Kristin Hanggi ’98

With an all-star cast and a soundtrack featuring iconic rock bands of the 1980s, the 2012 film Rock of Ages found success at the box office during its opening weekend. But before the film came to Hollywood, the story made its mark on Broadway, in a musical version and under the direction of Kristin Hanggi ’98 in her Broadway debut. According to Hanggi, “Rock of Ages tells a story of following dreams and falling in love through some of the best rock ‘n’ roll of all time.” The film is based directly on the musical. At the 63rd Annual Tony Awards in 2009, Hanggi became the youngest female ever nominated for Best Director of a Musical, for Rock of Ages. The production also received the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Drama League Award and four other Tony nominations in 2009 including Best Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actor, Best Costume Design and Best Sound Design. She has directed the show’s tours in Toronto, Australia and London’s West End, and continues to be part of its running productions.

Raised in Huntington Beach, Calif., Hanggi received her bachelor’s degree from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 1998. She says, “UCLA provided me with a lot of encouragement and nurturing. The school’s amazing resources allowed my imagination to play. If we wanted to put on a show in the theater department, we were allowed to put on a show.” To fine tune her talents, she also attended the University of Southern California, where she earned a master’s degree in dramatic writing.

After graduating from USC, Hanggi began her career with the direction of BARE: A Pop Opera in Los Angeles. In 2001, BARE won two Los Angeles Ovation Awards for Best Musical and Best Original Score and the LA Weekly Award for Best Musical. When approached with the idea for Rock of Ages, Hanggi was directing the production that initially launched the Pussycat Dolls show, Pussycat Dolls Live at the Roxy, with Christina Applegate, Carmen Electra and special guests Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera, Brittany Murphy, Nikka Costa and Charlize Theron. Looking for a lyricist and director, the original authors of Rock of Ages approached her about making an ’80s rock musical.

Hanggi describes the production of Rock of Ages as very collaborative. “The script was fleshed out as we performed the show and held workshops and auditions during developmental production. We had three performances on the way to New York before we hit Broadway just to see what spoke to us.” She attributes the show’s success to the deep love and knowledge all the collaborators had for musical theater. “It was a challenge developing the show in Los Angeles because it is not a theater town and we had to use non-traditional venues. Funding would fall through, the power in the theaters would keep going down, but now the story is most definitely on its way.” Since production of the film version, Hanggi has kept herself busy with other projects. She has adapted the hit book series Dear Dumb Diary into a musical screenplay, which she is also directing. In fall 2012 she picked up the script for Surf the Musical, a new show featuring the music of the Beach Boys. She is also founder of Wonderfalls Entertainment, a production company based in Los Angeles. A second national tour for Rock of Ages was launched in Providence, R.I., on Oct. 4, 2011, and the musical version is playing at the historic Helen Hayes Theatre in New York City.

To aspiring musical writers and directors Hanggi says, “Just do it. Doing it is completely how you learn. The energy you create by doing what you want to do is invaluable.” For Bruins everywhere, Rock of Ages demonstrates what a UCLA Theater, Film and Television graduate is capable of taking to both the stage and the big screen.