The Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British stage musical, opening in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, and developed by O'Brien in collaboration with Australian theater director Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals". [1] The play was adapted as the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show .

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History

Jim 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 Richard O'Brien, who had played Herod for just one performance. O'Brien wished to play Herod as Elvis, but quit Superstar when the producers asked him to tap-dance. While unemployed, O'Brien worked on a new rock musical with a rough-draft title of "Rock Horroar."

While working together at the Royal Court's Theatre Upstairs on a production of Sam Shepard's The Unseen Hand , O'Brien played Sharman some of the songs he had written and they began to flesh out the concept for the show. Sharman brought in fellow Australians Nell Campbell, a.k.a. 'Little Nell,' and longtime production designer Brian Thomson, who had designed his productions of Hair and Superstar . Costume designer Sue Blane and musical director Richard Hartley rounded out the original creative team.

The musical went into rehearsals with the working title "They Came from Denton High," which was changed just before previews at Sharman's suggestion to The Rocky Horror Show. ^[2]

After two previews, The Rocky Horror Show premiered at the 63-seat Theatre Upstairs on 19 June 1973 and ran until 20 July 1973. The theatre was run by the Royal Court as a project space for new work. Veteran stage producer Michael White produced the play and Pete Moss later became musical director. The production was a critical and commercial success. Record producer Jonathan King saw it on the second night and signed the cast to make the Original Soundtrack Album over a long weekend which was rushed out on his UK Records label. King was heavily involved in the initial promotion for the show as well as being the other 20% backer of it financially with White. The production transferred to the Classic Cinema on Kings Road from 14 August 1973 to 20 October 1973, a run-down 270-seat venue scheduled for demolition. Transferring again to the Kings Road Theatre, a 350-seat converted cinema, the production ran from 3 November 1973 through 31 March 1979 with many cast changes, until plans for the theatre's demolition prompted another move. The Rocky Horror Show transferred to the 820-seat Comedy Theatre on Panton Street in the West End, the legitimate London theatre district, running from 6 April 1979 until 13 September 1980, closing the play's initial run of 2,960 performances. After occasional productions in the early eighties, the play was revived for the Theatre Royal Hanley tour in 1984, and is still performed regularly in the UK. ^[3]

Synopsis

;Act I The Usherette in a derelict cinema introduces tonight's film in a song ("Science Fiction/Double Feature"), with masked Phantoms providing the backing vocals.

After attending the wedding of Ralph Hapshatt and Betty Munroe, Brad Majors confesses his love to Janet Weiss ("Dammit, Janet!") and the two become engaged. The narrator appears to explain that Brad and Janet are leaving Denton to visit Dr. Everett Scott, their former science tutor, while driving into a rainstorm. During the trip their car has a flat tire, and they are forced to walk through the rain to seek a telephone in an old castle ("Over at the Frankenstein Place").

As Brad and Janet arrive, they are greeted by Riff Raff, the hunchbacked handyman, who leaves to fetch his master. The narrator explains that Brad and Janet are feeling "apprehensive and uneasy," but must accept any help they are offered. While they dry off, Frank N. Furter, a bisexual mad scientist, arrives. He introduces himself as "a Sweet Transvestite from Transsexual Transylvania" and invites Brad and Janet to his laboratory ("Sweet Transvestite"). Magenta, the maid and Riff Raff's sister, and Columbia, Frank N. Furter's "groupie," help Riff Raff strip Brad and Janet to their underwear. They speak briefly of an unlucky delivery boy named Eddie before performing the show's big dance number "Time Warp".

Brad and Janet enter the laboratory, where Frank N. Furter gives them lab coats to wear. Frank announces that he has discovered the secret to life itself. He unveils his creation, a blond, well-built man named Rocky Horror, who is brought to life. As his bandages are removed, Rocky worries about his predicament ("The Sword of Damocles"). Frank N. Furter admires Rocky's physique by singing a tribute to muscle builders ("I Can Make You a Man"). A Coca-Cola freezer in the laboratory opens to reveal Frank's former lover, Eddie, a biker covered in surgical scars. Eddie-- now rendered a sort of zombie after having part of his brain removed by Frank-- contemplates his new existence and recalls his former life. ("Hot Patootie - Bless My Soul"). Frank panics, forces Eddie back into the machine, and hacks him to death with an axe. Frank tells Rocky-- the recipient of the other half of Eddie's brain-- that he prefers him to Eddie ("I Can Make You a Man (Reprise)"). Brad and Janet are then ushered to separate bedrooms for the night.

;Act II The narrator explains that Brad and Janet may not be quite safe. Janet enjoys Brad's advances in her darkened bedroom before realizing that it is in fact Frank in disguise. He convinces Janet that pleasure is no crime, and after she asks him to promise not to tell Brad, they resume their lovemaking. The scene changes to Brad's darkened bedroom, where Brad makes love to Janet before discovering that, once again, it is Frank in disguise. Frank promises not to tell Janet, but as they resume, Riff Raff interrupts on the TV monitor with the message that Rocky has escaped. Janet searches for Brad in the laboratory, and discovers Rocky hiding there. Checking the TV monitor, Janet sees Brad in bed with Frank, and seduces Rocky ("Touch-a-Touch-a-Touch-a-Touch Me"). While searching the TV monitor for Rocky, the rest of the group discovers that Janet has slept with him, and Brad becomes hurt and angry ("Once in a While"). Riff Raff then notifies Frank N. Furter there is another visitor entering the castle: Dr. Everett Scott, the wheelchair-bound science tutor Brad and Janet intended to visit.

Dr. Scott is pushed into the laboratory by Columbia, and Frank N. Furter accuses him and Brad of trying to investigate his castle. Dr. Scott assures him he has come in search of Eddie, his nephew ("Eddie"). Frank N. Furter displays Eddie's corpse to the group and then uses a device to electronically restrain the three visitors and a rebellious Columbia to the floor ("Planet Shmuanet - Janet Weiss"); the inhabitants of the castle are revealed to be space aliens led by Frank, who abandoned their original mission in order to engage in kinky sex with earthlings and work on Rocky. Magenta insists that they return to their home planet now that they've been found out; Frank refuses, and instead declares his intentions to put on a "floor show."

Under Frank's influence, Columbia, Rocky, Brad, and Janet perform song and dance routines while clad in lingerie ("Rose Tint My World"). Afterwards, Frank entices them to lose all inhibition and give in to their basest carnal instincts, resulting in everyone beginning to engage in orgiastic sex ("Don't Dream It- Be It") before they're interrupted by Frank, who leads them into the concluding number of the floor show ("Wild and Untamed Thing"). The show comes to an abrupt end when Riff Raff and Magenta enter, wearing space suits and carrying ray guns. Riff Raff declares that he is usurping Frank's authority and taking everyone back to their home planet. Frank makes a last-ditch plea for sympathy from Riff Raff, trying to make him understand his desire to spend the rest of his life having sex with earthlings ("I'm Going Home"). Riff Raff is unmoved and guns down Columbia, Frank, and Rocky before ordering Brad, Janet, and Dr. Scott to leave.

The trio evacuates the castle as it blasts off into outer space, confused about the implications of their sexual escapades ("Superheroes"). The Narrator says " ... crawling on the planet's face, tiny insects called the human race, lost in time, and lost in space - and meaning." As the show ends, The Usherette returns to sing "Science Fiction - Double Feature (Reprise)."

Original song list

;Act I Science Fiction/Double Feature Dammit, Janet! Over at the Frankenstein Place Sweet Transvestite The Time Warp The Sword of Damocles I Can Make You a Man "Hot Patootie - Bless My Soul" I Can Make You a Man (Reprise)

;Act II Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me Once in a While Eddie Planet Schmanet Janet Rose Tint My World Don't Dream It, Be It Wild and Untamed Thing I'm Going Home Superheroes Science Fiction/Double Feature (Reprise)

Original London cast

• Patricia Quinn as Usherette/Magenta
• Julie Covington as Janet Weiss ^[4]
• Christopher Malcolm as Brad Majors
• Jonathan Adams as Narrator
• Richard O'Brien as Riff Raff
• Little Nell as Columbia
• Tim Curry as Frank N. Furter
• Rayner Bourton as Rocky
• Paddy O'Hagan as Eddie/Dr. Everett Scott

Productions

U.S. productions

Los Angeles production

After two previews, The Rocky Horror Show premiered in the USA at The Roxy Theatre, Los Angeles, opening at the 500-seat theatre on 21 March 1974. Director Jim Sharman and many other backstage members came over from London, although 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, Boni Enten as Columbia, and Jamie Donnelly starred as Magenta/Usherette Trixie. (The Usherette was first called "Trixie" at the Roxy.) Bill Miller and Abigale Haness rounded out the cast as Brad and Janet. A recording of this cast is available. Tim Curry and Meat Loaf left the cast in September 1974 to begin recording the soundtrack sessions for the film, replaced respectively by Paul Jabara and Alan Martin. The Rocky Horror Show closed at the Roxy Theatre on 5 January 1975 in preparation for the transfer to Broadway.

Broadway production

The Rocky Horror Show originally played on Broadway in 1975 with the Roxy cast from Los Angeles, except for Graham Jarvis who was initially replaced by Chicago native William Newman for the first preview but then rehired, and Bruce Scott, who was injured in another play and replaced by author Richard O'Brien himself. Tim Curry and Meat Loaf also rejoined the cast. After three previews, it opened on 10 March 1975 at the 967-seat Belasco Theatre. ^[5] The critics panned the show and it closed on 6 April 1975 after 45 performances.

The Rocky Horror Show had a longer revival on Broadway from October 2000 to January 2002 and featured Tom Hewitt (later Terrance Mann) as "Frank N. Furter" , Alice Ripley as Janet. Raúl Esparza (later Sebastian Bach) as "Riff Raff", rock singer Joan Jett as "Columbia", funny lady Lea DeLaria (later Jason Wooten) as "Eddie/Dr. Scott", and Daphne Rubin-Vega of Rent fame as "Magenta". From October 2001 to January 2002, several guest celebrities played the Narrator role normally performed by Dick Cavett (Kate Clinton took over for a week while Cavett was on vacation}, including Gilbert Gottfried, Sally Jesse Raphael, Robin Leach, magicians Penn & Teller, New York Post columnist Cindy Adams, MTV personality Dave Holmes, and talk show host Jerry Springer. 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. The Revival was nominated for the following Tony Awards: Best Actor: Tom Hewitt; Best Costume Designer: David C. Woolard; Best Director: Christopher Ashley; and Best Musical Revival.

Australian productions

1970s

The original Australian production of The Rocky Horror Show premiered in Sydney on 15 April 1974, at the New Arts Cinema, Glebe. It ran for almost two years, and the production included staff and cast members who had worked on both Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar , including Reg Livermore as Frank N. Furter, director Jim Sharman, designer Brian Thomson and producer-promoter Harry M. Miller. Kate Fitzpatrick starred as Usherette/Magenta, David Cameron as Eddie, and Graham Matters as Rocky. John Paramor and Jane Harders starred as Brad and Janet.

1980s-1990s

The show was revived in 1981 and continued throughout most of the decade starring Englishman Daniel Abineri who had subsequently played the role of Frank N. Furter on the first British tour in 1979 and for a year in the West End 1980. Reg Livermore reprised his version of Frank-n-Furter for the 10th anniversary in 1984; that particular production, however, was a flop. It was revived once again in 1992 (as The New Rocky Horror Show) starring Craig McLachlan as Frank and then later Marcus Graham both played memorable roles. With a million-dollar stage set and a cast full of celebrities, which, like previous productions, continued on tour through most of the decade.

2008-2009 Tours

'A brand spanking new production' of "Richard O'Brien's Rocky Horror Show" premiered at Sydney's Star City Casino in the brand new Star Theatre on 12 February 2008. Ironically, the show opened a week after the long-running audience participation screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show was closed down by Sydney's George Street Cinemas due to poor audience numbers. The cast of the stage production includes iOTA as Frank N. Furter, Paul Capsis as Riff Raff, Tamsin Carroll as Magenta/The Usherette, Sharon Millerchip as Columbia, Michael Cormick as Eddie/Dr. Scott, Simon Farrow as Rocky, Andrew Bevis as Brad, Kellie Rhode as Janet and John Waters as The Narrator. A national tour is forthcoming, including performances at Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, now the recent Melbourne run is over. ^[6]

Revivals

The Rocky Horror Show continues to be a revival favourite, with new productions and tours appearing regularly worldwide. ^[7] Fans dress up as the characters, shout "call-backs" at the stage, and use props at appropriate moments, such as water pistols and newspapers during a scene in the rain. Many theatres no longer allow this.

In October, 2008 a five week limited engagement of The Rocky Horror Show was presented by Ray of Light Theatre in San Francisco. The often sold-out production played at the historic Victoria Theatre in San Francisco's Mission District. The cast included San Francisco drag artist, Jef Valentine, as Frank. Rebecca Pingree (Janet), Sarah Kathleen Farrel (Columbia) and Cate Caplin (DIrector/Choreographer) were all nominated for Bay Area Critics Circle Awards along with the production as a whole (Best Musical).

UK tours

The Rocky Horror Show (now under the title Richard O'Brien's Rocky Horror Show ) completed its latest tour on the 14th of July, 2007, in Woking, England after touring for almost eighteen months. Famous narrators of the current tour have included Michael Aspel, Nigel Planer, Clive Mantle, Russ Abbot, Steve Pemberton, John McArdle, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Ian Lavender, Shaun Williamson, Andy Gray, Jack Ellis, Brian Capron, Russell Grant and Christopher Biggins, who'd previously been a 'Transylvanian' in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The 2006 tour was directed by Christopher Luscombe and featured David Bedella as Frank N. Furter, Suzanne Shaw as Janet, Matthew Cole as Brad, Iain Davey as Riff Raff, Shona White as The Usherette/Magenta, Kay Murphy as Columbia, Julian Essex-Spurrier as Rocky and Nathan Amzi as Eddie/Dr. Scott with Sarah Boulton, Stuart Ellis, Lynden O'Neill and Claire Parrish as the Phantoms. After a Christmas season at the Comedy Theatre, London, the tour continued with several cast changes including Richard Meek as Brad, Sarah Boulton and later Hayley Tamaddon as Janet, Matt Harrop as Riff Raff, Claire Parrish as The Usherette/Magenta, Sarah French-Ellis and later Sarah Boulton as Columbia and Sergio Priftis as Rocky with Lauren Appleby, Erin Carter and Kevin Littlejohn as the Phantoms and Bedella, Amzi and Ellis retaining their original roles.

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 22 July 2006 as part of The Big Dance event and was broadcast on BBC1's Dancing in the Street .

In March 2009 it was announced there would be a new UK tour in the autumn - http://www.timewarp.org.uk/lab2009/index.htm David Bedella Will Be Reprising His Role As Frank N Furter

Participation

During performances the audience has been encouraged to join in with the performance. Items most commonly taken are:

• Party Poppers, Hat, Blower. used during the dinner scene / happy birthday scene in the play.
• Water pistols- used to help simulate the storm which Brad and Janet are caught in.
• Flashlights- used to light up the room during the "there's a light" verse of "Over at the Frankenstein Place."
• Toilet Paper- thrown upon Dr. Scott's entrance when Brad exclaims "Great Scott!"
• Confetti- thrown on stage at the end of the Charles Atlas Song reprise.

In recent years, this has been discouraged by theatres due to the safety implications of debris and water on the stage ^{[8] [9]}.

Computer games

The Rocky Horror Show computer game was produced for early 8-bit computers including the Commodore 64, Commodore 128, ZX Spectrum, Enterprise 128 and Amstrad CPC by the CRL Group PLC in 1985. 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 either hinder the player's progress by stealing and hiding their clothes and other objects, or kill the player outright.

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. ^[10]

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 (starring Gary Glitter) 1980 German Cast 1981 Australian Cast 1990 London Cast ("The Whole Gory Story" )

1991 Icelandic Cast 1992 Australian Cast 1994 German Cast 1995 New Zealand Cast 1995 Finnish Cast 1995 Icelandic 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 2002 Philippine Cast 2005 Vancouver Cast 2007 Panamanian Cast

References and footnotes

General:

Specific:

1. Nation's Number One Essential Musical from a BBC website
2. Thomson, Brian, ed. (1979) ''The Rocky Horror Scrapbook.'' New York: Star Fleet Productions, Inc. 6.
3. Harding, James. (1987) ''The Rocky Horror Show Book.'' London: Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd. 101.
4. Although Belinda Sinclair is featured on the Original London Cast Recording, Julie Covington was the first to play Janet; Covington left the cast early in its run after an accident.
5. The 14 March 1975 performance was recorded and is available at http://www.rockymusic.org/mp3scat/rhs-belascolive/
6. The Rocky Horror Show
7. Experience The Rocky Horror Show LIVE!
8. Rocky Horrow Show theatre programmes, 2005 and 2007
9. Official Rocky Horror website (FAQs section)
10. IGN: Rocky Interactive Horror Show Review