"Rock of Ages" TV Appearances, Special Guests...and an Award or Two!

Hey, Rockers!

Lately, there have been some awesome TV appearances by the "Rock of Ages" cast, some megawatt stars of tv, film and rock and roll visiting the show...and a cast member has been recognized a recent appearance in another production (but just got the award). So kick off your heels and scrape off the makeup (you too, ladies!), get comfortable...and away we go!

First of all, your friends here at The Cry of the Strip want to make sure that just in case you're totally retro and haven't gotten one of those fancy TiVo things, you still get to catch two AWESOME appearances by the cast of "Rock of Ages" and some very special guests.

First, on Monday April 27th, "Rock of Ages" stars Constantine Maroulis and Amy Spanger joined legendary rockers Tommy Shaw of Styx and Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon at the CBS Early Show. Amy and Constantine were interviewed to promote "Rock of Ages."




Later, they joined Tommy and Kevin on the CBS Early Show stage as they performed their new single "Can't Stop Rockin" (also the name of the Styx/REO Speedwagon / 38 Special tour, which kicks off May 12th).




On Wednesday, April 29th, the cast and band of "Rock of Ages" made some rock and roll dreams come true as Regis Philbin donned some leather and studs, learned "metal hands" and got in touch with his inner rock star during Broadway Week on "Live with Regis and Kelly."



What's even more amazing - "Reege" isn't the only celebrity with the desire to hang out in the Bourbon Room! "How I Met Your Mother" star Neil Patrick Harris, 80's icon (Batman? Beetlejuice? MR. MOM!?!?!?!?) Michael Keaton, legendary rocker Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees and "Lost" star Matthew Fox have all stopped by "Rock of Ages" in the past week. Michael Twittered about the fun he had at the show, and both Neil and Matthew sang the shows praises on various talk shows...word is getting around!

Last, but certainly not least, we'd like to send a special "way to go" out to cast member Tad Wilson on his winning his first professional theater award this past week. Tad was recognized as Best Actor in a Musical by SALT (Saratoga Area Local Theater) for his performance as Jean Valjean in the Merry-Go-Round production of "Les Miserables".

One final note to close out this mega-sized blog post - the "Rock of Ages" cast album was recorded yesterday! A release date is tentatively set for late May.

Rock on,

Miss Lizzy

Local Radio and NATIONAL TV Appearances for Rock of Ages Cast!

Hey, Rockers!

Here's some breaking news...cast members from "Rock of Ages" will be making radio and TV appearances in the next week and we want you guys to have all the details!

Thursday, April 23rd -
Constantine Maroulis ("Drew") will be interviewed on the following radio shows:
Q104.3 FM - "Jim Kerr Rock and Roll Morning Show" 7am (Eastern)
103.5FM 'KTU - Interview at 8:30am (Eastern)

Monday, April 27th-
Amy Spanger ("Sherrie") and Constantine Maroulis ("Drew") will be interviewed on The CBS Early Show outside at 8:30am (Eastern). REO Speedwagon and Styx will also be on hand to perform "Can't Fight This Feelin'," "Too Much Time On My Hands," and their new single "Can't Stop Rockin'." The powers-that-be at ROA HQ are asking fans to "bring your lighters, make kick-a$$ signs, and rock out with us!" For details on how to join the fun on Monday at CBS, go here.

Tuesday, April 28th -
REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin and Tommy Shaw of Styx will be interviewed live on FOX’s national morning show “The Morning Show w/ Mike & Juliet” and will play teasers of “Can’t Fight This Feelin'” and “Too Much Time On My Hands” and perform a 2-minute version of “Can’t Stop Rockin’”. Clips from "Rock of Ages" will be shown and Tommy and Kevin will talk about the show.

Wednesday, April 29th-
"Live with Regis and Kelly" paid a visit to "Rock of Ages" and this trip to the Sunset Strip will be broadcast on Wednesday, April 29th!

Rock on!

Miss Lizzy

Rock of Ages "Class of 2009" - Katherine Tokarz!

Hey, Rockers!

You know what? I just can’t sit here at The Cry of the Strip HQ and let the new guys in the cast have all the fun answering my questions!

So with that in mind, I would like to introduce to you the lady who brings Sherrie’s dream self to life and goes in-depth with Stacee as Constance Sack (of Kerrang! Magazine)…Katherine Tokarz!

(that's Katherine on the right and yours truly on the left)

1. Full Name: Katherine Denise Tokarz

2. Nickname(s): Kat, Big Kat, Kasha, Tokes

3. Role(s) in “Rock of Ages”: Ensemble / Dream Sherrie / Constance Sack

4. Song you most looking forward to performing in the show: “Don't Stop Believin'”

5. Funniest / most embarrassing moment in the run of the show so far: I've already fallen a couple of times onstage but my favorite was an almost" moment. I was running onstage for a “protestor” scene and I almost did an old-school banana-peel-slip-fall....but I saved it. In response I made the "Safe" motion that umps do in baseball. Everyone laughed and I felt invincible for a couple of seconds! :-)

6. In “Rock of Ages,” Drew’s a barback, Lonny’s a sound engineer and Sherrie’s a waitress. If you weren’t about to be in a hit musical on Broadway, what would you be doing for a living? I would be traveling somewhere and writing.

7. Have you ever seen one of the artists with a song in "Rock of Ages" in concert? Yes If so, who? Night Ranger, who wrote “Sister Christian” …at the ROA opening night party!!!

Awesome answers, Kat! Stay tuned...more interviews on the way soon!

Rock on,

Miss Lizzy

Rock of Ages Nominated for Two Drama League Awards!

Hey, Rockers!

And the awards train keeps a-rollin' all week long!

This morning, "Rock of Ages" was nominated for two awards from The Drama League!

Congratulations to "Rock of Ages" on being nominated for Distinguished Production of a Musical and to Constantine Maroulis on his nomination for Distinguished Performance!

Constantine was also selected last month as an honorary co-chairperson of the Drama League Luncheon, which will be held May 15th at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. The winners of the Drama League Awards will be announced at the luncheon.

Rock on!!!!

Miss Lizzy

Rock of Ages - Two Outer Critics Circle Nominations!!!!

Hey, Rockers!

Awards season has started in the theater community and "Rock of Ages" has just earned two nominations from the Outer Critics Circle!

Congratulations to "Rock of Ages" on being nominated for Best New Musical and to Wesley Taylor on his nomination as Best Featured Actor in a Musical!

The winners will be announced on May 11th and the awards ceremony held at the legendary Sardi's Restaurant on May 21st.

Rock on!!!!

Miss Lizzy

Rock of Ages "Class of 2009" - James Carpinello

Hey, Rockers!!!

To get you guys out of your April 15th funk and make your day a little less taxing (ha ha!), your friends here at The Cry of the Strip proudly introduce you to the man who brings life to the llama-loving, waitress-wooing, hard-rocking bundle of ego known as "Stacee Jaxx"...James Carpinello!

1. Full Name: James Anthony Carpinello

2. Nickname(s): Carp, Carpy, my buddy's daughter calls me 'google eye!'

3. Role(s) in “Rock of Ages”: Stacee Jaxx and Sherrie's dad just long enough to sing 'Sister Christian'...Awesome.

4. Song you most looking forward to performing in the show each night: 'Every Rose'...favorite part of the show!

5. Funniest / most embarrassing moment in the run of the show so far? Someone at the stage door told me they had some socks to give me...was that a hint?

6. In “Rock of Ages,” Drew’s a barback, Lonny’s a sound engineer and Sherrie’s a waitress. If you weren’t in a hit musical on Broadway, what would you be doing for a living? I live in Los Angeles and have a production company, so probably working on one of our films. Or being a manny for my two kids!

7. Ever seen one of the artists with a song in "Rock of Ages" in concert? If so, who? All of them. On YouTube.

8. If your life right now could be described with an 80's song title, what would it be? 'Caribbean Queen' by Billy Ocean.

Stay tuned for more interviews soon!

Rock on,

Miss Lizzy

"Rock of Ages" Opening Night Photo / Video / Blog Round-up!

Hey, Rockers!

The staff here at TCOTS have recovered from Tuesday night's marvelous mayhem and would like to share with you some fabulous video and photo footage from around the internet of the opening night of "Rock of Ages"!

We're also going to include some additional reviews and highlights from around the blogosphere for your reading enjoyment.

Photo Coverage:

Playbill.com

Broadway.com

Theatermania.com

BroadwayWorld.com - Opening Night Party

Broadwayworld.com - Red Carpet Arrivals

Broadwayworld.com - Opening Night Curtain Call

New York Times Slideshow

WireImage - Opening Night Arrivals and Curtain Call

WireImage - Opening Night After Party

Getty Images - Opening Night Arrivals and Curtain Call

Getty Images - Opening Night After-Party

(Please note that the photo wire services listed in italics require membership to view full-size images and/or without watermarks - sorry!)

Video Coverage:

Broadway Beat

Broadway.tv

Broadway.com

Rock of Ages Channel on You Tube - Opening Night

Reviews and Recaps from the Blogosphere:

Time Out New York

Theater Loop (Chicago Tribune)

GoldDerby (L.A. Times)

Newsday

Blog Critics Magazine (Jon Sobel)

Oscar E. Moore (blog review)

Kul: That Sounds Cool Blog

Playbill on Opening Night - Night of the Drunken Fireflies

Shockhound Blog

NYTheatre.com Review

Broadway and Me Blog

Ryan J Davis (blog)

James Sims (Sofa Snark Blog)

Mnet Blog

Yelp! Night at "Rock of Ages"

The Sexy Armpit Blog

Rock on!

Miss Lizzy