“Rock of Ages” - a fast-paced musical featuring dozens of the most popular hard rock songs of the 1980s, hits the stage in Newark this weekend, courtesy of the Chapel Street Players.
The show, which premiered in 2005, is set in the ‘80s on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip, as a pair of ruthless developers are trying to move in and take over the strip.
Katie Brady plays Regina, the leader of the protests against the redevelopment.
“The developer is coming in to tear down much of the Sunset Strip and commercialize it, put up retail businesses and modernize and get rid of the rock'n'roll of it all,” she says.
Along with the story, the show features versions of some of the ‘80s greatest hits by Joan Jett, Bon Jovi, Poison, Def Leppard, Twisted Sister, Pat Benatar, and many more.
“The way that they've created harmony and these full orchestrations of these pieces is really awesome,” Brady says. “And it still rocks.”
She adds that the music doesn’t just attract audiences, it’s what first drew her to the show as an actor.
“We've got all kinds of amazing ‘80s rock in here. It's really awesome,” she says. “And that's the main reason I wanted to do this show. I just really wanted to sing these songs.”
While the music and the fashion may be different in 2026 than in the ‘80s, Michael McDonald, who plays Franz in the show, says the theme of “Rock of Ages” - a neighborhood fighting against radical redevelopment - is still relevant today. He calls it, “a beautiful way of art in imitating life even now in 2026.”
“Rock of Ages” opens this weekend at the Chapel Street Players’ theatre in Newark and runs through June 27. Tickets and showtimes are at chapelstreetplayers.org.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
