The Rocky Horror Show Alexandra Centre
I have heard so much over the years about The Rocky Horror Show that I was really looking forward to finally seeing it at this year’s Fringe. Unfortunately it turned out to be a major disappointment.
The majority of the cast members do not have strong enough voices to carry the songs nor enough stage presence to make these larger-than-life characters come alive. The one exception is the young man who plays the show’s infamous transvestite Dr. Frank-N-Furter. He looks good in his garter belt and hose and has the personality to carry off the part complete with a wonderfully-developed character voice. (The other plus of the show is the costumes. They are very well done.)
Now I know there’s a tradition of audience interaction/callback lines throughout the play but the people sitting in the audience the night I went went WAY overboard. Almost every other line somebody was calling out something stupid usually drowning out what the character was saying. Quite frankly fifteen minutes into the show I wanted to leave. (To be fair I don’t know if over-zealous audience participation is a reality of every production as this Fringe version is the only one I’ve seen. If it is I guess I’ll never have a hope of ever liking The Rocky Horror Show…)
Truthfully unless you’re a die-hard Rocky Horror fan don’t waste your time with this one.
-Kathleen Renne
