The conflict of Rock of Ages The Musical Film vs Theater is worth discussing. Fans that have seen the musical theater version of Rock of Ages would find the differences in the Hollywood version kind of drastic. Enumerating them as follows would be discussed here.
The story of Rock of Ages is basically about the efforts to preserve The Bourbon Room, owned by Dennis Dupree. His assistant is Lonny. His busboy is Drew. And he convinced Dennis to hire his new friend Sherrie as his waitress. Drew has dreams of becoming a rock star. Dennis’ idea of saving The Bourbon Room from its troubles is raising enough money from inviting the band Arsenal. Arsenal has broken up due to its loose cannon of a lead vocalist in Stacee Jaxx. Most of the similarities between the live musical theater version and the Hollywood version revolved around these people. Then again there are differences.
– Reasons behind the demolition: Rock of Ages The Musical Film vs Theater
In the live musical, the demolition is part of a revamping of the Sunset Strip. German real estate developers plan to espouse “clean living” in the area. The developers’ main opponent is Regina, the city planner. This is where We Built This City is performed. It served as an anthem to the “sex, drugs and rock-and-roll” that gave life to this strip. Dennis chimed in the moment he realized that The Bourbon Room is included among the properties to be demolished. Regina continues with the protests with the song We’re Not Gonna Take It.
In the movie, the demolition is the idea of the Bible-thumping wife of the mayor, Patricia Whitmore (played in the movie by Catherine Zeta-Jones). There are no German characters in the movie. The “clean living” aspect is still there. But this seemed more like a parody of an actual politician’s wife. The said wife is known to have campaigned against rock music during the 80’s. The song We Built This City was sung by Lonny (played by Russell Brand) and his picketing friends. In response, the Bible-thumping contingent sung We’re Not Gonna Take It. It ended up in an acapella mash-up. Even song positioning is noticeable at Rock of Ages The Musical Film vs Theater
– Reasons for the fund-raising, Rock of Ages The Musical Film vs Theater
In the live musical, Dennis would use the money raised in the Stacee Jaxx/Arsenal concert for funding the protest. And perhaps to buy the parcel of land where The Bourbon Room stood. In the movie, the money would be for paying back taxes which has been killing the business. It’s one of the minor differences in analyzing Rock of Ages The Musical Film vs Theater.
– Drew’s foray into the recording industry, Rock of Ages The Musical Film vs Theater
In the live musical, Drew was the opening act for Arsenal. He pulled off a performance that impressed a record producer present in the audience. In the movie, it was Stacee’s handler, Paul (played by Paul Giamatti), that took Drew (played by Diego Boneta) under his wing to get a record deal. Both versions managed to present the duplicity that Drew suffered. While he thought he would be marketed as a rock star, the recording company had other plans. They found it more marketable to put Drew in a boy band. Drew reclaimed his rock star image though in the movie. The creative department comparison in Rock of Ages The Musical Film vs Theater showed the disparity in how they view Drew as a character. But that was addressed only in the live musical version through Lonny.
– The characterization of Stacee Jaxx, Rock of Ages The Musical Film vs Theater
This must have been the most obvious to fans that flocked to see the musical prior to seeing the film. Whether the musical served as a commentary to the rock-and-roll attitude that certain rock stars are notorious for, I can’t vouch for it. But most fans that have seen the film first before the live musical version will notice this as one of the glaring differences. The other being the German developers getting replaced by Bible-thumpers in the story.
In the film, Stacee Jaxx (played by Tom Cruise) performs Wanted Dead or Alive to share his life in the interview. He also sang I Want To Know What Love Is as he and Constance get naked backstage. Who is Constance? Just like Patricia Whitmore, she (played by Malin Ackerman) is not a character in the live musical version. But she served as a plot device. Her purpose is to show that Stacee is capable of falling in love. The other additional character that served as a plot device is Paul Gill. He’s the money-grubbing manager of Stacee who gets his karma later in the movie. He portrayed a negative image of his client even to close pals like Dennis (played by Alec Baldwin) and Lonny. Paul served as the scapegoat for everything that went wrong in Stacee’s career. It seems like the Hollywood version would like to present Stacee Jaxx as someone worthy of our sympathy? Comparisons in Rock of Ages The Musical Film vs Theater reveals some tweaks that changed the outlook altogether.
In the live musical version, Stacee is a dickhead. He performed I Want To Know What Love Is with Sherrie as they had sex in the men’s room. Then he asks Dennis to fire her before their act starts. Perhaps a way to get rid of “clingy fans”. He even had the gall to ask Sherrie for a lap dance after seeing her again at the gentleman’s club. No manager to serve as a scapegoat. No reporter from Rolling Stone to serve as love pawn. Just “a fall from grace” – sinking to the levels of a washed-up rock star with no one to blame but himself.
