TORONTO — "Rock of Ages," the celebrated Broadway musical that features '80s hits from the likes of Journey, Foreigner and Pat Benatar, is coming to Toronto.

The show is set in 1987 on L.A.'s Sunset Strip and includes such hit songs as "Sister Christian," "We Built This City" and "Don't Stop Believin'."

Mirvish Productions will bring the show to the Royal Alexandra Theatre with performances beginning April 27.

"If I did a four-word review, it would be: 'Big dreams, big hair,"' said producer Carl Levin, during a splashy news conference that included an appearance from Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider and performances by Night Ranger and REO Speedwagon.

"Rock of Ages" had its world premiere in Los Angeles almost four years ago and moved to Broadway, where it was nominated for five Tony Awards, including best musical.

The show is about two dreamers from the Midwest who find love at a fictional L.A. club called the Bourbon Room.

The gleefully overblown soundtrack -- which also features hits from Poison, Asia and Whitesnake -- centres on a specific '80s specialty: power ballads.

"The thing that's great about power ballads is it's a heightened emotion, similar to opera or great musicals, they're telling a story through the super highs and the super lows," Levin said in an interview after the press conference.

"The songs from that era are so soaring."

Levin said that Toronto was the logical choice for the next town to visit after New York. With all the roles in the Canadian version of the show still up for grabs, producers are holding an open casting call next week in Toronto.

"We love the idea of discovering someone brand new, so if you're a rocker in your garage and you love singing Bon Jovi and Journey, we're hopeful that we'll meet and have a job for you in April," he said.

For the bands involved, seeing their glam-metal tunes recreated in a major theatrical production is a unique pleasure.

"I had to kind of pinch myself because I grew up around Broadway music," REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin told The Canadian Press in an interview following the presentation.

"To be sitting there, on Broadway, hearing my songs, it was a real thrill, I'll be honest with you."

Added Night Ranger's Jack Blades: "We never thought we'd be Broadway composers."

The show received rave reviews during its Broadway run, with the New York Times calling it "seriously silly, absurdly enjoyable" while Entertainment Weekly said the show offered "the kind of operatic ecstasy you read about only in bathroom stalls."

Considering that the excesses of '80s hair metal have long been critically derided, Snider said the positive notices are music to his ears.

"I'm so happy to see it, because there's always this fear that the legit press won't appreciate the value, but they're getting it, and that's one of the things `Rock of Ages' is doing, it's communicating the spirit," he said.

"There's a lot of people who tend to dismiss the '80s as a musical void, but when you hear these songs performed, once you get past the glitter and glam and excess of the '80s, there's great melodies, and great songs, and they're standing the test of time."

Tickets for "Rock of Ages" go on sale Nov. 28.