Broadway’s Rock of Ages Band ringing in 2025 at Riverside Casino Event Center

When the Rock of Ages Band, which plays 1980s pop hits, reached Broadway in 2009, a number of celebrities who grew up in the hair metal era attended the jukebox musical that would end up with five Tony Award nominations.

Dan Domenech will never forget when he learned that his comedy hero, Jim Carrey, was in the house.

“We all heard, ‘Jim Carrey is here. Jim Carrey is here.’ I couldn’t have been more excited,” Domenech. “I’ve always been such a fan.”

The singer/choreographer locked eyes with Carrey, who was third-row center, bobbing his head to classic hair metal.

“It was a surreal moment,” Domenech said while calling from his West Orange, N.J., home. “When I looked right at him and he was looking at me, that memory is burned into my brain. I grew up on his movies. ‘Ace Ventura’ is one of my favorite movies of all time. I love Jim Carrey, who is the Don Knotts of my generation.

“Performing in front of Jim Carrey was one of my favorite parts of being on Broadway with ‘Rock of Ages.’ ”

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Domenech, 44, continues to rock on while belting out such hits as “The Final Countdown” on a tour that will ring in the new year in the Riverside Casino Event Center on Tuesday night, Dec. 31, 2024.

“It’s awesome being able to be on the road singing these songs with the guitarist from Whitesnake,” Domenech said.

That guitar hero is Joel Hoekstra, who also tours with Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

“The amazing thing is that Joel is finishing up his gig with TSO the night before our New Year’s Eve show,” Domenech said. “Then he flies out to be with us.

“New Year’s Eve is always a special night to perform. We’ll make sure it’s a great time for those who come out.”

Even though the concert falls on the brink of 2025, music fans love to look back at the ’80s.

“There's something about nostalgia,” Domenech said. “People love the songs they grew up with. It touches you. It brings back a memory.”

Domenech sings the songs of the Reagan era, but he came of age with songs of the following decade.

“I wasn’t a music appreciator until the ’90s,” he said. “When I first heard Nirvana and ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit,’ I wanted to be a rock singer. Soundgarden, Weezer and Stone Temple Pilots were bands I loved. My favorite band of all time is Green Day. I wanted to get up on stage and sing after hearing those bands.”

During a chorus practice in the seventh grade, Domenech learned he had the pipes for such a gig.

“I was picked to do the solo for Billy Joel’s ‘River of Dreams.’ After I sang, everyone looked at me funny. When that happened, I didn’t know if what I did was bad or good. But apparently I sung well and I just kept singing throughout my life.”

Broadway isn’t an easy gig. Domenech enjoyed the experience he had for the entirety of 2009. but stresses that it was a grind.

“It’s such hard work doing a Broadway show,” he said. “You have to love what you do. It’s eight shows a week. Everything is dictated by how much talking you do. You try to rest your voice. It’s about how much sleep you get and what you eat. I had that fire when I was in my 20s. But it was tough when we were on Broadway, since I didn’t have time to see my friends or family.”

Domenech moved to Los Angeles and scored work as a singer and choreographer on shows such as “Glee” and films like “Step Brothers.” He taught Will Ferrell some dance steps and experienced a very serious comedic actor.

“I was waiting for Will Ferrell to say something funny, but he was just with me to learn,” Domenech said. “I instructed him and he said, ‘We’re shooting this in 20 minutes, there is no way I’m going to learn all of this. We have to chop it down.’ I did that and the scene, which is a flashback in the film, worked out fine.

“That was a great experience, and I enjoyed working on ‘Glee’ for four years. I was behind the scenes doing the choreography. It’s been a great career. I enjoy being a choreographer, but I love to sing and I really love these songs and how they touch people.

“When we do a song like (Def Leppard’s) ‘Rock of Ages,’ you can see people light up. The songs from the ’80s are so much fun. And it’s going to be all about fun on New Year’s Eve.”