Jeremy Seghers who plays Riff Raff invited me to a dress rehearsal for “The Rocky Horror Show at Theater Downtown (2113 North Orange Avenue). The show runs till November 13th. Steve MacKinnon, the director, introduced himself and he offered suggestions on the best vantage point to sketch from. The show opens with the cast sitting in front of a movie screen with the lips projected. I started blocking in the sketch and tried to resist putting in the red curtains since I knew they would be coming down. I couldn’t resist drawing the lips and dripping lettering. In the first act Jeremy sang “Over at the Frankenstein Place.”. He looked like Frankenstein with his high platform shoes dressed in formal black. All of the singing leads were given headset mics and the sound levels were crisp and clear. More important was the fact that the songs were belted out with sincerity and bravado. This is a talented cast that really throws their hearts into every song.
The set was pretty minimal with golden columns and picture frames hung at odd angles. This cast shines brighter than gold. Atmospheric fog added to some really nice lighting effects. The whole show was sensuous and fun. Culminating in an orgy group dance number that makes the movie seem tame. The Time Warp dance is so energetic that I can not imagine an audience that wouldn’t want to join in. Jeremy confided that he split his pants the first time he did the dance at a dress rehearsal. The final song sung by Adam McCabe as Frank-n-Furter, “Don’t dream it, Be it” is uplifting and inspiring. This show is campy, and over the top fun. It is time well spent to ring in the Halloween season!
Thank you for coming to the rehearsal and for all of your wonderful illustrations!