Amy Spanger & James Carpinello Join Broadway Cast of Rock of Ages
Amy Spanger and James Carpinello will join original off-Broadway cast member Constantine Maroulis in the forthcoming Broadway transfer of Rock of Ages. The musical, directed by Kristin Hanggi, will begin previews at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on March 17 with opening night set for April 7.
Spanger will play Midwestern transplant Sherrie replacing Kelli Barrett and Carpinello stars as fallen rock god Stacee Jaxx replacing Will Swenson, who will headline the forthcoming Broadway revival of Hair. American Idol and Broadway alum Maroulis will continue as Drew.
Also featured in the cast are Adam Dannheisser The Coast of Utopia, Twelfth Night, Mitchell Jarvis Fiddler on the Roof, Michele Mais Roza, Lauren Molina Sweeney Todd, Paul Schoeffler Sweet Charity, Nine, Wesley Taylor See Rock City, Ericka Hunter Flower Drum Song, 42nd Street, Jeremy Jordan Little Dog Laughed tour, Michael Minarik Les Miserables, Angel Reed Saturday Night Fever tour, Bahiyah Sayyed-Gaines Pal Joey, The Color Purple, Katherine Tokarz White Christmas, A Chorus Line , Andre Ward Xanadu, The Producers, Savannah Wise Les Miserables, Tad Wilson The Full Monty and Jeremy Woodard Glory Days.
Rock of Ages is set in 1987 on the Sunset Strip, where a small town girl meets a big city rocker in LA’s most famous rock club. Their arena-rock love story is told through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits of Journey, Bon Jovi, Styx, Reo Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake and many more.
Written by Chris D'Arienzo, Rock of Ages opened off-Broadway on October 16 at New World Stages and played its final performance on January 4. The show made its world premiere in Los Angeles at The Vanguard.
Spanger has appeared on Broadway in The Wedding Singer, Urinetown, Kiss Me, Kate, Chicago and Sunset Boulevard. Off-Broadway credits include tick, tick…BOOM!. Spanger has also been seen in the national tours of Rent and Chicago.
Carpinello made his Broadway debut in Saturday Night Fever. Off-Broadway credits include Stupid Kids. Regionally, he has appeared in Rocky Horror Picture Show, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Brigadoon, 42nd Street, The Desert Song and Annie. Carpinello had been set to star in the Broadway production of Xanadu until a leg injury forced him to withdraw.
Rockin’ in the show’s on-stage band, Arsenal, are music director/ keyboardist Henry Aronson, lead guitarist Joel Hoekstra, drummer Jon Weber, bassist Winston Roye and guitar player David Gibbs, who also wrote the original arrangements. The show is choreographed by Kelly Devine, with scenic design by Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Gregory Gale, lighting design by Jason Lyons, sound design by Peter Hylenski, projection design by Zachary Borovay and musical supervision by Ethan Popp.
Rock of Ages will be produced on Broadway by Matthew Weaver, Carl Levin, Jeff Davis, Barry Habib, Scott Prisand, and Corner Store Fund I, in association with Janet Billig Rich, Hillary Weaver, Toni Habib, Stefany & Simon Bergson, Charles Rolecek, Susanne Brook, Israel Wolfson, Max Gottlieb, Jennifer Maloney, John Butler/Sara Katz and Prospect Pictures.
