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Photograph courtesy of Actors Theatre Center
Holiday Horror: Members of the Phantom Chorus are among the characters from the 'The Rocky Horror Show' production by Actors Theatre Center at Historic Hoover Theatre through Jan. 6.
Try a 'Rocky' holiday show as troup performs at Historic Hoover Theatre
By Mary Gottschalk
If The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol have lost their appeal, Jeff Hicks hopes you'll consider The Rocky Horror Show instead.
"It's a little counter-programming," admits Hicks, who is directing the Actors Theatre Center production of the musical at Historic Hoover Theatre through Jan. 6.
When ATC found itself with a December time slot at Hoover last year, Hicks says, "We thought it would be fun to do something different from everyone else and not do a holiday theme show."
Although it is difficult to imagine any show as un-holiday as Rocky Horror, the ATC production was extremely popular and is back for another year.
Originally a British stage musical that become a cult movie titled The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the plot is somewhat convoluted. A young couple named Brad and Janet take a wrong turn on the way home from a party. They end up in a castle where they meet Dr. Frank N. Furter, a "transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania" attired in women's lingerie.
It goes on from there.
Fans of science fiction films from the 1950s and '60s will recognize the inspiration for some of the characters and scenes. Most obvious is the reanimation of a man named Rocky, reminiscent of Frankenstein.
The film version of Rocky Horror became especially popular at weekly midnight shows in the 1980s, where audience members came dressed in costumes and joined the onscreen characters in singing along with favorite songs and dancing "The Time Warp."
Additionally, the audience's use of "props" became popular in theaters. Water pistols were used to simulate the rain scene, newspapers were held over heads as protection from the "rain" and flashlights were turned on during the song "There's A Light."
Hicks says the ATC production encourages audience participation, including offering a Very Important Participants Section in the front of the theater that includes a package of props.
At the 2005 production, Hicks says the audience was a mix of "die-hard Rocky Horror fans who loved going to the midnight films, and this being live, they were excited to see a live band and 14 actors interacting with them and 'virgins.' "
Virgin is the term given to anyone seeing Rocky Horror for the first time.
"A lot of the actors had not been part of the experience. We worked with the original script of the show and also worked with an audience participation script, so I was able to prepare the actors somewhat for what the audiences might say or do," he says.
Among the props for the VIPS seats are squirt guns, mini flashlights, a Teddy bear for "Eddy's Teddy" and bubbles to blow during the wedding scene.
This is ATC's second season at Hoover. Past productions there have included Fame, The Musical and the group's Summers Arts Conservatory production of Jekyll and Hyde, The Musical.
Founded in 2004, the group is family-oriented with community spirit, Hicks says.
Members are encouraged to explore different facets of the theater, so if an actor is interested in design lighting, Hicks says, "We'd take that person and pair them with our technical director to learn basic lighting. We put emphasis on diversifying yourself as an artist."
"The Rocky Horror Show" is playing at Historic Hoover Theatre, 1635 Park Ave., through Jan. 6. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. Special midnight shows take place on Dec. 16 and Jan. 6. Tickets are $30 in the VIPS area and include props and $20 reserved. A New Year's Eve gala performance that includes a buffet dinner is $70 per person. The show is not recommended for anyone under 13. For tickets visit www.theatrecenter.biz or call 408.985.5500.
