Earlier this month, I was able to experience the Rock of Ages Party Bus. What is the Rock of Ages Party Bus? It’s exactly what it sounds like: a party.
Your admission includes round trip bus transportation to the Helen Hayes Theatre, an orchestra ticket to the show, a drink voucher at the theater, a poster signed by the full cast you just saw perform, a ride full of 80’s fun, and more. For this trip, our departing location was Garden City, NY on Long Island.
A party bus is unique for several reasons: couch-like seats face the center, lights everywhere, music blasting, televisions on, restroom on-board, storage above you, etc. While this party bus had all that, we had the added theme of the 1980’s, home of the setting and the songs that make up the songbook of Rock of Ages. We were welcomed by the televisions playing famed music videos of the decade, including “Sister Christian” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It” from the show to give us a little appetizer of what was to come. The fun continued with some rounds of trivia to win merchandise from the show. Questions included “What was the first music video to air on MTV in 1981?” (answer: “Video Killed the Radio Star”) and “How many Tony Awards did Rock of Ages get nominated for?” (answer: five). It was a good combination of the nature of the show and the theatrical knowledge of it. The bus ride took about forty-five minutes and it gave everyone a few hours to enjoy a nice lunch or to explore Times Square before the show.
As showtime approached, we headed to the Helen Hayes, got a refreshing soda with our voucher from the bar, and found our seats. At Rock of Ages, the company encourages you to go back in time to the 1980’s by giving each audience member an LED lighter to hold up and sway during the power ballads. We were lucky enough to be in that mindset already due to the ride in.
After the show, our bus was right outside for us to hop back on and return to Long Island. We were each given a signed poster from the show as a “party favor” and enjoyed the ride back discussing the show with other audience members. It was very interesting to hear what those of different ages thought of the show; most of the participants experienced the 1980’s for themselves. For them, it was a trip down memory lane. We soon reached our destination and the big party dissolved. One thing everyone agreed on — this bus ROCKED!
To see when the next scheduled outing is announced or to book this party experience for yourself, you can find out more information here. Also, be sure to check out Camp Broadway’s The Broadway Jukebox Follies Workshop experience! Theater-lovers (and Rock of Ages-lovers), ages 18+, are invited to sing and dance in Rock of Ages style under the direction of one of CB’s finest instructors!