The Rocky Horror Show in its various iterations has been around since 1973 when it was a musical stage production with music, book, and lyrics by Richard O’Brien who wrote it to honor his love of science fiction and B horror movies of the era. Let it be noted that the show had a very brief run and even briefer reviews.
Still, over fifty years later, it’s a cult classic which a local community theatre, The Ghostlight, tackled for the second year in a row because the run sold out even before the show opened last year.
You can’t go to this production – or any production of Rocky – expecting anything other than chaos. The plot is complicated on paper and more complicated to follow in a two hour production. A naïve couple, recently engaged, ends up in a weird castle where Dr. Frank N. Furter holds court. In the end, the castle and many of its inhabitants are transported to another time and space, but not before there is a lot of hanky panky and double entrendre.
Ultimately, you go for the exuberance of the music and the campy involvement of the audience that is encouraged to come in costume, sing along, and wave lighted wands at specific moments.
And, yes, there is the Time Warp, that signature song where you: “jump to the left, and then a step to the right. Put your hands on your hips. You bring your knees in tight. But it’s the pelvic thrust that really drives you insane.”
I’ve seen “Rocky” twice, not because I’m an avid devotee of the show but because a family member was in it several years ago and I wanted to see how this local production compared to that one. Let me tell you, they were completely different. I guess that’s what time warp is really about.
I’m glad I saw both versions, but I have no desire to see the show again. So I won’t be joining the cult.
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