Theater Review: Rock and Roll Man (New World Stages NYC 7/3/23)

Early DJ and concert promoter Alan Freed helped bring Rock & Roll to the masses.
He also had a short, troubled life dying a broke alcoholic at age 43 after payola, tax evasion, and songwriting scandals.
In this jukebox musical, though, he’s clearly the rebel hero who brought kids of all colors together on the dance floor and into concert halls.
Freed’s life story is told in a surreal dream where he’s on trial with friend Little Richard (a show-stealing Roderick Covington) as his defense attorney and foe J. Edgar Hoover (Bob Ari) as his prosecutor.
Throughout Rock and Roll Man, you hear many classic numbers, and Valisia LeKae, as Lavern Baker, and Eric B Turner, as Bo Diddley, are show-stoppers. Others pale compared to the original giants, most of whom I saw live on-stage decades back. The music is at its best when cast members perform numbers by The Drifters, The Moonglows, The Coasters, Frankie Lymon’s Teenagers, and The Platters, capturing those lush harmonies.
Unfortunately, some of the original songs didn’t touch the classics. And you never quite know how “dirty” Freed was or wasn’t, which doesn’t always make it the most convincing tale.
Lead Constantine Maroulis as Freed is excellent and sympathetic despite the various charges against him. And the Soprano’s Joe Pantoliano is wonderful in a dual role as Cleveland’s Leo Mintz, a sponsor of Freed’s Cleveland radio shows, and record executive Morris Levy (Roulette, etc.)
Like many jukebox musicals, this is a crowd-pleaser with many rousing numbers, but not as effective as a drama.
But the music remains a joyful noise, and for that alone, I urge you to see Rock and Roll Man.

Evan Ginzburg is an MSN Syndicated Journalist and the Senior Editor for Pro Wrestling Stories. He’s a published author and was an Associate Producer on the Oscar-nominated movie “The Wrestler” and the acclaimed wrestling documentary “350 Days.” He is a 30-plus-year film, radio, and TV veteran and a voice-over actor on the radio drama Kings of the Ring. He can be reached on Twitter @evan_ginzburg or by e-mail at [email protected]