New Hope, Pennsylvania — the Delaware River town already popular for a weekend escape — has a loud new reason to visit this autumn. The Bucks County Playhouse is staging "Rock of Ages," the jukebox musical built entirely on 1980s rock hits, and it runs through Nov. 1.
The show is set on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip in the decade of big hair and bigger guitar solos. It follows Sherri and Drew, two small-town newcomers chasing fame in the City of Angels, who end up working at The Bourbon Room — a fictional rock club modeled on the likes of the Whisky a Go Go and the Viper Room. When developers threaten to bulldoze the Strip's scene, the story turns into a comic coming-of-age tale about love and defending what you love.
The setlist does the heavy lifting: "Wanted Dead or Alive," "Pour Some Sugar on Me," "Here I Go Again," "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," "I Want to Know What Love Is" and "Don't Stop Believin'" all make an appearance. Producing artistic director BT McNicholl frames it plainly — audiences may not know the title, but they know every song. His advice: come dressed for the occasion and be ready to sing along.
This production, directed and choreographed by Shea Sullivan, leans hard into audience interaction. Reviewers arriving at a Thursday evening show found cast members already in character inside the theater's Bourbon Room set, with the curtain raised before the story even started. Lonny, the show's narrator, wanders through the house, cracking jokes and breaking the fourth wall from every corner — a role Conner Gillooly reportedly nails. Noah Mutterperl (as Drew) and Drew Starlin (as club owner Dennis Dupree) also earn a mention.
There's real history behind the fun. The playhouse dates back to 1939, when a roster of Broadway names founded it, and 2026 marks its 14th season since the Bridge Street Foundation restored and reopened the venue in 2012. It sits right in New Hope, a compact town of galleries, riverside restaurants and antique shops about 90 minutes from New York City — easy to pair a matinee or evening show with dinner along the Delaware.
Why it matters for travellers: this is a solid anchor for a weekend trip to Bucks County in the fall, when the river corridor is at its prettiest. Fans of "Rocky Horror"-style participatory theater should take note — the playhouse is resting that tradition this year but keeping the party going with this show instead. Tickets run through the start of November, so there's still time to catch it before the holiday season takes over.
