'Rocky Horror' on Stage Is Ghoulishly Irresistible

By Michael W. Freeman
The Reporter

ORLANDO
Now, repeat after me: "It's just a jump to the left . . ." " . . . and then a step to the right. . ." Barring the possibility that you spent the past 29 years on Mars, or simply abhor popular culture, you probably know those words as being from that most irresistible dance craze, The Time Warp. Hard to believe now, but it was on Sept. 26, 1975, when "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" first hit U.S. cinemas -- and was a quick box office flop.

I first saw the film in 1977 at a small movie house on Cape Cod at age 13. It was in the early stages of the Rocky Horror craze, with audiences just beginning to talk back to the screen, throw rice during the wedding scene, etc. It was hard to decide what I loved more, the audience's zany enthusiasm or the film itself. I became a Rocky devotee, and must have seen the film dozens of times.

"Rocky Horror" became such a massive cult phenomenon that a lot of people probably forget that this camp classic actually started out as a London stage show, created by playwright/composer Richard O'Brien as a homage to 1950s trash sci-fi/horror drive-in features, with some unusual twists: a muscular hunk as the "monster," a mad scientist who also happens to be a "sweet transvestite," and plenty of bisexuality to go around. When young and innocent Brad Majors and his fiancé, Janet Weiss, get a flat tire and seek help at the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, they're not exactly walking into an episode of "The Munsters."

But the obvious question for any theater group that revives "The Rocky Horror Show" is: will audiences accept the story without the familiar likes of Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Meatloaf? Can the play stand on its own two feet without inviting disappointing comparisons with the movie, or the wacky audience participation that made it so much fun to begin with?

Well, yes. It's a credit to O'Brien's fiendish imagination that you can enjoy the theatrical version, regardless of whether you love the film.

In the past two years, I've already seen two first-rate -- and radically different -- versions of "Rocky Horror Show." In October 2002, the Moonlight Players in Clermont staged a hilarious version. Now Orlando's Theatre Downtown is putting on a different -- but equally creative and entertaining -- production that's downright irresistible.

Director Seth Kubersky puts a lot of creative touches into the show, including his use of a video screen at the back of the stage. It's used for a very funny introduction film that sensibly cautions the audience not to throw things at the actors or yell out lines during the show, since this is a play, not a movie. It's a wise move, because Kubersky ably demonstrates that "Rocky Horror Show" can work without the audience participation.

The Clermont production gave us Drew Tessier as a giddy Frank N Furter who came off like a hyperactive kid in a candy store. But I also enjoyed Theatre Downtown's casting of John DiDonna; he plays Frank as a much more malevolent, and downright naughty, mad scientist, which sums up the tone of the play itself. The Clermont production played the songs in a 1970s pop vein, much like the movie did, while a 2001 Broadway revival made O'Brien's songs sound more like 50's rock `n roll.

Theatre Downtown cranks up the volume, with guitarist Steve Schneider playing it more like grunge rock, an interesting choice. It won't always remind you of the film, that's for sure.

The show also tosses in a few audience participation zingers of their own, some too X-rated to be noted here, and a few quite political; seconds before Frank says "I think we can do better than that," someone screamed out "What do you think of George Bush?"

The cast plays up the show's camp humor with gusto, and they're all quite good, although I have to single out Jeff L. Lindberg -- who ironically directed the Clermont production two years ago. Here he plays Simon Lock, the show's narrator, who also happens to be a bit of a lech. He stops the show near the end to invite a young man from the audience on stage with him for a mischievous version of "Simon Says." Lindberg and his chosen victim -- who was a great sport -- were one of the true highlights of this consistently inspired, madcap production.

In fact, anyone who's been thinking about renting "Rocky Horror" on DVD should go to Theatre Downtown instead.

Michael W. Freeman can be reached at Michael.Freeman@ theledger.com or at 863-421-5577.