzi, Grant Anthony, Cordelia Farnworth, Twinnie-Lee Moore, Andrew Spillett, Amy Thornton, Natalie Andreou, Carly Mercedes Dyer, Ian McIntosh, Jamie Muscato, Zizi Strallen and Dylan Turner.

Rock of Ages is directed by Kristin Hanggi, choreographed by Kelly Devine and designed by Beowulf Boritt, with costumes by Gregory Gale, lighting by Jason Lyons, sound by Peter Hylenski, projection by Zachary Borovay and music supervision by Ethan Popp.

- by Terri Paddock

Related Content

Booking Tickets & Show Listings
Rock of Ages Listing Page
Internal Links
Rock of Ages confirms transfer to Garrick in Jan - 10th Dec 2012 news
Rock of Ages follows Loserville at Garrick? - 13th Nov 2012 gossip
Rock of Ages closes at Shaftesbury on 6 Jan ahead of transfer - 4th Oct 2012 news
Year of the Producer: Brief Encounter with... Julian Stoneman - 16th Aug 2012 interviews
Shayne Ward, Richard Fleeshman & Backbeat Launch WOS Awards - 14th Nov 2011 news
A Criterion for Critics - 7th Oct 2011 blog
WOS Radio: The First Critics at the Cri Debate - 6th Oct 2011 news
1st Night Photos: Stars Rock Out at Rock of Ages Gala - 29th Sep 2011 photos
Review Round-up: Did Rock of Ages Get Critics Believin'? - 29th Sep 2011 roundup
Rock of Ages starstar - 29th Sep 2011 reviews
Photos: Rock of Ages Opens at West End's Shaftesbury - 28th Sep 2011 photos
Opening: Playboy, Rock of Ages, Advice, Phantom 25 - 26th Sep 2011 news
Brief Encounter With ... Rock of Ages' Justin Lee Collins - 19th Sep 2011 interviews
WOS Theatregoers Rock Out with Collins et al - 15th Sep 2011 blog
Photos: Rock of Ages Cast Shape up for Shaftesbury - 12th Aug 2011 photos
Justin Lee Collins Rocks WOS Mag, Aug/Sep Out Now - 29th Jul 2011 news
Top Five: Shows to See With Your Dad for Father's Day - 13th Jun 2011 features
X Factor's Ward in Rock of Ages, Full CFT Singin' - 8th Jun 2011 news
Justin Lee Collins Jams in London Rock of Ages - 2nd Jun 2011 news
Broadway Rock of Ages Hits Shaftesbury, 31 Aug - 3rd Mar 2011 news



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