The current Live Arts Theatre production of "The Rocky Horror Show" musical should come with a disclaimer: "Warning: If you see this show, be prepared to get dirty - and feel dirty, for that matter." If audience members can keep this in mind, "The Rocky Horror Show" can be a night of uncompromisingly tacky fun.
"The Rocky Horror Show" was written by Richard O'Brien and first opened in London in 1973. Despite receiving acclaim in England, an American Broadway run and the film version both bombed. Despite failing at worldwide success, a devoted cult of costumed fans who interact with the film's dialogue has kept "Rocky Horror" going all these years.
The musical tells the story of Brad and Janet, a white-bread couple who find themselves stranded at the isolated castle of one Dr. Frank 'N' Furter, an evil genius/transvestite/scientist. Through Frank's seductive charms, Brad and Janet become radically transformed. Instead of creating a man out of dead flesh like Dr. Frankenstein, he creates two very sexually released beings out of two pent-up teenagers. Oh, and there's lots of singing, gyrating and funny pseudo-science along the way to keep things light.
Opening night of the Live Arts production was quite a strange scene. The actual theatre, which can be most favorably described as cozy and compact, puts the crowd right in the action on stage, giving the phrase "audience participation" a whole new meaning.
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Audience participation was allowed, albeit in a more watered-down form than the midnight showings of "Rocky Horror." To participate, the ticket holders are encouraged to buy an audience participation bag before the show. The bag comes with instructions on when to participate and how, as well as materials to throw at appropriate times. Though the bags are great for the novice, they do not include all of the dialogue and items that have become part of the "Rocky Horror" routine over the years. Part of the fun of the Live Arts performance was seeing the veterans in the audience act out in ways that are not on the cheat sheet.
Those in attendance were not the typical costumed crowd (unless of course the uniform of the "Rocky Horror" fan has changed to corduroy and tweed somewhere along the way). The audience was composed mainly of aging hipsters, many of whom had probably been there when this whole phenomenon started. Though the crowd of eager women and men seemed at first a little rusty, they were singing, dancing and throwing projectiles in unison by the end of the night.
The show was mostly fun and games, but this cast is no joke. Molly Sciaretta is wonderfully convincing as Janet. Despite a weak singing voice, Donal Oldaker is hilarious as the thoroughly repressed Brad. Gare Galbraith as Dr. Scott gives just about the most animated performance one can without ever standing up (Dr. Scott's character is wheelchair bound.) Magenta is played with verve and style by Sarah Clifford (who has one mean singing voice to boot). She definitely deserved more stage time.
Perhaps the most difficult shoes to fill in this production were those left by actor Tim Curry in the role of Dr. Frank 'N' Furter. The fact that each actor in this role must give his own interpretation of it does not overshadow the fact that Curry's classic portrayal will forever be the standard to which all other Frank 'N' Furters must, er, measure up.
Luckily for this production, Joel Brent Gross comes through with shining colors. He builds on some of Curry's vibrato singing style and adds a little bit of Iggy Pop and Tina Turner's moves along the way. Gross is one blue-haired pop star of a transvestite/scientist, and in lieu of his dominating portrayal, I could not imagine the post-millennial Frank any other way.
"The Rocky Horror Show" is at Live Arts through March 31. If you go, be warned: You will most likely get showered with confetti, toilet paper, water or any combination of the three. You might be pressured into performing silly, sexually inflected dances and even sillier sexually explicit songs. But if you can stomach all of this, you will most certainly be surprised and entertained.
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