Elicia MacKenzie, Yvan Pedneault, et al. to Star in Canada’s Rock of Ages

Elicia MacKenzie and Yvan Pedneault will star as Sherrie and Drew, respectively, in the Canadian premiere of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, with performances beginning April 20, 2010.

The musical focuses on a young rocker hungry for his big break and a small town girl who meet in 1987 at a legendary Hollywood club facing its imminent demise. The score includes the hit songs of iconic rockers Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Pat Benatar, Whitesnake, and many more. The musical’s book is written by Chris D’Arenzio, and the Canadian production will once again be helmed by director Kristin Hanggi and choreographed by Kelly Devine.

MacKenzie was the winner of the CBC TV series How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? and played a 15-month run in The Sound of Music. Pedneault is best known for starring in the Canadian premiere of We Will Rock You as Galileo. The cast will also include Aaron Walpole as Lonny, David W. Keeley as Dennis, Peter Deiwick as Stacee Jaxx, and Victor A. Young as Hertz. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

The creative team includes Beowulf Boritt (set), Gregory Gale (costumes), Jason Lyons (lighting), Peter Hylenski (sound), Zachary Borovay (projections). Ethan Popp provided music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations, with original arrangements by David Gibbs.

In related news, members of the Toronto Rock of Ages cast will be the special guests of the annual New Year’s Eve festivities at Nathan Phillips Square, and will perform three songs from the show.

As previously announced, a film adaptation of the musical is in the works from New Line Cinema, with Adam Shankman, who directed the film version of Hairspray, attached to direct.

For more information, visit www.rockofagesmusical.com.