“Rock of Ages” is a jukebox musical that holds a special place in the hearts of the Theatre Cedar Rapids community. Director Chris Okiishi, who was a DJ in the 1980s, sees it as a nostalgic journey back to his roots. The show, running from June 23 to July 23, takes place on L.A.’s Sunset Strip and revolves around rock dreams and the battle to preserve the strip from turning into a strip mall.
For actor Mike Olinger, being a part of “Rock of Ages” is a homecoming, as he last performed at Theatre Cedar Rapids in 1987. Now 52, Olinger sees this role as a chance to showcase his theatrical roots once again. Additionally, the production is a family affair, with Olinger’s brother designing the lighting and scenery.
Another happy coincidence in the casting is actor Wolfgang Amadeus Borchardt, who plays a character named Wolfgang von Colt. Borchardt loves his name, which was inspired by Mozart, and is excited to be a part of the production.
The show also stars Victoria Shelladay as Sherrie, Aaron Malec as Stacee Jaxx, and Janelle Lauer as the musical director. Shelladay feels fortunate to have the opportunity to revisit the role of Sherrie, bringing a newfound sense of confidence to the character. Malec portrays the rock star Stacee Jaxx, whose inflated ego and desire for a solo career create conflict. Malec’s personal tattoos and confidence help him embody the fierce nature of his character.
Overall, “Rock of Ages” is a chance for the Theatre Cedar Rapids community to relive the music and spirit of the 1980s, while also creating new memories on stage.
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CEDAR RAPIDS — For the Theatre Cedar Rapids gang who grew up in the 1980s, “Rock of Ages” is the rock of their ages, wrapped up in a jukebox musical.
And for several actors and at least two directors, the show running June 23 to July 23 spins some full circle moments.
Director Chris Okiishi of Iowa City, psychiatrist by day and theater maker by all other times, was a DJ in the ’80s in Ames, where he grew up.
“I would do house parties and frat parties and weddings, right during the rock ’n’ roll era. But I always thought of myself as more new wave than I did hair band,” he said.
“However, during this show, there’s very few songs I didn’t know or have some positive association with. And so when I saw it on Broadway these 20 years ago, I went in slightly begrudgingly going, OK, it’s like ‘Mamma Mia’ with hair band music. And then it turned out to be ‘Mamma Mia’ with hair band music — but in a really positive way.”
What: “Rock of Ages”
Where: Theatre Cedar Rapids, 102 Third St. SE
When: June 23 to July 23, 2023; 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $18 to $51; TCR Box Office, (319) 366-8591 or theatrecr.org/event/rock-of-ages-2/2023-06-23/
Content note: Strobe lighting, some loud noises, sexual references, adult language
Set on L.A.’s Sunset Strip, the action revolves around rock dreams hopeful and dashed, crushes hopeful and dashed, and an entrepreneur who wants to dash them all by turning the strip into a strip mall. It’s a journey woven together by the music of Journey, Styx, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Twisted Sister, Pat Benatar, Poison and more.
Returning to TCR
The last time Mike Olinger of Marion was onstage at Theatre Cedar Rapids was 1987, and this production takes place in 1987, he said. That was the year he played the Cowardly Lion and “Rock of Ages” musical director Janelle Lauer played Dorothy.
“It’s been a bit humbling,” Olinger said. “I’m the second-oldest guy in the show. I was a cocky teenager when I was on stage last time.”
Fast-forward 36 years, he’s now 52, and his perspective has changed, through college, marriage, parenting, grandparenting and careers — first as a funeral director and now as a financial adviser.
The career change has given him the time and courage, with a little push from his business partners, to let his theatrical roots show and grow.
He’s rediscovering there’s no place like “home.”
“It had to be the right show,” he said. “I was born to play Dennis Dupree. It’s my shtick, man. It just feels so good. (He’s) the owner of the Bourbon Room. So I would equate it to the Whiskey a Go Go on the L.A. Strip.
“He’s this kind of old hippie bar owner who is trying to be modern with the kids, but he’s still more the old Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath kind of a guy that’s coming off the tail-end of hippie. He tries to be real serious and gruff, but he’s got the warmer side underneath him.”
Lauer has helped Olinger uncover his theatrical muscle memory.
“Oh my God — I’m so happy” to be reunited with Olinger, said Lauer, of Cedar Rapids. “And we do a little homage to ‘The Wizard of Oz’ in the show, too. I love Mike, and I’m so bummed that he hasn’t done anything for so long, but I’m happy that he came down. He’s perfect in this part.”
“Janelle has whipped me back into shape,” Olinger said, thrilled to discover that “this still works a little bit. But the acting part — that’s the best — to work with these guys.”
The production also is an Olinger family affair, with brother Scott designing the lighting and scenery.
“This is kind of a neat thing for (Scott Olinger), because he’s been lighting for the Pork Tornadoes for a long time,” Okiishi said. “To be able to use the skills he’s put together actually lighting rock shows, to light a show about rock shows, that’s pretty cool.”
Wolfgang connection
One of Okiishi’s happy coincidence moments was casting an actor named Wolfgang Amadeus Borchardt to play the bar’s jack-of-all-trades and wannabe rock star, Wolfgang von Colt.
“We have the only Wolfgang that is auditioning currently for theater in the Corridor, and it worked out great,” Okiishi said. “I can’t say that his name gave him a leg up per se, but it was certainly memorable.”
Borchardt, 21, of Cedar Rapids, said he loves his name, inspired, of course, by Mozart. After studying some music history and seeing the movie “Amadeus,” his father decided Wolfgang Amadeus would be “a super cool name” for a son.
“Rock of Ages” is Borchardt’s third TCR show, springing from the ensemble of “Cabaret” and “SpongeBob” into landing the lead role in this production, all in 2023.
He likes the character-driven aspects of Drew/Wolfgang, and “it’s a style I really like in a show,” he said.
Building on the lyrics from Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” Drew is “just a city boy born and raised in South Detroit.” Borchardt described Drew’s arc as “an aspiring artist, wanting to get more and more chances to prove himself in front of people and to himself. But he’s scared to, more than anything, finding a way to actually do it and wondering what will happen next.”
Soon he meets Sherrie, who has just arrived on the bus from Kansas, also with stars in her eyes. Borchardt said Drew finds “common ground with her and finds that we both have dreams that we wish to do.” She gives him the push he needs, but their relationship is as rocky as the music surrounding them.
Borchardt said the fun of doing the show is knowing that younger audience members will recognize at least some of the songs, and older viewers “might know all of them and have more connection to that. So being able to put that into and for an audience is very cool.”
Victoria Shelladay, 29, of North Liberty, is stepping back into Sherrie’s shoes after first playing the role at age 23 in Nolte Academy’s 2016 production at Iowa City’s Englert Theatre.
“For me, it’s like lightning in a bottle,” Shelladay said. “How many opportunities are we given to do a role over again and get a second chance at it, because 23-year-old me was not nearly as confident as 29-year-old me. I just have a sense of fearlessness that I didn’t bring to the role before.
“And it’s also this opportunity to be able to get to know people at Cedar Rapids and see how everybody works. … It feels really unique and very special this time around,” said Shelladay, who has worked with nearly all the other Corridor theater troupes.
A touch of slime
Aaron Malec slithered through “The Little Mermaid” as an evil eel in TCR’s 2016 production. Now he gets to slither through a rather slimy character as rock star Stacee Jaxx, who wants to ditch his hair band Arsenal, and embark on a solo career, while bedding and basking in his swooning female fans.
“I think he’s let fame and celebrity status get to his head a bit,” Malec said. “He’s got a bit of an inflated ego. He thinks that he can get away with anything. … He’s that stereotypical frontman that thinks he’s better than the rest of the band, and he deserves all the accolades, all the free stuff.”
In the beginning, the women clamor to his side, but as the show plays out, they discover that all that glitters isn’t gold.
Malec has let his hair grow to a very toss-able length, and his real-life body art adds to the rocker vibe, he and Okiishi said.
“My tattoos are an extension of who I am, and they help me be more comfortable in my skin as a human,” said Malec, 31, of Cedar Rapids. “And I think that carries into Stacee. It allows me to embody kind of this ferocious nature, if you will, this super level of confidence. Obviously, they are fun to look at, as well.”
Trained as a dancer, he said he’s used to “falling in line and following technique,” so songs like “Wanted Dead or Alive” give him the chance to tap into “this more wild, unruly, untamed nature, and it’s really fun.”
Several rock stars are rolled into his portrayal.
“I’m channeling a little bit of Bon Jovi, a little bit of Alice Cooper, and maybe a little bit of Freddie Mercury, too, in there,” he said. “I’m trying to find a delicate balance of that masculine energy with that little flair of femininity to it, as well, that all those ’80s rockers had.”
And unlike his previous turn in “The Little Mermaid,” this summer show isn’t all-ages family fare.
“Different families are going to have different ideas about what a family show is,” director Okiishi said. “This has some raunchy language, but it’s all done with the sweetness of spirit. You may have to explain to your children what certain terms mean. But it’s mostly silly, and I would say, is certainly no worse than a standard episode of ‘Saturday Night Live.’
“It’s that kind of humor, but it’s so full of heart.”
Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com
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