It may technically be a jukebox musical, but Rolling Thunder is anything but a feel-good show. Scripted by journalist/author, Bryce Hallett, this theatrical experience that began life in Australia revolves around the Vietnam War, concentrating on the experiences of a few soldiers, their loved ones, and other characters including a devoted nurse. But the evening’s true raison d’etre is the assemblage of nearly twenty classic rock songs from the era performed by a five-piece band and the performers. Featuring such iconic numbers as “Born to be Wild,” “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” “People Get Ready,” “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” and “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” they comprise the Great American Songbook for the baby boomer generation.
Housed at New World Stages, the production directed by Kenneth Ferrone is a lavish affair for Off-Broadway. It features extensive use of videos, projected on large screens and seen on numerous television monitors. Jake DeGroot’s hallucinatory lighting design and Mike Tracey’s booming sound design immerses you in visceral fashion, providing a suitably chaotic wartime atmosphere complete with loud helicopter noises and napalm-driven fires.
Dramatically, the show feels comparatively undernourished as we’re introduced to soldiers Johnny (Drew Becker), Thomas (Justin Matthew Sargent), Andy (Daniel Yearwood) and Mike (Deon’te Goodman, who also plays several other roles). The characters, who speak via monologues and readings from letters, are defined in the thinnest of terms. Thomas, whose father served in the military, and Johnny, a farm boy looking for adventure in his life, both volunteered, while the more jaded Andy got inducted and is there under duress.
The storyline, such as it is, mainly revolves around Thomas’ relationship with his unseen girlfriend and Johnny’s with Linda (pop singer Cassadee Pope, who recently starred in Titanique). Very little of what happens to the men proves surprising; suffice it to say that when Johnny proposes to Linda in a letter and she enthusiastically responds, “Only 27 days, not long to go” about his return home, things are not going to end happily.
It’s the musical numbers that give the show its power, with both the musicians and the singer/actors delivering high-powered, mostly terrific renditions at the sort of volume rock fans, if not musical theater aficionados, will appreciate. Highlights include “All Along the Watchtower,” with musicians Aurelien Budynek and Sherrod Barnes providing serious guitar pyrotechnics; “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” gorgeously sung by Pope, and “Nowhere to Run,” featuring a terrific lead vocal by Courtnee Carter. Not all of the numbers land: “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” probably shouldn’t be sung by anyone not named Garfunkel or Simon, and a slowed-down tempo gave a sluggish feeling to “The Letter.” And for God’s sake, why weren’t “Fortunate Son” and “For What It’s Worth” included?
The sheer waste and futility of the war is emphasized by the many newspaper headlines and broadcast news excerpts displayed, as well as longer video segments featuring commentary by Walter Cronkite and Richard Nixon. Not to mention the grim statistics projected at the show’s end about the loss of life involved, including more than 58,000 American service members. It’s no wonder that the creators felt the need to send us out of the theater on a high note with an audience sign-along of The Youngbloods’ “Get Together.”
Rolling Thunder opened July 24, 2025, at New World Stages and runs through September 7. Tickets and information: rollingthunderus.com
