'Rock of Ages' to take the stage at MCT

Apr. 27—MIDLAND — Midland Community Theatre will be taking its audience members back in time to the "big, bad 80s" with "Rock of Ages."

The show will run from Friday-May 13 at the Davis Theatre at MCT.

Directing this production is Carl Moore, who's been with MCT for 30 years.

"We're very excited," Moore said about getting the show started this weekend. "The actors are ready. It's not like they can't be better but you never get to be as good as you can be because every time you get to the spot where you believe you're as good as you can be then at that point, your eyes open up to what else you can do. They're going to try and be better every time they get out there."

It's the tail end of the decade in Hollywood and the party has been raging extra hard.

Aqua Net, Lycra, lace and liquor flow freely at one of the Sunset Strips' last legendary venues the "Bourbon Room" where an aspiring rocker named Drew Boley works as a busboy.

He longs to take the stage as the next big thing but also longs for small-town girl Sherri, fresh off the bus from Kansas with stars in her eyes.

However, the rock 'n' roll fairy tale is about to end when German developers sweep into town with plans to turn the fabled strip into just another capitalist strip mall.

Only the music of hit bands Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake and much more can hold the answer to whether Drew, Sherri and the rest of the gang can save the strip, and themselves before it's too late.

"It's just a musical based on the music of the late 80s," Moore said. "Journey, Styx, Poison, all those groups from that time, they have some really wonderful songs that people who were alive during that time will remember and will be able to sing along with. We enjoy the fact that we're bringing life to those songs again and wrapping them around a story about a young love that finds each other and then break up and find each other again. It's not a complicated love story at all."

Auditions for the musical were held back in February and rehearsals began in March.

There are 20 cast members total with some making up the ensemble.

One of the tricks of putting on a musical, especially one that's almost 90 percent rock 'n' roll, is to make sure no one damages their vocal chords before the show officially begins.

"The music is written for rock tenors so we had to find guys who could approach that but at the same time, we have to be careful and hold them back a little so that they don't hurt their voices," Moore said. "The other challenges have been to get enough people to do the ensemble because we're having to double up on the ensemble. That's ok. That's part of it."

Playing the role of Lonny Barnett (aka, the story's narrator) is Tobin Brannan.

"I'm the guy who's kind of filling you in on the back story of everything and keeping the bits of the story going for you," Brannan said. "But then, I get to be a part of the story at the same time. While I'm a character in the story, every once in a while, I get to pull out of that and be the narrator and give the audience a glimpse into what's happening."

Brannan is no stranger to the stage, doing numerous productions including musicals throughout his life.

He played SpongeBob SquarePants last summer in Basin Theatre Works' production of the "SpongeBob SquarePants Musical."

Most recently, he was involved in MCT's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and will also be in this year's Summer Mummers.

"I have been in here with a bunch of friends that I haven't been able to do shows with in a while," Brannan said. "I'm really excited to be in a show with them again. I've also met a lot of cool people. I've enjoyed being able to be 'free' which is probably the best way to put it. Lonny is a crazy, outgoing guy, which is something that I wouldn't be in real life. That's been a lot of fun."

Playing the role of Sherrie is MCT newcomer Kate Adam.

"I'm super excited," Adam said. "I just moved here a year ago and this is my first jump back into theater since COVID. I'm just excited to get back into performing and all of that. I love this show. This whole cast is awesome too."

Adam discussed more about her character in the show.

"Sherrie is coming to LA from a very small town," Adam said. "She's trying to be an actress and a big star. The show lets you know that reality sets in. stuff doesn't work out the way you expect it to. By the end, you realize that you can make your own destiny and find your own happiness. It's a super funny show too. It has so many good messages in a funny way."

One of Adam's favorite things about being in "Rock of Ages" is how the show is everything music.

"It's all about music," Adam said. "That's been one of the hardest things but also the coolest things to experience. Just the timing and coming into a song, not really starting a song but getting you're dialogue right in order to jump into that. That's been cool with working with a musical that's 90 percent music. It's awesome."

If you go

— What: "Rock of Ages."

— When: 7:30 p.m. April 28, 4 p.m. April 29, 7:30 p.m. May 5, 7:30 p.m. May 6, 2:30 p.m. May 7, 7:30 p.m. May 12, 7:30 p.m. May 13.

— Where: Midland Community Theatre.

— Where to purchase tickets: tinyurl.com/mrxvuu24