Being so unclean and unorthodox has never felt so right! Especially when attending Studio 54 for the revival of “The Rocky Horror Show” where camp (perfectly and measuredly over the top) is oozing out all the historic venue’s crevices and the tastes of forbidden fruit are most succulent!
Even forty years on, the cult this musical’s accumulated keeps on growing by the thousands and to not only be seeing the beloved show back on Broadway, but to be amongst the ever-growing fanbase and participate in callouts and inside-ish jokes the classic film inspired makes the experience here even more fantastical and engaging. Even the cast (ESPECIALLY someone as razor sharp and quick witted a comedian as Rachel Dratch; always brilliant) can’t help but embrace and playoff its crowd of ravenous fans which in turns leads to some wildly hilarious results.
Sam Pinkleton proved himself a vivacious savant in the realm of larger-than-life characters and unfiltered raunchiness in “Oh, Mary!” last season, and there’s no doubt in my mind that he was the right choice yet again for here. He wraps you up in the filthy fold of Richard O’Brien’s B-Movie spoof script and infectious tunes metaphorically and, hell, even physically as he’s gotten every inch of space beyond the stage screaming “Science Fiction Double Feature” (the creative collective known as dots is responsible for the alien-esque, interstellar, slightly dilapidated play-space we sit in and actors run amuck in). Seeing how one can stage “Rocky Horror,” you can either go one of two routes: keep it as melodramatic comically and exceedingly over the top as one can get, or balance these aspects out and inject something fresh into the already pulsing blood flow. Pinkleton has chosen the second route, appearing to give the iconic characters slightly more complex internal lives and an even deeper dive into their personal desires that I don’t think have ever been as truly realized until he entered the director’s fray. The cast very well delivers on that one too, but it is certainly Pinkleton who’s set the skeleton for them to build upon and shape over time. O’Brien’s scandalousness of a musical was certainly bold and unafraid to be what it is for its time of debut, and Pinkleton’s bold ideas and takes feel like a match made in unorthodox heaven!
Now let’s get into the cast. There couldn’t have been a finer array of performers to have been selected for this Broadway outing, and one that literally had me jumping out of my seat. I will say, the winner for stealing it all goes to the New York stage debut of Luke Evans. With such ease he exudes Frank-N-Furter’s confidence and sexual bravado, and is the master when it comes to finding a way into characters’ heads and tactically talking them into his web of sinful pleasure. He’s vocally sound through and through (even raising the key for some big numbers), but the real treat is his 11 o’clock rendition of “I’m Going Home” where he let’s Frank’s mask finally comes down and allows us to see the emotional state you never would’ve known was there until Evans finally brings it to the forefront. It’s a performance I hope will go down as legendary in the musical’s history.
Everyone else plays their parts with just as much oomph as Evans. In addition to Evans and the aforementioned brilliant Dratch, Amber Gray has embraced the rock prowess and zaniness Richard O’Brien initiated in Riff Raff and she serves it to us on a silver plater filled with morsels of a sublimely otherworldly nature. Andrew Durand and Stephanie Hsu are certainly a perfect match as Brad and Janet as they play very well to the overall awkwardness of their characters (a type both have played quite well onstage in the past) and to see their journey from clean cut to eternally altered hot and throbbing messes is the most genuine journey I’ve actually seen of the characters. They both deliver on “Damnit Janet,” and their solos, if not standout in my book, do meet the bar this production requires of them. Josh Rivera as Rocky is unlike any other Rocky I’ve seen. The himbo vibe that creates his comedic aspects is present within, but I actually felt I could see moments within his take that proves Rocky is smarter than he was made to be. I honestly think that makes the character even more beautifully tragic than the fate his character receives come closing. So bravo there Rivera! From Aaron Hernandez to this, you’ve certainly proven you got the range! Juliette Lewis ropes us in to the realm of the show in her superb rendition of “Sciene Fiction”; a chorus of singing sex mannequins and two creepy, muscular one-eyed alien follies dancers included (David I. Reynoso did the perfectly unadulterated and wonderfully bizarre costumes) and while not featured to the degree as the others, her meaningfully deadpan Magenta is quite the vibe. I’m not entirely sure the squeaky voice was entirely needed here because her vocals were already strong and showed great range in style, but Michaela Jaé Rodriguez pumps in the fangirl energy and brokenheartedness Columbia gives off that keeps the show from being all laughs and gags by the minute. It’s a shame that the character isn’t featured more because this was my first time seeing Rodriguez in anything and I would certainly have loved to see what else she could bring to the table. And lastly, Harvey Guillén was certainly quite the choice when given the split track of Eddie and Dr. Scott (the best one of the two being his Dr. Scott). I don’t believe him to be a true-born singer (“Hot Patootie” and his Eddie kinda got lost the haystack for me), but his comedic instincts and timing are at their strongest and most viable when his Dr. Scott enters the picture. I do give him credit thought for the drastic personality differences in his characters because you certainly would believe they were two separate actors in the roles.
I’ve felt in the past I’ve always exaggerated when I say some show was “one of the single greatest nights of my life,” but this night, this production, this performance, fits that descriptor perfectly! Especially when the friend who goes with you, Nicholas Auletti, exclaims it was the first film he ever saw and knows exactly what he’s getting into but is open to the surprises Pinkleton’s production gives. We’re all doing the Time Warp again, and if you’re not, I suggest giving yourself over to the absolute pleasure only this production of “The Rocky Horror Show” can give. You know you want to. I see you shivering with antici…
-pation!
