In the original script, Lonny (the sound guy at The Bourbon Room) breaks the fourth wall constantly. He talks to the audience, rewinds time, and even comments on the ridiculousness of the plot.

This meta-humor allows the script to use classic tropes (the love triangle, the evil developer, the "save the community" rally) without feeling boring. The script actively mocks the very structure it follows.

Set on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, 1987. Small-town girl Sherrie Christian moves to L.A. to become a singer. She meets Drew Boley, a city boy who works at the legendary rock club The Bourbon Room and dreams of rock stardom. Their love story unfolds as a German developer (Hertz Klinemann) and his son Franz try to buy and demolish the Strip to “clean up” the city. The club’s owner, Dennis Dupree, and his assistant Lonny (the narrator) fight to save the Bourbon Room with a final concert featuring aging rock god Stacee Jaxx. With power ballads, hair metal anthems, and classic rock hits, the characters chase dreams, fall in and out of love, and ultimately save the Strip.

| Song | Artist | Performed by | |-------|--------|----------------| | “Just Like Paradise” | David Lee Roth | Drew, Lonny, Ensemble | | “Nothin’ But a Good Time” | Poison | Drew, Dennis, Lonny, Ensemble | | “Sister Christian” / “Just Like Heaven” (medley) | Night Ranger / The Cure | Sherrie, Drew | | “We Built This City” | Jefferson Starship | Dennis, Lonny | | “More Than Words” / “To Be with You” (medley) | Extreme / Mr. Big | Franz, Regina | | “Waiting for a Girl Like You” | Foreigner | Hertz, Franz | | “Any Way You Want It” | Journey | Full Company (Act 1 finale) |

If you open the Rock of Ages libretto expecting Shakespearean soliloquies, you are in for a shock. The script relies heavily on a device known as "Lonny the Narrator."

Drew auditions for Stacee Jaxx’s band. The script calls for a "badly played" guitar and a falsetto that cracks. This scene establishes the "lovable loser" archetype.