by Daria Adler
The Meridian High School theater department performed to a packed house last week with their latest musical, “Rock of Ages”. Directed by theater and film teacher Shawn Northrip, the hilarious and emotional play brought the crowd together with jokes and themes appealing to everyone. The show was incredible, and was well received by the large crowd in the audience on Saturday night.
The plot of “Rock of Ages” consisted of many different narratives. The main focus was the story of Drew and Sherrie, both employees of the Bourbon Room, a club in West Hollywood owned by Dennis Dupree. Sherrie moves to Hollywood seeking an acting career while Drew has the dream of becoming a rock star. As the two work together, Drew falls in love with Sherri, who does not share the same feelings toward him. Amid this tale of unrequited love, two developers plan to demolish the Bourbon Room along with the whole Sunset Strip. The community is enraged by this decision, leading to mass protest to save the establishment.
Dennis convinces famous rock star Stacee Jaxx, lead singer of the band Arsenal, to perform one last show at the Bourbon Room. Upon seeing her, Sherrie immediately falls in love with Stacee, forgetting all about Drew and leaving him for good. The protesters also fulfilled their wishes saving the Bourbon Room from demolition.
It was absolutely magical to see this story come to life at Meridian, and the students delivered outstanding performances that truly brought this play to life. With a large cast of talented performers, several standouts were Gavin Jones, who portrayed Drew, and Eliana Pizzirusso, who portrayed Sherrie.
Jones has been involved in theater for two years now, and this was his second time performing as a lead.
“Last year, I was in Sweeney Todd,” Jones said, “That was a lot of fun, but was a lot more stressful overall than this show was. This show just was a good time.”
Jones’ assertion was evident as the cast appeared to be enjoying their roles on the big stage, and the lead actor had to adapt to a different style of singing.
“Vocally, this role was a lot tougher than what I usually sing. A lot like Eliana, I sing more classical. I’m technically a bass. Vocally, this role is a tenor roll through and through,” he said.
Pizzirusso, like Jones, turned in a spectacular performance. This play was her big break and her first lead role in the Meridian theater. She is not new to the stage, however, having performed in musicals since the fifth grade.
“It’s something that I’m very passionate about. The community is amazing. It’s just such a fun experience,” she remarked.
Like Jones, Pizzirusso found adapting to a hard rock role wasn’t easy.
“It was very difficult vocally,” she said, “it was a lot of rock and belty songs that I normally don’t sing in, so I worked a lot with Mrs. Sample and Mr. Northrip to kind of find my character.”
Upon the conclusion of the final night, Nothrip felt enthusiastic about his department’s production.
“It was great,” he said, “this one specifically had this really great, chill vibe. The atmosphere was good and it was the right moment for the right kids. They all came out and just rocked every night.”
