The Rocky Horror Show: A new taste of a cult classic

Michael Todd
Staff Writer

This summer, The Firehouse Theatre Project housed a show that has, for decades, proved to be an audience favorite: The Rocky Horror Show.

VCU made its presence known in the stage musical adaptation with current VCU theater students of various years, theater graduates, recent and removed, and even non-theater majors.

While the cast stayed true to the spirit of the movie production, there were several liberties and adaptations taken that proved to work to the show’s favor.

Set in a present day nightclub dubbed The Castle, the show featured especially flamboyant and risqué costumes with bondage-esque elements including various corsets, booty shorts, chains, mouth gags and feathers. These and other amendments allowed each member to further push the envelope on the sexualfront, perhaps to rival that of the movie.

I didn’t think anyone could top [Tim Curry], but [Terence Sullivan] was amazing,” said Elyssa Armstrong, head of VCU’s Art Foundation program, in reference to local actor, Terence Sullivan, who played Frank N. Furter. “You could not keep your eyes off of him… and I think that’s really what that character is about. The audience has to feel that he’s a magnetic character and I think he really pulled that off.”

These changes manifest themselves perhaps most notably during “Touch-A Touch-A Touch-A Touch Me,” between actors Aly Wepplo, who played Janet, and Chris Hester, who played Rocky. The musical number took place on a bondage table, complete with chains and handcuffs.

“I think it’s got a neat feminist element where she’s asserting herself     versus where historically it’s been about her being a virgin character,” Hester said, admitting that the scene was among his favorites.

Frank N. Furter’s closing solo, “I’m Coming Home,” took place on a swing that descended from the ceiling of the theatre.

“You think through the entire show that Frank is a terrible guy…[but] you find out he’s probably just as sick and twisted as everyone else and just wants to be himself,” said Hester. “You see much more emotion than I’ve ever seen with any stage production or movie… It’s a beautiful scene.”

The cast unanimously agreed that a show as comical and absurd as Rocky Horror required the same amount of dedication, effort and prep work as a more serious piece.

“With any show you do, even Rocky Horror, however silly it may seem, you have to pretend it’s as real as anything else you’re doing, [and that] the world you live in is completely legitimate,” Joe Winters, VCU junior performance major and ensemble member said. “We have to take on this world as if it were our own real life.”

“Even though the show does come across as ridiculous, everyone plays their characters [honestly],” Maggie Horan said, a VCU senior performance major who played Columbia. “Even if they’re completely crazy, they totally believe what they’re doing.”

Many cast members admit to having limited exposure to the Rocky Horror before this production and distancing themselves from the original show became an effort in order to maintain originality.

Sullivan, who viewed the film only once after receiving the role of Frank N. Furter and had not done so prior to casting, refused to view the film an additionaltime out of fear that he would unintentionally mimicing Tim Curry.

Hester and other cast mates argued that the task of keeping the show fresh and characters original was even more difficult due to the infamous nature of the show.

“Other plays or shows that come out, people may not have seen them, or know the context, or know the story,” said Hester. “People come to this expecting something, and we try to deliver something different.”

The cast, without a doubt, succeeded in achieving this goal.

“I thought they did justice to the film, definitely,” said Armstrong. “[They]caught the spirit and energy of the movie, which I think is really difficult to reproduce.”

Directed by Jase Smith, the production originally ran from July 19 to Aug. 19 and, due to popularity, was extended to Aug. 25. On the whole, The Rocky Horror Show proved to be a success, selling out all of the extended shows.