Nothin' but a Good Time: “Rock of Ages,” at the Timber Lake Playhouse through July 6

If it’s got over-ze-top German accents, banging rock music, and more questionable wigs than you can shake a Spirit Halloween store at, it must be Rock of Ages, now playing at the Timber Lake Playhouse. Directed with aplomb by James Beaudry, Timber Lake’s latest takes us back to a yester-decade when rock music was the culture and not something confined to specific frequencies of FM radio.

With its book by Chris D’Arienzio, Rock of Ages tells the story of a series of believers and dreamers in 1987 Los Angeles. There’s Drew (Sam O’Neill), who wants to be a rock star. There’s the inevitable love interest, Sherrie (Amy Chen), who has dreams of being an actor. There’s a pair of father-and-son German developers (Michael Ehlers and Gabriel Salazar) with secret aspirations of their own. And then there are the denizens of this exaggerated slice of nostalgia. Dennis Dupree (Alexander Cousins) owns the Bourbon Room, a seedy dive bar that offers a venue for up-and-coming rockers to make their name. Rock star Stacee Jaxx (Mikey Marmann) shows up to give a farewell performance with his backing band (the actual on-stage pit, afforded costumes of their own). And my personal favorite Regina, the furious rebel fighting to keep rock 'n' roll alive, is performed by Emma Theriot at a constant 11/10. I should mention that Regina is pronounced so that it rhymes with a certain member of female anatomy.

Yes, the humor can be blue at times, but I was pleasantly surprised by how “with it” Saturday night’s crowd was. It’s been my experience that the typically older patrons who frequent theatres often don’t go for jokes about STDs, puke, and soirées with a llama, yet that evening’s audience seemed to love it all. By design, there’s a lot going on within Rock of Ages' story. I guess you could call it a plot, if you’re being real generous. But guiding us through it all is narrator Lonny (Anthony Aprino), an employee of the Bourbon Room. He pokes fun at musical theatre as a whole and jukebox musicals in general, with several fourth-wall breaks throughout. It’s a fun twist on what can be a very tired genre, and the show itself knows what it is: a vehicle to jam out to some classic songs and deliver punchlines.

On those merits, it works. Beaudry’s production is trim and fast and continually finds inventive ways to stage events in manners that are both theatrical and exciting. Everything is further buoyed by a cast that is clearly, uniformly having fun and exuding energy. They convey their characters convincingly and, under the music direction of Matthew W. Surico, sound fantastic. It’s nice to hear actors with voices that fit the style of genre they’re singing for, as opposed to hearing musical-theatre voices trying to affect a glam-rock growl. The dancing is also strong, with some sharp choreography by Courtney Liu. I did feel that the fight choreography had middling results, with the slo-mo fighting being a fun bit of camp, while any punches and kicks that were supposed to be real instead looked and sounded decidedly fake.

But what a joy it was that the second-act slump typical of musicals is nowhere to be found, thanks in large part to Beaudry’s choice to utilize even more theatrical flourishes: dropping a wrecking ball from the ceiling; having actors wear signs that read “Sleazy Producer” and “Sleazier Producer”; adorning a certain prop with a totally gratuitous but absolutely necessary mullet wig … . I kept finding new things to enjoy.

Special kudos to Finley Fields for the multitude of well-designed props, Jonas Harrison for the scenic design, and technical direction by Iz Dillon. The angular set, adorned with a decoupage of concert posters and metal scaffolding, seamlessly integrated Abi Farnsworth’s effective lighting design. And while there were a couple of feedback issues here and there, I’m going to cut sound designer Nick Feldmann some slack, as trying to mix what’s effectively a live rock concert with 17 mics is no easy feat, and on the whole, things sounded fantastic. In a similar vein, Thomas J.C. Gluodenis' costume design is fun, with lots of vibrant colors and period-appropriate fashion, and a frankly overwhelming amount of wigs. It was unfortunate that a not-insignificant amount of said wigs looked cheap and crunchy, which was particularly noticeable on at least one major character’s head throughout the entire show.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed myself. If you don’t count the movie, this was my first exposure to the material, and it’s definitely something I would watch again. There were some less-than-ideal production elements, as well as some low energy at the outset of Saturday’s performance, but it’s still easy for me to recommend Timber Lake's latest to anyone who may or may not have seen Rock of Ages before. If you have the chance, don’t miss this nostalgic look at a bygone era.

Rock of Ages runs at the Timber Lake Playhouse (8215 Black Oak Road, Mt. Carroll IL) through July 6, and more information and tickets are available by calling (815) 244-2035 or visiting TimberLakePlayhouse.org.