Some of the 1980s' best-loved songs provide the backdrop for a love story and a little villainy in the musical "Rock of Ages," playing in Scranton this weekend.
Audiences will recognize the music of such bands as Journey, Whitesnake, Styx and Poison in what star Joshua Hobbs described as a "jukebox musical-slash-concert."
"Basically, what I like to say is it's a concert with a little bit of plot on the side," he said. "Of course, there's a story there, but you're coming basically to listen to all these '80s rock hits, these power ballads. And the musical doesn't take itself too seriously, so the people don't really take it that seriously either."
Set in a rock club in 1987 Los Angeles, the musical tells the story of a girl, Sherrie, who comes from a small town and falls in love with a rocker, Drew. Broadway Theatre League of Northeastern Pennsylvania will present five performances of the show from Friday to Sunday at Scranton Cultural Center at The Masonic Temple, 420 N. Washington Ave.
An Indiana native, Hobbs portrays Stacee Jaxx, the show's resident "bad guy," whom he compared to Axl Rose.
"He's got that bad-boy persona, but man he had it. He had so much talent, everyone came to him," Hobbs said. "So, of course, that's kind of how it is in the show, too. He's such a real guy though. That's how it really is. He just is full of himself, and he needs a reality check."
Hobbs enjoys performing "Wanted Dead or Alive," which he described as a "big moment" for his character. The audience, meanwhile, tends to go wild for anything happening between Drew and Sherrie, he added, plus songs like "Hit Me with Your Best Shot."
"The biggest moment of all though is 'Don't Stop Believin'," Hobbs said. "They wait for that song the whole show, you can just tell."
"Rock of Ages" continues to play on Broadway, where it debuted in 2009, and a film adaptation starring Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin and Julianne Hough came out in 2012 to mixed reviews. The film changed some of the plot and characters, and if the audience comes to the touring musical expecting to see what they saw in the movie, Hobbs said, "don't worry - this is a whole lot better."
"It's not like any other musical experience that you're going to go see," he said. "It is one of the longest-running (current) Broadway shows, so obviously it's doing something right. But mostly (come to the show) just to have a good time and let your hair down and take you back to the '80s, to the time when metal bands were the thing, and to see how kind of crazy it is."
Helping recreate that '80s mood, meanwhile, are costumes that include lots of lingerie for the women in the cast, tight pants and shirtless moments for Hobbs, lots of sparkles and wigs.
Even if people did not experience the '80s themselves, Hobbs said, the show shares what the era was like.
"You feel like you're right there," he said.