Big Music and Bigger Hair Star in "Rock of Ages" at The Strand

If big hair, guitar ballads and the rock lifestyle lives in your DNA, then don't miss the production of Rock of Ages slated for the Strand Theatre on a weekly schedule from June 7 to June 23.

Rock of Ages plays at the Strand Theatre in June, bringing big music and bigger music to Marietta.Photo byStrand Theatre

The local production adapts the original Broadway production, which ran on Broadway for over 2,300 performances from 2009 to 2015. The show earned 5 Tony nominations including Best Musical. Since then, the jukebox musical has toured the world and was made into a movie. In the Hollywood version, Tom Cruise plays Stacee Jaxx, the male lead musical performer and human sex machine, in what director Adam Shankman called "a brilliant mashup of Axl Rose, Keith Richards and Jim Morrison."

At it's heart, Rock of Ages is a classic and tormented make-it-big-in-the-music-industry story. Small-town girl Sherrie and city boy Drew meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their musical dreams. Their blossoming romance faces challenges from Stacee Jaxx, changing musical tastes, greedy industry players, and a prudish activist group trying to shut down the famous rock club where they work.

But the music really powers the show. From start to finish, classic rock tunes propel the characters, the story and the energy felt by the audience. With a song list like this, there's no denying that music truly has the lead role:

• Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses
• "Sister Christian" by Night Ranger
• "Too Much Time on My Hands" by Styx
• "Cum On Feel the Noize" by Quiet Riot
• "Can't Fight This Feeling" by REO Speedwagon
• "Harden My Heart" by Quarterflash
• "Renegade" by Styx
• "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake
• "I Wanna Rock" by Twisted Sister
• "We Built This City" by Starship
• "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister
• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar
• "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner
• "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison
• "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey

Tickets are on sale now at the Strand Box Office and website. And at $29 to $39 for a seat, this show is a bargain compared to New York or Vegas priced productions.