'Rocky Horror' and Dad's a match made in cult heaven
THEATER REVIEW
"The Rocky Horror Show"
8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays. Also, 5 p.m. Oct. 2; 8 p.m. Oct. 3. Through Oct. 22. $9-$23. Dad's Garage, 280 Elizabeth St., Atlanta. 404-523-3141. www.dadsgarage.com.
The verdict: It's a cultural thing.
The very prospect of Dad's Garage staging "The Rocky Horror Show" is frightening in itself: Experimental, over-the-edge theater troupe mounts wacky, bisexual, horror-show musical parody.
Frightening and completely rational.
Dad's and "Rocky" --- each has its own cult following, the former a local one since its founding 11 years ago, the latter an international one since its first London staging in 1973 and subsequent movie version starring Tim Curry. The two cults have a lot in common: a whacked-out sense of humor, a fondness for Grade D horror flicks and the dorky 1950s, and the comfort and courage derived from sitting in a roomful of like-minded individuals who dare to be different, though not from each other.
Only two audience members stuck out in the colorful and wildly enthusiastic opening-night crowd for "Rocky" --- a sweet-looking twosome, unhip to a fault, attired as if for a 1950s sock hop. The young man's coat and tie were particularly noticeable, as the 140-seat room wasn't air-conditioned. Just looking at him made me sweat.
The pair turned out to be Brad and Janet, the show's two innocents who, once situated onstage, set out in search of their old science professor, Dr. Scott. Along the way, they encounter the castle of Dr. Frank- N-Furter (Geoffrey Brown), the mad transvestite scientist from the planet Transexual in the galaxy of Transylvania.
While Frank is in the lab creating Rocky for his own sexual fulfillment, Brad and Janet (Clark Kent look-alike Joey Ellington, perky and pony-tailed Jessie Dean) are entertained and undressed by Frank's oddball assortment of partners and co-habitors: his spooky servant Riff Raff (E. Cooper Seay), Magenta the high-heeled chamber maid (Steve Emmanuelson) and mindless groupie Columbia (Katy Carkuff).
Directed with rudimentary (read garage) naturalness by Kate Warner, what follows is the hard-won metamorphosis of Brad and Janet from pure innocents to unapologetic decadents.
The movie version of this musical by Richard O'Brien, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," is usually interactive, with audience members singing along and yelling out their own creative responses to some of the lines. Dad's cast deserves a great deal of credit for maintaining concentration on opening night, despite the continued, sexually explicit interruptions of one vociferous and only sometimes funny individual.
Kudos in particular to Doyle Reynolds as the Narrator, a smooth and pretentiously faux-British presence throughout, and to Brown, whose sweetly coifed and long-legged Frank commanded the stage with grace. Chris Skinner's Rocky was fittingly (in this production) flinty, and Travis Sharp showed good comedic sense as Eddie/Dr. Scott. Seay served as the lead guitarist in the assembled four-person band and managed to pull off Riff Raff's riffs without missing a beat.
"The Rocky Horror Show"
8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays. Also, 5 p.m. Oct. 2; 8 p.m. Oct. 3. Through Oct. 22. $9-$23. Dad's Garage, 280 Elizabeth St., Atlanta. 404-523-3141. www.dadsgarage.com.
The verdict: It's a cultural thing.
The very prospect of Dad's Garage staging "The Rocky Horror Show" is frightening in itself: Experimental, over-the-edge theater troupe mounts wacky, bisexual, horror-show musical parody.
Frightening and completely rational.
Dad's and "Rocky" --- each has its own cult following, the former a local one since its founding 11 years ago, the latter an international one since its first London staging in 1973 and subsequent movie version starring Tim Curry. The two cults have a lot in common: a whacked-out sense of humor, a fondness for Grade D horror flicks and the dorky 1950s, and the comfort and courage derived from sitting in a roomful of like-minded individuals who dare to be different, though not from each other.
Only two audience members stuck out in the colorful and wildly enthusiastic opening-night crowd for "Rocky" --- a sweet-looking twosome, unhip to a fault, attired as if for a 1950s sock hop. The young man's coat and tie were particularly noticeable, as the 140-seat room wasn't air-conditioned. Just looking at him made me sweat.
The pair turned out to be Brad and Janet, the show's two innocents who, once situated onstage, set out in search of their old science professor, Dr. Scott. Along the way, they encounter the castle of Dr. Frank- N-Furter (Geoffrey Brown), the mad transvestite scientist from the planet Transexual in the galaxy of Transylvania.
While Frank is in the lab creating Rocky for his own sexual fulfillment, Brad and Janet (Clark Kent look-alike Joey Ellington, perky and pony-tailed Jessie Dean) are entertained and undressed by Frank's oddball assortment of partners and co-habitors: his spooky servant Riff Raff (E. Cooper Seay), Magenta the high-heeled chamber maid (Steve Emmanuelson) and mindless groupie Columbia (Katy Carkuff).
Directed with rudimentary (read garage) naturalness by Kate Warner, what follows is the hard-won metamorphosis of Brad and Janet from pure innocents to unapologetic decadents.
The movie version of this musical by Richard O'Brien, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," is usually interactive, with audience members singing along and yelling out their own creative responses to some of the lines. Dad's cast deserves a great deal of credit for maintaining concentration on opening night, despite the continued, sexually explicit interruptions of one vociferous and only sometimes funny individual.
Kudos in particular to Doyle Reynolds as the Narrator, a smooth and pretentiously faux-British presence throughout, and to Brown, whose sweetly coifed and long-legged Frank commanded the stage with grace. Chris Skinner's Rocky was fittingly (in this production) flinty, and Travis Sharp showed good comedic sense as Eddie/Dr. Scott. Seay served as the lead guitarist in the assembled four-person band and managed to pull off Riff Raff's riffs without missing a beat.