Rock of Ages confirms transfer to Garrick in Jan

Rock of Ages has confirmed it is transferring to the Garrick Theatre from 18 January 2013 after finishing its current run at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 6 January.

According to press material, “Taking such a huge cast and crew on a journey to a new venue is quite a challenge but the Garrick Theatre is ready to rock and welcome fans young and old.”

The Garrick is currently home to new musical Loserville, which closes on 5 January.

Simon Lipkin who plays the narrator in Rock of Ages, said: “It’s awesome we’re following Status Quo’s mantra of Rockin’ All Over the World, we’re Rockin’ All Over the West End.”

Other cast members making the journey across town include Ross Hunter (Drew), Daniel Fletcher (Dennis Dupree) and Tim Howar (Stacee Jaxx).

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”.

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.

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