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“The Voice” season 22 finalist Omar Jose Cardona revealed this week on Instagram that he has officially joined the cast of the musical “Rock of Ages”, playing at The Garden Theatre in Winter Garden, Florida, from January 25 through February 26. What’s more, he’s being joined on stage by “American Idol” season 4 runner up Bo Bice, as well as Broadway star Justin M. Sargent, who is also directing the production.
Sargent has appeared in multiple Broadway productions, including “Rock of Ages” in its previous Broadway run, as well as “Bonnie and Clyde” and “Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark”. He was also in the ensemble of NBC’s televised production of “Jesus Christ Superstar: Live”, which starred Cardona’s coach from “The Voice” John Legend in the titular role, and co-starred singers Alice Cooper and Sara Bareilles. Bareilles was a judge on season three of the NBC a cappella singing competition series, “The Sing-Off”.
Omar Jose Cardona is Excited for This ‘Dream Role’
In a press release for the production, Omar Jose Cardona referred to his being cast in “Rock of Ages” as a “dream role”, and said, “I’m excited to be back home and perform for my community after all the support they gave throughout my recent journey on ‘The Voice’. Orlando is underrated for its talent and this cast will prove what we can create here in Central Florida.”
Cardona is coming right off of his season of “The Voice”, where he was the only member of Team Legend to make the finale, eventually coming in fourth place. Cardona didn’t have the smoothest road to the finale, however. After getting all four coaches to turn their chairs in his Blind Audition, Cardona passed through the Battle and Knockout Rounds, and survived the first few public votes. He had made his name as a frontrunner in the competition until the semi-finals, when he fell into the bottom four and had to sing for the Instant Save against his teammates Parijita Bastola and Kim Cruse, as well as Team Gwen’s Justin Aaron.
Cardona’s rendition of Lady Gaga’s “You and I” was able to earn him enough fan votes to survive elimination and bring him to the finale, where he eventually placed fourth overall.
Bo Bice is Ready For a New Challenge
Although Omar Jose Cardona has some theatre experience, “Rock of Ages” marks Bo Bice’s first time taking on a theatre role of this size. He said in the press release, “I am lucky to perform alongside this highly talented cast. It’s always enjoyable to perform with artists who come together to create magic; it’s a different beast than being a frontman. That’s what makes it unique for the audience and [‘Rock of Ages’] fans to experience. Let’s Rock!”
Although Bice doesn’t have as large of a theatre background, he has a lot of experience being a rock star on stage, including during his original run on “American Idol”, where he only landed in the bottom two during the Top 8 round of the competition, when he sang “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Despite blowing the judges away with an a cappella performance of “In a Dream” by Badlands in the semi-finals. Bice eventually lost to Carrie Underwood in the finale.
Bice’s “Idol” castmate Constantine Maroulis originated the lead role of Drew in “Rock of Ages” on Broadway in 2009, earning a Tony Award nomination for “Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical” for his performance.
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