I first saw the Rocky Horror Picture Show when I was around 7 or 8. It was love at first viewing. I bought the soundtrack on cassette and spent hours in my bedroom looking up the lyrics that I didn’t understand in my dictionary (what an education!). I’ve seen the stage show a few times over the years, but when I heard Jason Donovan was starring in the latest iteration, I knew I had to do the Time Warp again.
The 50th Anniversary production of Rocky Horror Show only opened in the Civic Theatre on Friday, but it’s already become the venue’s highest selling musical, beating the record set by Come From Away last year. Given all the antici … pation, I expected to see more than the lone guy in fishnets wandering the foyer. Maybe the 2 pm session coincided with the usual nap times of the audience in attendance, but they didn’t seem as enthusiastic as I imagined they would be so early in the season. There were only a handful of people who got up to dance the Time Warp at the end! I really hope the night time shows are a little livelier. The performers gave it their all, and they deserve an audience that’s not quite so flat.
Sleepy crowds aside, there was a lot to like about the show. The cast embraced their roles, giving themselves over to the campy silliness of it all. Stella Perry, who came to fame in The Voice, brought more of a rock edge to Magenta than previous actresses, and I appreciated that. I also thought Henry Rollo, who plays Riff Raff, showed incredible vocal chops. Brad has always faded into the background for me, but Blake Bowden brought him out of the shadows. Myf Warhurst seemed a little out of her element as the narrator, but she bantered well with the audience. I suspect if I saw her later in the season she’d shine a lot brighter. The ultimate praise must go to Jason Donovan as Frank-N-Furter though. He first played Frank in the UK in 1998, and he makes slipping back into the role look easy. Clearly he was influenced by Tim Curry, but he does just enough to make it his own. He’s fabulous naughty and natural and he gave us a masterclass on Saturday. Honestly, watching him on stage was worth the price of admission alone.
Rocky Horror is one of those shows that keeps coming back every few years. If you’re a fan, and perhaps even if you’re not, you’ll have likely seen several productions. I know I have. But this might just the best. If you’ve been on the fence, make sure you snap up your tickets. The 50th Anniversary production of Rocky Horror Show plays the Civic Theatre in Mulubinba/Newcastle until February 4. It then heads to the Athenaeum Theatre in Naarm/Melbourne from February 9 to March 17 before heading back to New South Wales for shows at the Theatre Royal in Eora/Sydney from March 31 to April 28.