DEE SNIDER On His 'Rock Of Ages' Gig: 'The Entire Situation Is Completely Surreal'

November 29, 2010

TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider recently spoke to MTV News about his stint as a cast member of the hit Broadway show "Rock Of Ages".

"The entire situation is completely surreal," Snider said. "Imagine an actual Tyrannosaurus on the set of 'Jurassic Park'. They've got an actual '80s guy in a show about the '80s. I know the people who sing those songs were a little uncomfortable the first few nights."

"The biggest difference between a concert situation and a theater situation is that you can't curse out the audience. I'm used to addressing situations. If something is going on in the house that I don't like at a concert, or if the audience is not energized or enthusiastic — or if they're particularly energized and enthusiastic — I will stop a song just to comment on what's going on. I quickly realized that was unacceptable on Broadway. I just have to stay in character and stay in the show."

"While it's a comedy, it's frighteningly accurate. Especially when it comes to frontmen, and how the rest of the band regards them as complete assholes. And I sit there and feel shame. I was a pompous ass. But I feel better now."

On how he landed the gig:

"I would love to tell you that somebody knocked on the door and said, 'We want you!' But the truth is: I was invited to the premiere of the off-Broadway production, where I saw my two songs in the show, and I turned to my wife and said, 'I want to do that. I could play Dennis Dupree.' So I let it be known, and it took two years to get asked out on that date."

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).