Last Saturday I saw The Rocky Horror Show at Dallas
Theater Center. This was my first time
seeing the show live. I thought it was
done extremely well. The design of the costume and sets was new and
inventive. The designers did an
excellent job at maintaining the feeling of the original while incorporating a
design independent of the previous productions.
Speaking specifically of costumes, there were some bold choices
made. Frank n’ Furter did not sport his
iconic black hair, but rather a large blonde curly wig. This led to an even more drastic choice of
making Rocky have dark hair, and not wear his usual gold shorts. The production maintained the tradition of
Rocky Horror without sacrificing new ideas in order to remain completely loyal.
The
staging was did a good job at holding the audience’s attention. Whenever a part of the stage would move, or
they would bring on a new set piece there lied some fascination regarding the
cleverness that backed the idea. The only fault I would find with the staging
is that it was rather repetitive, however this did not bother me during the
performance. There was a very interesting use of a camera on stage. I thought this was cleverly ironic. Usually with Rocky Horror, the movie plays in
the background and the performers imitate the action on screen. In this performance, the action of screen was
copying that onstage.
The
choreography and ensemble had a fresher feel to them than that of the movie. They
seemed more updated which allowed for the audience to believe in the
timelessness of the show because they did not feel stuck in a 60’s vibe. The choreography did a great job at adding
another dimension to the show. There
were certain things that stood out because they didn’t quite set right to fans
of the show. The Time Warp moves seemed
slightly altered from the original. It
was very subtle, yet it was enough to dampen the sense of community that
usually comes from that number.
Regarding
the casting and character development, there were so many minute details that
really added to the background of the show and plot. Frank ‘n Furter gave a great performance and
turned the character into a very likeable and relatable one. He almost made it seem as if all evil aspects
of him were only due to immaturity or impulse with no real evil
intentions. I thought this was a great
character choice because it made the audience root for him. From what I could tell, there was some
adlibbing in the show. This added to the
audience connection, as well as the comedy of the show. It allowed for more audience interaction. Since it is the kind of show that is an “event”,
many people hold specific memories with it.
It is the kind of experience that needs to have an atmosphere behind it,
and many people take it upon themselves to create this atmosphere
themselves. The show was open, and gave
an opportunity to audience members to make the experience into what they
wanted, which was a very open environment.
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