Thursday, November 12, 1992
Don’t dream it - be it
The Roadhouse’s Rocky Horror Show invades Erie
RHPS vet speaks...
It's not easy having a good time
Rick Kastan
The Collegian
How do you define “absolute
pleasure?”
Well, if you’re one of the
many thousands of fans of the
Rocky Horror Show and it’s
bastard son (daughter?) The
Rocky Horror Picture Show, you
might say that absolute pleasure
is sitting in a dark and crowded
theater throwing food, squirting
guns and shouting the crudest and
rudest of ad-libs for the benefit of
a bunch of people dressed up in
drag (of course you don’t have to
be a fan to enjoy socializing with
drag-queens, but I won’t even get
into that!).
“So”, you say, “what can a
die hard fan like me expect from
seeing the original Rocky Horror
Show (as written for the stage by
Richard O’Brien) during it’s
eight-week stint at Eric’s own
Roadhouse Theater? I’ve already
lost my dignity dressing up in
women’s clothing. I’ve thrown
my share of toilet paper and hot
dogs. I’ve embarrassed myself by
absent-mindedly screaming the
wrong things at the wrong times.
I’ve done the Time Warp. Now,
what more is there for me to
experience? SAY IT!!!”
Well, not much actually. In
fact, I’d have to say the parties
that old Frank and Riff throw at
the castle these days just ain’t
what they used to be and seeing
Rocky at the Roadhouse could
really turn out to be a big let
down for you (as it was for me)
rather than a great party.
My first impression upon
silting down was one of great
excitement. I could see that the
crowd, laden down with super
soakers and toilet paper, also
seemed giddy and ready to go.
And as the theater lights faded and
first notes of Science Fiction
Double Feature blasted across the
room (thanks to the truly
electrifying Travelling Pallbearers
band) my heart sped up. to the
point of arrest in anticipation
of a rousing good time.
And then, something
happened (or should I say nothing
happened). Nobody said
anything. Brad an Janet came on
(Jimmy Mehs and Carrie Smith)
without a hail of wedding
confetti. The neckless Narrator
(David Sinclair) spoke to the
dead-virgin-ftiptlicncc with a
perplexed look on his face.
I began to feel the same
confusion the Narrator so
obviously fell. Was this the
same Rocky Horror Show I’ve
seen so many times? I mean,
Christ, we were ten minutes into
the play antf I hadn’t even heard
the F-word Ictalooc said it!
/ And then I said something
that I never thought I would say
during Rocky, “I want to go
home. “ I was heart-broken.
Maybe my problem is
loyalty. Maybe having seen the
thing so many damn times has
soured my ability to look at it in
another light. If this is so, then
I’m sorry.
The problem was those
lousy virgins (who always
seemed so cute in the movie
theater) outnumbered the vets by
about 100 to 1. I mean, sure,
there was water-gun squirting and
toilet-paper launching but when
those things did happen it was at
the wrong moments (done, I
think, out of boredom) and went
on for far too long (well into
songs and important scenes).
The production itself,
although far from flawless, is
very professional, well directed
by Dave Mitchell and well acted
by the Roadhouse Troupe.
Particularly notable is Jerry
Lovelace as Dr. Frank’n’Furter
who nicely parallels Tim Curry
without trying to be him. But
all of Lovelace’s efforts are
inversely mirrored by Bud Pacy
Jr. as Riff Raff who brings a
surprising limpness to a really
juicy role.
So after all this time The
Rocky Horror Show again
becomes what it originally was -
a very funny and rousing spoof of
Fifties horror movies, Sixties
free love and seventies glam rock.
It is not the movie, nor does it
have to be. It is far sexier and far
more adult than the film version
and often far more titillating (I
must admit ! can think of worse,
things to do than sit around for
an hour and a half watching seven
buxom young girls in their bras
and panties jumping around and
touching each other) but if you
want the Rocky Horror Picture
Show you’re either gonna have to
rent it or go in a big enough
group to take control of the
audiencepartkL....pation. Asa
matter of (act, if yoo do. caU me.
The Collegian
She said she was a virgin...
Rocky Horror from a first-time point of view
By Kristie Guldner
The Collegian
Imagine the worst science
fiction movie you have ever
scene, add in Mel Brook's
Spacehalls , put it to music with
the craziest lyrics, a cast of
characters too outrageous for
Looney Toons, mix in two bags
of confetti, three buckets of
water, a seven pound bag of rice,
four cans of spray string, plus
two gigantic family packs of
toilet paper, and set your blender
on high speed. Also, do expect an
outpouring of over flowing juices
of all colors and smells. This
simple recipe will give you an
instant Rocky Horror Show.
Many of you may be familiar
with the Rocky Horror Picture
Show. I, however, was not at the
start of this adventure. From
what I hear, the movie is a bit
different than the play. The
difference still eludes me,
therefore, 1 will only be able tell
you my fantastical experience
with the theatrical version of
The Rocky Horror Show.
As I walked in to take my scat,
I got a feel of the atmosphere of
the theater. Everyone seemed
excited; there was nervous chatter
everywhere. Obviously, this was
an exciting spectacle to behold;
personally, I was excited, and a
bit nervous, waiting for the
extravaganza to begin. I saw
many people with economy size
bags of confetti, toilet paper rolls
numbering into the thousands,
super-soakers galore, and the
largest spray-string cans money
can buy. At this point I was
extremely nervous.
Soon, a couple o. ladies,
dressed like cigarette girls in old
movies but with more make-up
and shorter skirts, came around
selling confetti, djnjky squirt
guns, cahdy eigarcuesjandcandy
necklaces. I wanted to stock up
on as much ammunition as my
money could buy, so I bought a
small twenty-five cent bag of
confetti. Being that I am very
thrifty, the price pleased my
pocketbook, but something
inside me was shrieking,"Buy
more ammo, you idiot!!!!"
Unfortunately, however I didn't
listen to that shrieking voice.
Finally, eight o’clock rolled
around and the house lights went
down. Ah, the moment I was
waiting for. The show started off
with a couple, Brad and Janet,
coming back from a wedding.
Brad asks Janet to marry him.
Normally this would be a
touching scene in a play. I'm
sorry, but when I saw Brad and
Janet's outfits I was overcome
with a lengthy laughing fit. 1
don't know about your fashion
sense, but dull stationwagon
green high-heeled sandals arc not
my idea of the most fashionable
footwear. The rest of her outfit,
The difference between a true RHS fan and someone just out for a
rowdy time can be seen in their manners and etiquette. Here are some
guidelines that should be deemed necessary by anyone looking to
perpetuate our experiences of absolute pleasure.
1. The throwing of rice, toilet paper, waiter, etc. is part of the fun. It is
not meant to harm people, ruin make-up or costumes, or cause
damage to the theater. Do not throw anything on stage, at
2. Respect the wishes of the theater. Vandalism and the breaking of
the rules might not only lead to your ejection, but to the closing of
the show. This would be spoiling it for everyone.
3. Never make fun of someone for dressing up - especially if their
make-up or costume is not exact. The point is that their heart is in it,
and that's what the cult's all about, isn't it?
4. Calling Brad an "asshole" and "neck lines” to the Narrator are funny
in die proper place, but should not be yelled every time you see these
characters' faces, it does get boring and monotonous.
from Roadhouse program
(and his for that matter) was in
the same sense of fashion no
no's. Besides laughing from the
outfits, I could not help but howl
at the uproarious comments that
were being said by the audience.
Let's just say it was very bawdy;
I liked it a lot.
When Brad and Janet's car
breaks down in the rain, they are
forced to walk two miles to the
closest shelter, a mysterious
castle. When the rain storm
began, this entertainment writer
for The Collegian was soaked.
How do you go about
describing a dark and mysterious
castle? If you be so kind as to
imagine Frankenstein's castle for
the moment; if you want a real
description, go and see the play.
The first character I met was Riff
Raff. He is a cross between Lurch
(of the Addam's Family fame)
and the hunchback form Notre
Dame; to say the least an
interesting sort of character. He
lead the fearless, newly engaged
couple of Brad and Janet in to the
ballroom. A celebration was
underway. Here is where I got my
Page
first true taste of Rocky Horror
"The Time Warp."
Finally the master of the
castle, Frank N. Furtcr, walks in,
wearing a long, flowing, red
orange robe and lots of make-up,
and introduced us lo Magenta and
Columbia. During this scene he
sheds his robe and shows off his
beautiful lingerie, a silky gray
teddy. The displays of lady's
lingerie in this play is enough to
make Victoria’s Secrets jealous.
Frank, our lovely host and/or
hostess, has made a man to
relieve his stress and tension
from a hard day of work. Tonight
his creature, the famed Rocky,
will be given life. This is a very
interesting escapade. Once Frank
raises Rocky, he has to chase his
poor little creation all over the
theater in order to capture him. I,
for one, was quite startled to see
two members of the cast jump
into the audience and run around
like children playing tag. At this
point in the play, I could not
help but enjoy myself.
Lots of other weird and wacky
stuff happen in this science
fiction spoof play. And if I were
to tell you everything the actors
in the play wouldn't make
money. Besides, experiencing
Rocky Horror is the only way to
truly love it.
Being a new fan of Rocky
Horror is very interesting. I shall
never forget my rendezvous with
the wild side of sci-fi. I highly
recommend this play. The
Roadhouse Theatre for
Contemporary Art is a small,
intimate theater that will let any
Rocky Horror 'virgin' or old fan
feel up close and personal with
the cast.