That encouraged the audience to participate by talking back, throwing things, and playing along with the characters?
That audiences played along to, week after week, year after year, until they had every image, every word, every gesture memorized?
That spawned a dozen catchphrases and a warehouse full of tie-in books, magazines, cards, and toys?
Revive the original play, which ran in London from 1973 to 1980.
It's considerably different from the movie -- new songs, different dialogue, Magenta and Columbia have different characters, and most interestingly, Rocky talks. A whole new take on the Rocky Horror universe (you can read the script here).
Revivals began in 1990 in Britain. In the U.S., a Broadway revival played from 2000 to 2002, with every beefcake hunk imaginable cast as the underwear-clad Brad, the gold-lame muscleman Rocky, and sweet transvestite Frank-n-Furter: James Royce Edwards, Luke Perry, Micah Thompson, Jonathan Sharp,
It's now playing everywhere, in high schools, colleges, community theaters, little theaters. Halloween season is most popular, but it can be seen at any time. According to the official show blog, here's where it's coming up in 2014:
The Grandview Playhouse, MA, April-May
The Bangor Opera House, ME, June
The Ivory Theater, MO, October
Downtown Theatre, CA, October
World Trade Center Theatre, OR, October
Oh Canada Eh?, Niagara Falls, October
So even if you've had some terrible thrills many, many times before, it's always exciting to go down to the lab and see what's on the slab. Let's do the Time Warp again.
I must say it hasn't held up. You see, it was great when it all began. I was a regular Frankie fan. But it was over when he had the plan to start working on a muscle man. Now the only thing that gives me hope is my love for a certain dope. Rose-tint my world, keep me save from my troubles and pain.
ReplyDelete(An aside, I'm usually Rocky. I look the part, and don't mind gold lamé posers on October night's.)
I've seen a fantastic live Rocky show in Tulsa a few years back that was really energetic and even gayer than the original take. No changes in the dialogue or songs, but in the performance. A cute twinky Brad felt way more endangered by a towering Frank and more bad touching from Riff. At one point they knocked Brad down and Frank ground on top of him. But this Brad also was more seduced into things than movie Brad was, showed clear attachment to Frank. The line "Help me Mommy" in the Floor Show is sung to Frank, not a plea to escape him.
ReplyDeleteIt really revitalized a beloved favorite and made it fresher and better (and gayer) then ever.
Sounds like a good attempt to deflect some of the problematic parts.
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