Rock Star Amy Spanger Leaves Her Show

Rock of Ages star Amy Spanger has left the Tony-nominated jukebox musical “for personal reasons,” according to a June 29 news release. Her replacement has not been announced, but understudy Savannah Wise—who’s been filling in for Spanger since June 8—will play the part in the interim, says the show’s rep.

Spanger, who starred as small-town girl Sherrie opposite Constantine Maroulis’ wannabe-rocker Drew, had been on doctor-ordered vocal rest following ROA’s now-infamous live appearance on the Tony Awards with Bret Michaels and Poison; she had been set to return on June 29.

Set in a dingy L.A. Sunset Strip nightclub circa 1987, Rock of Ages is a small-town-girl-meets-city-boy love story underscored by the hit hair bands of the 1980s—Journey, Bon Jovi, REO Speedwagon, Poison and Pat Benatar, to name just a few. In addition to Wise and Tony nominee Maroulis, the cast features James Carpinello, Adam Dannheisser, Mitchell Jarvis, Michele Mais, Lauren Molina, Paul Schoeffler, Wesley Taylor, Ericka Hunter, Jeremy Jordan, Michael Minarik, Angel Reed, Bahiyah Sayyed-Gaines, Katherine Tokarz, Andre Ward, Tad Wilson and Jeremy Woodard.

ROA, which premiered in 2006 at the Vanguard in Hollywood, opened off-Broadway at New World Stages in October 2008. It moved to Broadway’s Brooks Atkinson Theater in March 2009, where it received five Tony nominations, including Best Director (Kristin Hanggi) and Best Musical. A movie—which will be written and directed by the musical’s librettist, Chris D’Arienzo—is also in development.