Rock On! British Comedian Justin Lee Collins Will Wail in West End’s Rock of Ages

Casting has begun for the upcoming West End production of '80s tuner Rock of Ages! British TV and radio personality Justin Lee Collins has signed on to play Dennis Dupree, the aging rocker who owns the Sunset Strip hot spot The Bourbon Room. The metal musical will begin performances on August 31 and officially open on September 27 at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre. Additional casting has yet to be announced. 

Collins made his West End debut playing Amos Hart in Chicago in 2009. He began his career as a stand-up comedian before moving on to host television shows like The Sunday Night Project, The Convention Crasher, and Justin Lee Collins: Good Times, as well as his own radio show on XFM. As Dupree (a role being played by Alec Baldwin in the musical’s now-filming movie adaptation) Collins will duet with right-hand man Lonny on the REO Speedwagon hit “I Can’t Fight This Feeling.”

Rock of Ages is set in 1987 on the Sunset Strip, where a small town girl meets a big city rocker in L.A.’s most famous rock club. Their love story is told through the hits of Journey, Bon Jovi, Styx, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, Twisted Sister, Asia, Whitesnake and many more. The Broadway musical, which is currently running at the Helen Hayes Theatre, received five Tony nominations (including Best Musical) after opening on April 7, 2009.

The London production is the latest benchmark in a busy Rock of Ages season. The show's national tour, starring American Idol alum Constantine Maroulis, is still playing to crowded houses around the country, and the aforementioned uber-starry movie adaptation is currently filming in Miami, with an eye on a June 2012 release date.