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Steve Parks

If you attend “The Rocky Horror Show” as a mere spectator, you’re missing half the fun. On cue throughout the musical mayhem at Gateway Playhouse, the audience throws nonlethal objects toward the stage. My personal favorites: “A toast!” as cross-dressing host Frank-N-Furter raises a glass. The audience hurls toasted bread — preferably unbuttered. It’s topped only by Brad shouting “Great Scott!” as Dr. Scott is wheeled in. Rolls of toilet paper — we couldn’t tell if the brand was Scott’s — are sent streaming from near and far reaches and every corner of the theater.

For novices — “virgins” in “Rocky Horror” cult parlance — a primer: Brad and Janet become engaged in the opening friends-of-the-bride wedding scene. (The audience throws rice, of course.) After their car breaks down in a thunderstorm, the couple find themselves inside the castle of a demented “scientist” celebrating his creation — far prettier than that of Frankenstein, perhaps Frank-N-Furter’s neighbor in their native Transylvania. The host and his minions make it their project to teach the virginal guests to walk on the wild side, mostly in their undies. Frank-N-Furter’s are more glam — costumes by Trent Pcenicni — paraded on Brittany Loesch’s cavernous set. Matthew LaBanca wears it well in retro Tim Curry (the original Frank) glory. And sells it, too.

Usherette Lisa Karlin gets the party going with “Science Fiction Double Feature” — a reference to “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” the 1975 movie that spawned the cult following. Karlin doubles as maid Magenta, whose duet with butler Riff-Raff (Courter Simmons) leads the show’s dance-lesson highlight, “The Time Warp,” accompanied by Andrew Austin’s rocking band (kitsch book, music and lyrics by Richard O’Brien). Hunky Josh Canfield as the title character, strips down nicely as Frank-N-Furter’s love-object creature.

Brad (Harley Jay) and Janet (Emily Behny), appealingly comic in their innocence, are targets of rowdy audience epithets. Their silhouetted sex scenes involving Frank-N-Furter turns “Touch-a-Touch-a-Touch Me” into an R-rated hoot. Mychal Phillips as Frank-N-Furter groupie Columbia torches the floor in lovelorn song and tap-dance, while Justin Colombo as Meatloaf-inspired Eddie and his Strangelovian uncle ushers in the “double feature’s” sci-fi portion. Geoffrey Owens, formerly Elvin on “The Cosby Show,” spoofs ironically with “Masterpiece Theatre”-style summations.

Director-choreographer Keith Andrews throws a “Rocky Horror” party. (The midnight show Sept. 9 is sure to be raucous.) Come with your toys or buy a kit of harmless projectiles ($10) from friendly “phantom” actors.

 

NY Theater Guide

Kristen Weyer

 

Few shows truly have a cult following like “The Rocky Horror Show.” Now closing out the summer season at The Gateway Playhouse, this production has been something of a phenomenon since its inception in 1973. A fan favorite for decades, “Rocky Horror” was written and composed by Richard O’Brien.

Brad and Janet are a newly engaged couple, who on a dark and stormy night, are forced to ask for assistance at a nearby castle when their car gets a flat. Unfortunately for them, the occupants of this grand estate are the demented Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite from Transylvania, and his creepy minions. The melodrama escalates rapidly as the unsuspecting couple is then basically held hostage for a night of revelry, debauchery, and madness.

This show, were it meant to be taken as a serious storyline, would fail miserably. However, as it’s purposefully, overly-dramatic delivery attests, the point of this show is not actually the plot. It is to make fun of it.

If you have already had this experience then you know what you’re in for. For those of you who are, as of yet, unfamiliar with this show, some explanation is necessary…you’ll want to know what you’re about to get into. This bizarre and disturbing cult classic is a strange mix of gothic horror, sci-fi, Frankenstein’s monster, comedy, and erotica. Oh yes, and it’s a musical. Interactive from before it even starts, be prepared to be pelted with rice, rained on by flying pieces of toast, and to duck dive-bombing rolls of toilet paper on their way towards the stage. Or, do the chucking yourself! Flying projectiles are not the only thing whizzing through the theater air. Cat-calls, heckling, suggestions, comments, dirty jokes or really just anything one might feel like shouting out, go for it. Not only is this acceptable, it’s encouraged. The Narrator, here played with perfection by Geoffrey Owens, will frequently remind you of this. In fact one of the audience’s goals is seemingly to see who can say something shocking enough to make the actors lose their composure. They will even instruct you to shout out certain things at specific times.

This cast is marvelous. Wonderful vocals from the leads to the ensemble, ring out clear and powerful. Courter Simmons as Riff-Raff gives a notably impressive performance exhibiting tremendous control and skill. Emily Behny and Harley Jay, as Janet and Brad, play well off of each other and have a nice chemistry together. Matthew LaBanca is fabulous as the crazy Frank-N-Furter. He owns the character’s outrageous antics and performs with confidence and vigor. Lisa Karlin as Magenta, and Mychal Phillips as Columbia both give outstanding performances, while Justin Colombo is very funny as Eddie/Dr. Scott. Josh Canfield makes a perfect Rocky with his spot-on vocals, and superb facial expressions of innocence.

“The Rocky Horror Show” is certainly a unique theatre experience like no other. Gateway’s production is exceedingly well done, and is enhanced with a terrific set from designer Brittany Loesch, and excellent costumes by Trent Pcenicni. The band under direction from Andrew Austin performs magnificently. If you’re not a fan of audience participation then don’t go, but if this show is one of your favorites, as it is for so many, then the Gateway’s performance should definitely not be missed. Who knows? You might even end up on stage doing the “Time Warp.”

 

Dan's Papers

Genevieve Horsburgh

The Gateway Playhouse concludes its 2016 season with a show so spectacular it’s obvious why it has such a devoted following. Directed by Keith Andrews, The Rocky Horror Show is a phenomenon that you cannot miss. If you’ve never seen it, you should—and if you have seen it, Gateway’s production will not disappoint!

From the moment the show begins, you’re more than just a spectator along for the ride. It’s the kind of performance that may take a minute for you to wrap your head around, but once you get it, you won’t want to let the feeling go. The story takes hold of your sense, captures your mind and, before long, you, too, will be doing the Time Warp again and again.

The gyrating, flamboyant and sexy spectacle that is The Rocky Horror Show wastes no time getting to the crux of the story. The Narrator (charismatic Geoffrey Owns) takes us on this bizarre journey that follows Brad and Janet (Harley Jay and Emily Behny, respectively), a newly engaged couple on their way home from their friends’ wedding. Brad and Janet end up driving through a nasty rainstorm when their car gets a flat tire. The two set off through the downpour in search of shelter and come across a castle. There’s a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor that will make you giggle—bang those knockers, Brad—and some that will make you laugh out loud.

Brad and Janet are greeted at the castle doors by Riff-Raff (Courter Simmons), an odd character with a hunchback. He and his equally strange sister, Magenta (Lisa Karlin), perform one of the show’s most iconic numbers, “The Time Warp,” along with the castle’s other guests who’ve gathered. The scene is delightful and contagious—all you want to do is get up and dance.

The moment you lay your eyes on Dr. Frank-N-Furter you are captivated. Matthew LaBanca, as the pansexual Frank-N-Furter, is utterly amazing—compelling in every way—and he can pull off those platform heels and skimpy outfits while embodying the eccentric “Sweet Transvestite” from Transsexual, Transylvania, perfectly. He channels Tim Curry’s iconic portrayal of the doctor, and with a strong voice to match.

The entire show is an homage to classic science fiction and, in keeping with that theme, Dr. Frank-N-Furter has created a man by some nefarious means. It just so happens that the night Brad and Janet appear at the castle is the night the doctor is to bring his creation to life. Rocky Horror, played by the talented and toned Josh Canfield, is not as submissive as perhaps the doctor was hoping. Canfield belts out a fantastic rendition of “I Can Make You a Man” and we fall deeper under his spell. By now, the straight-laced Brad and Janet are fully freaked out. As the night continues they’re thrust into separate rooms and both are seduced by Frank-N-Furter in disguise.

The absurdities of the events that follow make for a memorable performance put on by a stellar cast that plays the characters straight. If the show itself is ridiculous, why push it over the top with hammy acting? In the capable hands of the lead actors, Rocky Horror is not only entertaining, it’s an immersive, believable experience. It’s easy to see why this story, in all its iterations, has had such an impressive and loyal following since it first premiered in 1973. From beginning to end, The Rocky Horror Show has you under its spell.