Rock of Ages & Rain to move theatres

The five-time Tony Award nominated musical Rock of Ages will move from The Brooks Atkinson Theatre to the Helen Hayes Theatre in March 2011 and the Beatles concert Rain - A Tribute To The Beatles on Broadway at The Neil Simon Theatre will move to The Brooks Atkinson Theatre and begin performances on 8 Feb 2011.

Rain, which was originally playing a limited engagement on Broadway will now have an open-ended run at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

In their current homes, Rock of Ages will play its final performance on 9 Jan 2011 and Rain, which has now been extended twice, will play its final performance on 15 Jan 2011.

Lee Marshall and Jeff Parry, producers of Rain, said "We are extremely pleased to be able to extend even further at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. So much of The Beatles' story is intertwined with New York and New Yorkers feel a tremendous bond with them."

Lead Producers of Rock of Ages, Matthew Weaver and Carl Levin, said "There is still a huge audience out there for ROCK OF AGES and in order to flourish during the universally financially difficult winter months and keep Broadway's Best Party going forever, moving to the intimate Helen Hayes is the perfect solution."

Rock of Ages.

In 1987 on the Sunset Strip, a small town girl met a big city rocker and in LA's most famous rock club, they fell in love to the greatest songs of the '80s. It's Rock of Ages, an arena-rock love story told through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits of Journey, Bon Jovi, Foreigner and many more. Rock of Ages is written by Chris D'Arienzo, directed by Kristin Hanggi and choreographed by Kelly Devine, and features Joey Taranto (Drew ), Emily Padgett (Sherrie), Mitchell Jarvis (Stacee Jaxx), Dee Snider (Dennis), Jay Klaitz (Lonny), Michele Mais (Justice), Josephine Rose Roberts (Regina), Paul Schoeffler (Hertz) and Derek St. Pierre (Franz).

The production opened to mixed reviews: "a seriously silly, absurdly enjoyable arena-rock musical" (New York Times), "an irresistible, offbeat trip of a show that hits all the right notes." (NY1); "cheesy exercise in rock nostalgia" (Hollywood Reporter); "a somewhat glib nostalgia trip" (NewsDay).

Rain

The show performs the full range of The Beatles' discography live onstage, including songs that The Beatles recorded in the studio but never performed for an audience. From the early days of their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 through Sgt. Pepper and on to the Abbey Road years, Rain performs it all.

The show is performed by its creators, Joey Curatolo as 'Paul McCartney' (vocals, bass, guitar, piano), Joe Bithorn as 'George Harrison' (vocals, lead guitar, guitar synthesizer), Ralph Castelli as 'Ringo Starr' (vocals, drums, percussion), Steve Landes as 'John Lennon' (vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica) - all of whom performed in the Broadway and touring productions of 'Beatlemania' - and Mark Lewis (RAIN's co-founding member, keyboards, percussion).

The production opened to mixed reviews: An imitation is still an imitation (NY Daily News); All the charm of a sculpture grouping at Mme. Tussauds" (Bloomberg); May not be theatre but it sure is entertaining (NY1).