ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar
ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?
PARAMOUNT THEATRE HITS THE HIGH NOTES WITH
ROCK OF AGES
ITS 10TH BROADWAY SEASON FINALE
APRIL 13-MAY 29, 2022
(top, from left) Kieran McCabe plays Drew, Taylor DiTola is Sherrie, (below) Melody A. Betts is Justice and Josh Scholl plays Stacee Jaxx. Credit: Amy Nelson
Are you ready to rock? Like, really rock?!
Nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Rock of Ages will take Paramount Theatre audiences back into the iconic music era of the ‘80s, where rock ‘n’ roll dreamers turn their fantasies into reality.
Paramount Artistic Producer and New Works Director Amber Mak, known for staging Paramount’s smash hit blockbusters Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz and The Little Mermaid, directs Rock of Ages. Don’t miss Paramount’s 10th Anniversary Broadway Series finale, a trip back to when rock was king, and every song was a hitmaker.
Previews start April 13, 2022. Performances run through May 29 at Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora. Single tickets are $36-$79. For tickets and information, visit ParamountAurora.com, or call the box office, (630) 896-6666, Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
(from left) Kieran McCabe plays Drew, Taylor DiTola is Sherrie, Melody A. Betts plays Justice and Josh Scholl is Stacee Jaxx in Rock of Ages, Paramount Theatre’s 10th Anniversary Broadway Series finale. Credit: Amy Nelson
Rock of Ages is the story of a small-town girl with Hollywood dreams who meets a big-city boy chasing his rock-star fantasies on L.A.’s infamous Sunset Strip. With the historic Bourbon Room as the backdrop, their love story unfolds right where the biggest names in rock got their start – all told through the biggest, baddest, mind-blowing rock songs of the ‘80s including “Just Like Paradise,” “Sister Christian,” “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” “Wanted Dead or Alive,” “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” and a whole lot more.
Rock of Ages, book by Chris D’Arienzo, arrangements and orchestrations by Ethan Popp, premiered on Broadway April 7, 2009, at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre and later moved to the Helen Hayes Theatre where it closed on January 18, 2015 after 2,328 performances. With pulsating percussion, blazing guitar riffs, vocal gymnastics and glam 80’s rock hits, Rock of Ages earned five Tony Nominations, including Best Musical, spawned tours and productions worldwide, and was turned into a 2012 major motion picture starring Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough and Mary J. Blige.
“This show has been on my bucket list since I first saw it when I was living in New York City and would use my outdated student ID to snag a $25 ticket to the show,” said director Amber Mak. “As a self-proclaimed rule follower, this show allowed me to indulge in my fantasies of being a spontaneous, care-free rocker and groupie. So I invite you to leave the heaviness of the world and the crazy ride we have been on for the past two years behind. Get a drink and escape to the Sunset Strip of L.A. in the ‘80s where big hair and rock ruled. Let’s Rock Aurora!”
Principal cast members for Paramount’s new staging of Rock of Ages are Melody A. Betts (Justice/Mother), Shea Coffman (Lonny), Taylor DiTola (Sherrie), Nick Druzbanski (Franz), Carisa Gonzalez (Regina), Karl Hamilton (Dennis), Kieran McCabe (Drew) and Josh Scholl (Stacee Jax/Father). The ensemble includes Lexie Bailey, Max J. Cervantes, Maeve Cosgriffe, Shantel Cribbs, Andres J. DeLeon, Alley Ellis, Michael Ferraro (Drew at some performances), Paige Hauer, Christopher John Kelley, Maggie Malaney, Trey Mendlik, David Sajewich, Charlie Ward, Natalie Welch and Travis Austin Wright.
The band members, performing live, on stage, are Kara Kesselring (conductor/keyboard), Dan Peters (guitar one), Scott Tipping (guitar two), Janis Wallin (bass) and Jim Widlowski (drums).
The full production team is Amber Mak, director and co-choreographer; Annie Jo Fischer, co-choreographer; Kory Danielson, music director/supervisor; Kara Kesselring, conductor/associate music director; Jeffrey D. Kmiec, scenic designer; Theresa Ham, costume designer; Greg Hofmann, lighting designer; Adam Rosenthal, sound designer; Mike Tutaj, projection designer; Katie Cordts, wig, hair and makeup designer; Jesse Gaffney, properties designer; Ethan Deppe, electronic music designer; Jerry Galante, fight choreographer; Susan Gosdick, dialect coach; Sara Reinecke, associate director; Charlie Ward, associate choreographer; Kailey Rockwell, associate conductor; Sean McNeely, orchestra contractor; Maegan Burnell, stage manager; and Mary Zanger, assistant stage manager.
Rock of Ages performance schedule and ticket information
Previews start Wednesday, April 13, 2022, at 7 p.m. Press opening is Friday, April 22, at 8 p.m. Rock of Ages runs through May 29. Show times are Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Thursdays at 7 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sundays at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. (exception: No 1:30 p.m. matinee on Wednesday, April 13). Tickets are $36 to $79.
Paramount Theatre is located at 23 E. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora. For tickets and information, visit paramountaurora.com, call (630) 896-6666, or stop by the Paramount box office Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Breaking down barriers to live theater:
Paramount introduces Pay What You Can events
Paramount Theatre is offering two Pay What You Can performances of Rock of Ages on Thursday, April 14, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, April 16, at 3 p.m.
Both days, starting at 10 a.m., visit the Paramount Theatre box office in-person to request tickets. Customers will be asked how much they’d like to pay and will simply pay what they can. Limit four tickets per person. Offer not valid toward previous purchases. Online or phone purchases are not permitted. Paramount’s Pay What You Can program is part of the theater’s new program, REACH (Resources Expanding the Arts and Connecting Humanity).
Access Services
If you require wheelchair or special seating or other assistance, please contact the box office at (630) 896-6666 or boxoffice@paramountarts.com in advance
Paramount offers assistive listening devices free of charge at all performances. Check in at the coat room before the show to borrow a listening device.
For patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing, Rock of Ages will be presented on Friday, May 27, at 8 p.m. with two certified sign interpreters translating all dialogue and lyrics into American Sign Language. Patrons can purchase single tickets with special seating for this performance for $30 with the code ASLPARAMOUNT.
Paramount Theatre’s Covid-19 commitment to and safety and protocol
Paramount Theatre has followed, and will continue to follow, the requirements of the State of Illinois and the Kane County Health Department. Therefore, Paramount is following the guidance of the State of Illinois and recommends, but no longer requires, masks, proof of vaccination or negative COVID test for patrons effective February 28, 2022. Mask wearing is strongly encouraged, but will be optional. For complete details, please read Paramount’s full Covid Policy.
Paramount’s new BOLD Series, launched in March
in the newly renovated Copley Theatre
After two years of waiting, Paramount Theatre is launching its new BOLD Series, bringing a new, four-show subscription series and a new type of live theater – fearless, unexpected and thought provoking – to the heart of Aurora’s downtown entertainment district.
Just as exciting, Paramount is lifting the curtain on its new home for its BOLD Series, the newly remodeled Copley Theatre, right across the street from Paramount at 8 E. Galena Blvd., in the North Island Center. Following a two-year, $2 million, top-to-bottom renovation, the Copley is an intimate, state-of-the-art theater with 165 comfortable new seats and a modern new lobby bar, ready to attract more audiences to downtown Aurora.
Paramount’s inaugural BOLD production is Sweat, winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play and a landmark achievement of American theater. Lynn Nottage’s acclaimed modern-day drama about life in an American Rust Belt town being battered by the constant threat of company shutdowns runs at the Copley March 9-April 24, 2022. Check out my full review here: http://chiilliveshows.com/2022/02/opening-lynn-nottages-pulitzer-prize.html
Following Sweat, Paramount’s BOLD Series continues with Hand to God by Robin Askins, a darkly humorous shocker told Sesame Street meets Exorcist style, puppets included, May 25-July 10; the Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home, book by Lisa Kron, music by Jeanine Tesori, based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, August 3-September 18; and BULL: a love story, Nancy García Loza’s world premiere drama about a Mexican-American man who returns to Chicago to find a family who has moved on and a neighborhood he no longer recognizes, October 5-November 20.
Four-show subscriptions are on sale now from $134-$148. That’s buy two shows, get two shows free. Single tickets to individual performances are $67-$74. To purchase subscriptions, single tickets or for more information, visit ParamountAurora.com, call (630) 896-6666, or stop by the Paramount box office, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
About Paramount Theatre
Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., is the center for performing arts and education in Aurora, the second largest city in Illinois. The beautiful,
1,843-seat theater, graced with a strong 1930s Art Deco influence and original Venetian décor, nationally known for its high-quality productions, superb acoustics and historic grandeur, has been downtown Aurora’s anchor attraction since 1931.
After launching its own Broadway Series in 2011, Paramount Theatre grew to be the second largest subscription house in the U.S. Before Covid, more than 41,000 subscribers from all over Chicagoland and the Midwest were enjoying Paramount’s critically acclaimed, 2019-20 Broadway-caliber productions. In addition, Paramount also presents an array of internationally known comedians, music stars, dance events and family shows annually.
Paramount Theatre is one of four live performance venues programmed and managed by the Aurora Civic Center Authority. ACCA also oversees downtown Aurora’s newly renovated 165-seat Copley Theatre, home to Paramount’s new BOLD Series, along with the Paramount School of the Arts, RiverEdge Park, the city’s 6,000-seat outdoor summer concert venue, and Stolp Island Theatre, an immersive space opening in summer 2023.
Paramount Theatre continues to expand its artistic and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Tim Rater, President and CEO, Aurora Civic Center Authority; Jim Corti, Artistic Director, Paramount Theatre; a dedicated Board of Trustees and a devoted staff of live theater and music professionals.
For the latest updates, visit ParamountAurora.com or follow @ParamountAurora on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
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