Don’t Stop Believing – Analog Artist Digital World

Theater West End (115 W 1st St, Sanford, Fl), tends to offer very ambitious productions. Rock of Ages, with the book by Chris D’Arienzo and arrangements and orchestrations by Ethan Popphas to be the most ambitious musical I have seen at this venue. The huge cast, spreads out into the audience making this a true interactive experience.

I had never seen the musical Rock of Ages before. It is a a jukebox musical featuring classic rock songs, primarily from the 1980s. It features the hits of bands including Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister and more. The production is sexy, vibrant, and irreverent while being at heart love story.

A small town girl, Sherri (Ariana Ortiz), arrived in Hollywood and immediately had her purse stolen. A boy, Drew (Zackary Racine), helps console her although she didn’t have any valuables in the bag. She was just thrilled to be in the big city. These two seemed destined to be together but he insisted that they just be friends, although over time he regretted that comment. He wanted to be a rock and roll star but instead was recruited into a trendy boy band with a cheesy multi color jump suit and cap. She fell for a rock star who treated her like dirt and then turned to a life of stripping after he dumped her. I was particularly amazed by Ariana’ solo number. They both denied their feelings for one another until they met again later by chance and the spark reignited.

The musical followed so many life stories from the big city. A German son who was sacrificing his dream to keep his father’s destructive ambition to tear down and develop the strip into a soulless shopping mall, a narrator, who was hilarious and often flirted with the audience. A protestor intent on being seen. A madame who had a heart of gold under her hard exterior shell. All these lives swirled around one another with epic egos fighting for attention in the rocking age of the 1980s. I was blown away by the choreography of Ashlyn Bigley since there were so many cast members in constant motion. And I was amazed that director, Desiree Montes kept such a bold intimate production on track.

The finale featured the whole cast singing Dont’ Stop Believing by Journey. I sang along and clapped loudly, being completely swept away with this anthem of love and hope. On the drive back to the studio, I was still singing Don’t Stop Believing. I felt emboldened, convinced I am ready to take on whatever life throws my way.

Rock of Ages runs through August 17, 2025. Tickets run from $40 to $46. You don’t want to miss this show.

Bite Night, hosted by the Orlando Weekly was held at The Orchid Garden and Ballroom at Church Street in Downtown Orlando from 7pm-10pm on June 29th. I went to the event specifically to sketch the premiere performance of Violuminence.

Michelle Jones the founder of Violectric asked her husband, Jerry Jones, the groups technical director to design the diodes along the rims of the instruments which made them glow like souped up Harley Davidson motorcycles. Violuminescence produces unique, lighted string instruments that can be remote controlled to enhance any performance in an unrivaled manner.

When I arrived, the event was just getting started but there were already long lines for food. I immediately started hunting for my sketch opportunity. I ran into Ilene Lieber the groups pleasant and hard working PR representative and she let me know that the Violuminence performance would start at 9pm in front of the DJs table on the main floor. That gave me several hours to sketch in the Orchid Room’s magical turn of the century decor. When Violumenence began, I added color starting with the blue glow of the instruments. The instruments glowed in every color of the rainbow as if celebrating the recent Supreme Court decision allowing everyone to share the rights of marriage.

“We are beyond excited to finally unveil Violuminescence to the public later the month,” said founder of Violectric and Fretless Rock, Michelle Jones. “This will be the first opportunity for public audiences to experience Violuminescence and revel in this truly spectacular and awe-inspiring musical innovation. We are known for getting audiences up out of their seats and dancing along with us as we play, and we look forward to blowing away all our loyal fans with Violuminescence and hopefully gaining many more new ones worldwide.”

When the violins performed Journey‘s Don’t Stop Believing, everyone in the room started singing along. “Shadows searching in the night”. It was really a magical moment. The crowd was hooked and I sang along as I sketched. The violinists weren’t passive. They began moving around the room finding their way through the crowd. By the time my sketch was done, the crowd was starting to thin out. All the food vendors had packed up. Darn it. I hadn’t tasted a bite so I can’t report on how good the food was. Genevieve Bernard and Seth Kubersky told me that the food directly across the room from me was absolutely delicious. I am pleased by the rich warm and cool colors that I could catch with my digital sketch. For more information on Violectric contact 407-434-1261 and for more information on Fretless Rock by Strings Etc visit their web page.