Rocky Horror opening reviews

**Mara Fox** · November 17th, 2000, 12:46 AM

I had the supreme pleasure of being in the audience a couple of weeks ago during the show's advance performances and LOVED LOVED LOVED IT!

Blackheart Records sent this over and I thought you all might like to take a look! GO SEE IT IF YOU CAN!

--------------------------

The Rocky Horror Show opened on Broadway last night. Three reviews follow, from
Newsday, The Boston Herald, Newark Star Ledger.

NEWSDAY ??11/16/2000 - Thursday - Page B 3 ? Time Warp Redux
'Rocky Horror' is original again, on Broadway
by Linda Winer

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW. Book, music and lyrics by Richard O'Brien, directed by Christopher Ashley, with choreography by Jerry Mitchell. Circle in the Square, 50th Street west of Broadway, Manhattan. Seen at Sunday evening's preview.

AMAZING. Broadway finally got a rock musical right. And-dammit, Janet-it is not just any musical, but "The Rocky Horror Show," the mother ship for the supreme midnight movie and cross-dressing, cross-generational cult classic.

Richard O'Brien's 1973 misfit celebration and monster mash, which kicked off the time warp again last night at a demonically transformed Circle in the Square, is every bit as sweet as it was. It is also as raunchy.

Imagine the pressure. Producer Jordan Roth-who just may be the young blood Broadway so desperately craves-and director Christopher Ashley have managed to be true to the demented good nature of the urtext that spawned decades of zealots. More, the team also has justified going live with an experience that cannot be enjoyed at the movies, no matter how deliriously interactive the audience gets. Unlike most Broadway adaptations of movie brands, this is done with imagination and brains, not tracing paper and cynicism.

But first a word about the theater, which David Rockwell-star designer of hip hotels and restaurants- has turned into an environmental fun hall that, for all its technical wizardry, is centered adorably in the homemade aesthetic of the early '70s. The lobby, where movie snacks are sold, is wallpapered in satins the color of dried blood, textured tastefully with an underlay of palpable corpses. The theater, always difficult to enliven, has been possessed by the kitsch sci-fi pulp sensibility of old movie palaces.

The movie-to-stage context is neatly maintained by framing scenes in a movie theater. Magenta and Columbia deliver "Science Fiction Double Feature" as usherettes in pillbox hats and little skirts-the perfectly observed costumes are by David C. Woolard. Then, with a magical flourish that tells us we are in expert hands, those movie seats turn upside down and we are transported, as a program note reassures us, to "Time: Then and Now/Place: Here and There." And, for once, spectacle is just the beginning. The show has been cast with consummate respect for the integrity of these characters, with actors who are somehow true to the originals yet original again. Tom Hewitt, whose previous credits offer no hint of the grandeur ahead, takes nothing away from Tim Curry's prototype Frank 'N' Furter by being, alternatively, more butch and more Dame Edna-with a dark hard-blues voice, a steely command of fishnet stockings and a lovely way with a pair of pearls.

Frank, of course, is the master of the mansion where the white-bread American virgins, Janet and Brad, come one dark and stormy night when their car breaks down. Janet, forever defined by Susan Sarandon's big ingenue eyes, is a more nubile and delightfully sillier girl as played by Alice Ripley. Jarrod Emick makes an appropriately solid Brad.

Then there is Dick Cavett, of all people, narrating from a perch in the hall with a witty mix of self-consciousness and self-aggrandizement-though, to our mind, we could do with a bit less of his own act. Joan Jett, the hard rocker, is perfectly scary as Columbia, Frank's former girl, who doesn't tap dance but does growl on the guitar. Sebastian LaCause is endearingly hunky as Rocky, the creature Frank creates for his pleasure. Lea DeLaria does manly double duty as Eddie and his Germanic uncle, Dr. Scott-though the homage to Peter Sellers' Strangelove is a little too close to a ripoff.

Perhaps the most commanding, however, are Raul Esparza and Daphne Rubin-Vega as the mad-scientist's assistant Riff Raff and his sister, Magenta.

Rubin-Vega, the original Mimi in "Rent," is not shy about showing Jett how Broadway divas do it. Esparza, who apparently has spent much of his career in Chicago, is a direct link to the take-no-prisoners monster-art movement of the city's early theater boom.

For all the special effects, the zippy film devices and the pod that drops from the ceiling, the don't-dream-it, be-it message is "There is no crime in giving yourself over to pleasure." The virgins exclaim, "it feels so unhealthy here," but, for once, they aren't talking about Broadway.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE BOSTON HERALD
Warped and wild: Despite flaws, campy `Rocky Horror' bursts onto stage in NYC
by Terry Byrne ?????Wednesday, November 15, 2000
``The Rocky Horror Show,'' Circle in the Square Theatre, Manhattan.
NEW YORK - The anticipation surrounding the revival of ``The Rocky Horror Show'' is equivalent to hearing about the hottest party of the year. The guest list alone, which spans generations and genres, makes it worth attending: '60s talk show host Dick Cavett, '80s rock queen Joan Jett, cult favorite Lea Delaria, sexy Daphne Rubin-Vega of ``Rent'' and Broadway stars Jarrod Emick (``Miss Saigon'') and Alice Ripley (``Side Show'').
Add to that the enormous popularity of the film version, with its elements of audience participation, and you have the makings of a wildly dramatic event.
And that's exactly what ``The Rocky Horror Show'' is. Director Christopher Ashley wisely chooses to crank up the volume and the spectacle and downplay the story. For sheer visual and aural impact, ``Rocky Horror'' is stunning. Designer David Rockwell, best known for creating ``dramatic environments'' in nontraditional theater settings (including the dining concourse at Grand Central Station and popular New York eateries Nobu and Ruby Foo's), makes his stage debut with ``Rocky Horror,'' and his set changes alone deserve standing ovations.
The thrill begins as you walk into the theater lobby and then into the intimate Circle in the Square Theater itself. Rockwell has draped the walls with folds of deep red silk from which the outlines of human forms emerge. The atmosphere inside the theater feels like a nightclub, with dance music playing and lights flashing before the show starts. Many in the audience have purchased little bags of props they can fling at appropriate moments (confetti, a tissue, a newspaper, among other items) and the vibe is of a crowd ready to party. Once the show opens, Rockwell's transformations from movie theater to castle (with an outstanding oversized spider web) and then laboratory will leave you gasping.
Of course, ``The Rocky Horror Show'' never pretended to be theater, and creator Richard O'Brien would cheer the focus on style over content. His ridiculously flimsy story line spoofs '50s B-movies with a wicked twist. On a dark and stormy night, straight, square virgins Brad and Janet are driving home when their car breaks down. They take refuge in a strange castle, which they discover is the decadent laboratory of Frank 'N' Furter, a ``sweet transvestite from Transsexual Transylvania.'' What follows is a series of silly shenanigans, loosely knit together by campy rock tunes, the best of which is ``The Time Warp.''
But the story line is only an excuse for flamboyantly excessive performances. The shock in this production is the scene-stealing turn by Cavett. Although his role as Narrator is tiny, his droll sense of humor, impeccable comic timing and mastery of ad libbing with the audience makes him the star of this show.
Ripley is also a standout, making Janet wide-eyed and sexy at once. Her quirky dance moves are hilarious, and with her Broadway pipes, she's a winner. She and Emick make beautiful music together.
But Jett, Rubin-Vega and Delaria seem wasted, with only brief opportunities to show off their talents. And as Frank 'N' Furter, Tom Hewitt is imposing and impressive, but he just can't compete with the memory of Tim Curry, who managed to seduce both men and women with equal elan.
``Rocky Horror'' is a joyous party, led by a top-notch band, with astounding visuals, but it lacks shock value and sex appeal.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEWARK STAR-LEDGER
New York stage: Fiendish sci-fi fun; Late-night cult movie morphs into outrageous 'Rocky Horror Show'
11/16/00
BY MICHAEL SOMMERS
STAR-LEDGER STAFF
NEW YORK -- Let's not preach to the unconverted: These remarks are targeted for devotees of the late-night cult movie "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."
Its short-lived 1975 stage progenitor, "The Rocky Horror Show," zapped back onto Broadway Thursday, and it's an outrageously enjoyable time. Hock your kids, rent out grandma, do what you must for the necessary coin, but grab your old feather boa and go riot at this monstrously funny musical.
Richard O'Brien's wild rock 'n' roll spoof of sci-fi chillers is a fiendishly clever creation and good smutty fun besides, whether or not you recall the talk-back routines that several generations of moviegoers have perfected over the years.
If you're a Time-Warper from way back, so much the better, as director Christopher Ashley's rip-roaring, arena-style staging encourages audience reaction. "Don't throw stuff at the stage," the lobby signage requests, but feel free to let loose otherwise.
Spinning the "Rocky" world in terrific style, Ashley's show begins the minute you ride the downstairs escalator into Circle in the Square's underground lobby, where the walls are hellishly draped in scarlet and techno-pop music blasts. Then it's another descent into a confetti-strewn, purple-hazed auditorium wrapping around a long thrust stage. There, designer David Rockwell's fab decor satisfies the musical's needs for garish atmosphere and plenty of stomping ground.
Instead of the screen version's lip-limning of the "Science Fiction Double Feature" opening number, "Rent" doll Daphne Rubin-Vega and rock star Joan Jett croon it as they skulk down the aisles as slutty usherettes, and the show takes off like a hot rod from hell.
"The Rocky Horror Show" is not far different from the movie: 1950s innocents Brad (Jarrod Emick) and Janet (Alice Ripley) stumble upon a castle run amok with cross-dressing aliens. Soon their fishnets-clad "sweet transvestite" host, Dr. Frank 'N' Furter (a glittering Tom Hewitt, and a masterfully mock-decadent he is, too), seduces them into witnessing the creation of his latest love object. Sexy ridiculousness results.
Smart video segments, a raucous on-stage band, Paul Gallo's sizzling lighting, David C. Woolard's perfecto costumes and all sorts of inventive directorial whimsies by Ashley do wonders to tune this event toward today's demand for participatory revels.
But let's not forget to credit O'Brien for dreaming up such a rich, racy parody in the first place, or for his high-octane batch of infectious songs.
Choreographer Jerry Mitchell whips out a mean floor show (love that "Riverdance" send-up) and spins the hottie 17-member ensemble like screwballs.
They're all divine, but let's single them out: Lea DeLaria amusingly fumes as Dr. Scott and, even better as born-to-die Eddie, belts the blue-blazes out of "Hot Patootie." A punk Columbia, all chains and leather, Jett offers guitar riffs in place of Nell Campbell's tap break in "Time Warp." Clutching his purple Teletubbie, hunk incarnate Sebastian LaCause brings a navel ring and an eight-pack to the role of Rocky.
A droll, unflappable Dick Cavett strolls in and out as the Narrator (go ahead and yell: "Where's your neck?!"), apprising the uninitiated of the plot.
The former wonder boy of "Damn Yankees," Emick plays buzz-topped Brad like Drew Carey on steroids, nicely matched by Ripley's wide-eyed Janet. Their babes-in-the-woods mentality smashingly collides with Hewitt's meteoric, magnetic Frank 'N' Furter, and the result is a total blast.

**Teddy** · November 17th, 2000, 03:25 PM

It's interesting that most of these are not included on the Joan Jett or Blackhearts website, while others are. I wonder why. They've all been pretty favorable.

**JordonJ** · November 17th, 2000, 08:58 PM

Probably because they're just so loooong! forums

Mara did say that Blackheart had Emailed it to her, so it's not like they're trying to hide anything.
Anyway, sounds like a great show, wish I could see it. frown