'Rock of Ages' ✭✭✭

( June 13, 2012 )

Young rockers may never die, but they sure party heartier in a smaller theater. Phoenix Entertainment's non-Equity tour of "Rock of Ages" is staging a summer run at the 550-seat Broadway Playhouse. This campy celebration of the rockers of the 1980s (now also a movie starring Tom Cruise) comes close to replicating the experience on Broadway, which is, basically, the experience of laughing along with a cheesy book about a small-town girl and a wannabe rocker looking for love on the Sunset Strip and finding an excuse to trot out high-octane, amusingly out-of-context versions of "Don't Stop Believin'," "Can't Fight This Feeling¿ and other masterworks of the era. -- Chris Jones

Through Aug. 5 in the Broadway Playhouse, 175 E. Chestnut St.; $70-$80 at 800-775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com