The Rocky Horror Show

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The Rocky Horror Show is a long running stage musical (opening in London initially, on June 19, 1973) that inspired the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was written by Richard O'Brien, who returned to his native England after growing up in New Zealand. The musical was developed by O'Brien in collaboration with Australian theatre director Jim Sharman, who had already gained extensive experience directing rock musicals with the groundbreaking Australian productions of Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals" (wherein Nation refers to the United Kingdom). [1]

David Bedella playing Dr Frank N Furter, in The Rocky Horror Show(UK Tour 2006) Photo by Christopher Budnar, used with permission.
David Bedella playing Dr Frank N Furter, in The Rocky Horror Show(UK Tour 2006) Photo by Christopher Budnar, used with permission.

Contents

[edit] Original Production

Sharman's success with the original Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar led to an invitation to direct the first London stage production, and it was during the London run of Superstar that he met O'Brien, who briefly had a role in the show (he played Herod for just one performance). O'Brien played Sharman some of the songs he had written and they began to flesh out the concept for the show; Sharman later brought in fellow Australians Nell Campbell (aka 'Little Nell') and longtime design collaborator Brian Thomson, who had designed both Hair and Superstar. Sharman's theatrical background — his father and grandfather were famous tent-show promoters — influenced the deliberately makeshift look and feel of the original production, which premiered in a small, run-down, 60 seat theatre slated for demolition. The theatre was run by the Royal Court as a project space for new work. The show was voted Best New Musical by London's theatre critics and the production transferred to a theatre on the Kings Road where it ran continuously for three years.

[edit] Original London cast and production team


A common misconception is that Belinda Sinclair originated the role of Janet because Sinclair is featured on the Original London Cast Recording. Julie Covington was the first to play Janet, but an accident early in the run of the show caused her to be badly injured and she had to leave the production. Covington was replaced by Sinclair.

[edit] US Productions

[edit] Los Angeles Premier

The Rocky Horror Show premiered in the U.S. at The Roxy Theatre, Los Angeles opening March 24th 1974. Director Jim Sharman and many other backstage members came over from London. Tim Curry was the only member of the cast to reprise his role. Meat Loaf joined the cast here as Eddie/Dr. Scott, Kim Milford as Rocky, and Jamie Donnelly, Jan from Grease the movie, starred as Magenta/Usherette Trixie. There was a cast recording made of this cast. Here is the show's premiere cast:

[edit] Broadway Production

The Rocky Horror Show originally went on Broadway in 1975 with the Roxy cast from Los Angeles, except for Graham Jarvis who was replaced by William Newman, and Bruce Scott who was replaced by author Richard O'Brien himself. It opened March 10th at the Belasco Theatre. "We did a week of sold-out previews to audiences who loved it," said Kim Milford (Rocky). "Then opening night, the critics sat there in silence and looked at us like we just crawled out from under a rock." The critics trashed the show and it closed after 45 performances. The Rocky Horror Show had a short revival on Broadway from October 2000 to January 2002 and featured Tom Hewitt, rock singers Joan Jett and Sebastian Bach (from October 2001 to January 2002), funny lady Lea DeLaria, and Daphne Rubin-Vega of Rent fame. From October 2001 to January 2002, several guest celebrities played the narrator role normally performed by Dick Cavett, including magicians Penn & Teller, New York Post columnist Cindy Adams, MTV personality Dave Holmes, and talk show host Jerry Springer among others. It is suggested that the revival, like other shows running at the time, closed early because of financial losses during the time after 9/11.

[edit] Australian Production

The original Australian production of Rocky premiered in Sydney on 15 April 1974 at the New Arts Cinema, Glebe. It was the third major stage show produced by Harry M. Miller, and like its two predecessors it was a resounding success. It ran for almost two years, and the production and cast included several key personnel who had worked on both Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar, including Reg Livermore, Jim Sharman, Brian Thomson and Harry M. Miller. Opening cast:

  • Dr. Frank-N-Furter: Reg Livermore
  • Janet Weiss: Jane Harders
  • Brad Majors: John Paramor
  • Riff-Raff: Sal Sharah
  • Magenta and Usherette: Kate Fitzpatrick
  • Columbia: Maureen Elkner
  • Eddie and Dr. Scott: David Cameron
  • Rocky Horror: Graham Matters
  • The Narrator: Arthur Dignam

[edit] Revivals

The play has been revived several times, but is much different now than when it was first presented in 1973. The script that is used in productions today has been changed to be very much like the film adaptation The Rocky Horror Picture Show. For example, all the song titles have been changed to match those in the film, and certain dialogue has also been changed to be like the film. The original script can be found on the net on most Rocky Horror fan made pages.

The movie has been much more popular in the United States than the theatrical show, revivals of which are mounted periodically without great success. In other countries the stage show has proved a perennial favourite with theatre audiences, and many successful revivals of the show have been mounted. In some places at the stage show, fans dress up as the characters and shout call-backs at the stage. For example, whenever the character Brad's name is mentioned, the audience shouts "asshole," and similarly shouts "slut" for Janet. Fans also use props at appropriate moments, for example, throwing toast when Frank calls for "a toast," and using water pistols and newspapers during a scene in the rain. Many theatres no longer allow this.[2]

The Rocky Horror Show recently went on tour, playing at venues across the UK. The show starred David Bedella as Frankenfurter and Suzanne Shaw as Janet Weiss, with a long list of famous guest narrators including: Michael Aspel, Ian Lavender, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Brian Capron, Jack Ellis, Steve Pemberton and Christopher Biggins (who was in the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show).

Versions of the show have played well in various other countries, including a New Zealand production that featured, at one time or other, the former prime minister Robert Muldoon (as the compère) and the Rock Star, Gary Glitter playing the lead.

[edit] UK Tour

The Rocky Horror Show is currently touring the UK, starring David Bedella as Dr. Frank N Furter, Sarah Boulton as Janet Weiss and Richard Meek as Brad Majors. Narrators of the current tour have included Michael Aspel, Nigel Planer, Christopher Biggins, Clive Mantle, Russ Abbot, Steve Pemberton, John McArdle, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Shaun Williamson, Andy Gray, Jack Ellis, Brian Capron and Russell Grant, and currently Ian Lavender.

The current cast also includes:
Matt Harrop as Riff Raff
Claire Parrish as Magenta and Usherette
Sarah French-Ellis as Columbia
Sergio Priftis as Rocky
Nathan Amzi as Eddie and Dr. Scott
Lauren Appleby as a Phantom
Erin Carter as a Phantom
Kevin Littlejohn as a Phantom
Stuart Ellis as a Phantom
Katie Funk as a Swing
Andy Rees as a Swing

The 2006 tour cast, accompanied by Roger Lloyd-Pack as the Narrator and author Richard O’Brien, performed The Time Warp live in Trafalgar Square on Saturday 22nd July 2006 as part of The Big Dance event and was broadcast on BBC1’s Dancing in the Street.

[edit] Computer Games

The Rocky Horror Show computer game was produced for early 8-bit computers including the Commodore 64, Commodore 128, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC by the CRL Group PLC in 1985, to mixed reviews. The game involved playing as either Brad or Janet and collecting pieces of the Medusa machine scattered around the castle, in order to free the player's partner from stone and escape the castle before it blasts off. Meanwhile, the other characters in the game could hinder the player's progress by stealing and hiding their clothes and other objects.

The Rocky Interactive Horror Show Game was released in March/April 1999 for the PC by On-Line PLC. Similarly to the earlier CRL game, the player plays as Brad or Janet and must rescue their partner from the castle. Unlike the older computer game, its gameplay was more puzzle-oriented, and benefited from the added detail, graphics, and live video sequences that the PC could provide. Despite this, it was criticised for a clumsy user interface and for using two-dimensional graphics, at a time when most games were using 3D.[citation needed]

[edit] Songs

  • "Science Fiction/Double Feature"
  • "Damn It Janet" (also known as "Dammit, Janet")
  • "There's a Light" (renamed for the film: "Over At the Frankenstein Place")
  • "Sweet Transvestite"
  • "The Time Warp"
  • "The Sword of Damocles"
  • "Charles Atlas Song" (renamed and rewritten for the film, and since retained in current stage versions: "I Can Make You a Man")
  • "Hot Patootie (Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?)"
  • "Charles Atlas Song: Reprise" (renamed for the film: "I Can Make You a Man (Reprise)")
  • "Once in a While"
  • "Touch-a Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me" (also known as: "Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me")
  • "Eddie's Teddy" (also known as: "Eddie")
  • "Planet Schmanet Janet" (also known as: "Wise Up Janet Weiss")
  • "Planet Hot Dog" (the second movement of "Planet Schmanet Janet")
  • "Rose Tint My World"
  • "Don't Dream It - Be It"
  • "Wild And Untamed Thing"
    • ("Rose Tint My World", "Don't Dream It - Be It" and "Wild And Untamed Thing" are often combined as simply "The Floorshow")
  • "I'm Going Home"
  • "Super Heroes"
  • "Science Fiction/Double Feature: Reprise"
    • (Most productions also perform reprises of Hot Patootie, Wild and Untamed Thing and The Time Warp as encores, collectively referred to as "Curtain Call;" they are performed by the ensemble after the official end of the show.)

[edit] Cast Recordings

  • 1973 London Cast
  • 1974 Roxy Cast
  • 1974 Australian Cast
  • 1975 Brazilian Cast
  • 1975 Film Soundtrack
  • 1976 Mexican Cast
  • 1977 Norwegian Cast
  • 1978 New Zealand Cast
  • 1980 German Cast
  • 1981 Australian Cast
  • 1990 London Cast ("The Whole Gory Story")
  • 1991 Icelandic Cast
  • 1992 Australian Cast
  • 1995 New Zealand Cast
  • 1995 Finnish Cast
  • 1995 Iceland Cast
  • 1995 German Cast
  • 1996 Danish Cast
  • 1996/7 European Tour
  • 1997 German Cast
  • 1998 London Cast
  • 1998 South African Cast
  • 2001 Broadway Cast
  • 2001 Korean Cast
  • 2001 Peruvian Cast
  • 2005 Canadian Cast

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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