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The cast of the SUNY Fredonia Department of Theatre and Dance production of Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show includes Brian Moe, above, as mad scientist Dr. Frank N’ Furter; Rick Doetter as hero Brad Majors and Elizabeth Ruff as heroine Janet Weiss. The show opens Oct. 19 in Marvel Theatre at the Rockefeller Arts Center. Performance dates and times are: Friday, Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. and Midnight; Saturday, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m.; Sunday Oct. 21 at 2 p.m.; Thursday Oct. 25 and Friday, Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. and Midnight; Saturday, Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. |
Take a little rock ’n’ roll, throw in some science fiction, mix it with a good dose of gothic horror and a bizarre cast of characters and you’ve got the recipe for a play like no other.
It’s a mixture that has helped Richard O’Brien’s “Rocky Horror Show” strike a chord with audiences for more than 30 years.
The Department of Theatre and Dance at the State University of New York at Fredonia will open the 2007-08 Walter Gloor Mainstage Series with the cult classic on Friday, Oct. 19 in Marvel Theatre.
The musical tells the tale of a young couple that is stranded and forced to spend the night at the castle of a mad scientist. There, they meet a cast of incredible characters and face a series of dilemmas. It’s a show the New York Times summed up as “the most mutated, time-warped phenomena in show business.”
Having debuted in London in 1973, the play inspired a film version, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” in 1975. The phenomenon that “Rocky Horror” has become traces its genesis to when the film version began its run as a “midnight movie” in New York City in 1976.
It was during these late-night screenings that the practice of audience participation took root. Audience members began shouting responses to the dialogue on screen, dancing to certain songs in the soundtrack, throwing various items at appropriate points in the film and coming dressed as various characters in the film.
It was this type of audience participation that fueled the popularity of “Rocky Horror.” The film is still in limited release after more than 30 years, making it the longest running theatrical release in history. It is one of only 450 films in the National Film Registry, the registry of films selected by the Unites States Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress.
Directing the Mainstage production will be Tom Loughlin, a professor of theatre and dance who has been teaching in the performance program at SUNY Fredonia since 1988. For Mr. Loughlin, the focus is on honoring tradition while breaking new ground.
“The most interesting aspect of putting this show together is trying to walk that fine line between satisfying audience expectations and giving them something new to experience,” Mr. Loughlin said. “The Rocky Horror Show’ has a large fan base, and we want to do all we can to give them the experience they’ve come to expect from the show.”
Bringing the world of “The Rocky Horror Show” to life also carries challenges for the cast.
“For the actors, I think the challenge lies in having to create characters who are living in this strange transsexual world, and loving it,” Mr. Loughlin said.
The actors will also have to be prepared to deal with audience participation.
“The show's audiences traditionally throw things on the stage, shout out lines or adaptations of lines and in general expect to be a part of the show, not just a passive audience,” Mr. Loughlin explained. “That’s part of the fun, but also part of the challenge. We will have ‘participation kits’ on sale in the lobby for those people who want to experience that part of the show.”
Because the participation kits will be available, audience members will not be allowed to bring their own items in to the show.
Mr. Loughlin noted the production team will also be facing its own challenges in bringing “The Rocky Horror Show” to life.
“The show is also technically challenging. Thanks to the Wendt Foundation grant (and the state-funded Rockefeller rehabilitation project), we now have new lighting equipment that is very sophisticated and capable of providing the show with a rock-and-roll feel for the musical numbers while giving us greater control for the scenic atmosphere,” the director said. “We hope to put this new equipment to the test and really show off what it can do."
Stephen Rees, chairman of the Department of Theatre and Dance, said presenting a show like “Rocky Horror” is what the Mainstage Series is all about.
“We had long ago made a commitment to try to present interesting, socially-relevant works. We have a responsibility to challenge our students and let our audiences explore new works,” Mr. Rees said.
For tickets to Richard O’Brien’s “The Rocky Horror Show,” patrons should visit the SUNY Fredonia Ticket Office in the Williams Center or call 716-673-3501 (toll free at 1-866-441-4928).
