Theatre News

Rock of Ages closes at Shaftesbury on 6 Jan ahead of transfer

Rock of Ages is closing at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 6 January 2013 ahead of a move to another, yet-to-be-confirmed West End venue, Whatsonstage.com can confirm.W@S_TICKETS/W@S_TICKETS

The Broadway import, which opened at the Shaftesbury on 28 September 2011 (previews from 31 August), features a compendium of rock songs including “Don’t Stop Believin’”,
“We Built This City”, “The Final Countdown”, “Here I Go Again” and
“Can’t Fight This Feeling”.

Its replacement at the Shaftesbury is due to be confirmed imminently, while its new home – speculated to be the Duchess – will be announced in the coming weeks.

The West End cast originally featured X Factor winner Shayne Ward and TV presenter Justin Lee Collins, both of whom are no longer with the show. The current cast features Tim Howar, Ross Hunter, Daniel Fletcher, Natalie Andreou and Simon Lipkin.

Simon Lipkin and the cast of Rock of Ages

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.

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.

Rock of Ages was recently made into a film,
starring Tom Cruise, Russell Brand, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Alec
Baldwin.

The Rock of Ages cast have been informed of its closure at the Shaftesbury, a spokesperson confirmed. Possible replacements at the venue include Burn the Floor, From Here to Eternity, Finding Neverland and fellow Broadway import Memphis.