The Rocky Horror Show

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The Rocky Horror Show


Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope, PA, October 30, 2016
Reviewed by Chip Deffaa for Cabaret Scenes

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Kevin Cahoon (L) & Nick Adams

A writer can create the best show in the world, but unless he’s got a director, actors, and producers who are really sympathetic to his vision, the whole production can fall flat. If the gods smile and all of the elements fall into place just so—if you get exactly the right director, actors, and producers working together to bring good material to life—the results can be magical.

Well, I just witnessed some very potent magic, watching the Bucks County Playhouse production of Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show, directed by Hunter Foster, and starring Kevin Cahoon. All of the elements were just right. This was not only the most fully realized production of Rocky Horror I’ve ever seen, it was also the most satisfying theatrical experience I’ve had in many months. I left the theater feeling exhilarated. I felt—much as I did when I caught the first tryout of the very-different musical Newsies at New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse a few years ago—that the gods had brought together just the right director, performers, and producers for the particular material in question, and someone ought to transfer the production intact to the New York stage so more people could enjoy it. (Newsies, of course, did soon transfer to New York from Paper Mill. I’d love to see this Bucks County production transfer to New York, too, whether to a large Off-Broadway space or perhaps a moderate Broadway house.)  

Richard O’Brien (who wrote the book, music, and lyrics back in the 1970s and appeared in the original film adaptation) created a unique show—camp and funny, sexy and surprise-filled—that has enjoyed enduring popularity for some 40 years. But not every director, producer, or actor really gets it. A fortune was spent on a recent television adaptation (premiering on the Fox television network, October 20, 2016), but the creative team missed the boat: their version was put down by the critics, as well as by the general public. The last Broadway revival, in 2000, was much better, but still didn’t quite get things right. The producers did some stunt casting to boost ticket sales: it was a novelty, for example, to see the likes of Dick Cavett, Cindy Adams, and Sally Jessy Raphael play the role of the narrator throughout the run. However, none of those people really understood the subversive camp comedy of Rocky Horror, so the tone was compromised right from the very start. 

But director Foster and company have got the tone exactly right. William Youmans (as the narrator), Justin Matthew Sargent (as Riff Raff), and Nick Adams (as Rocky) are excellent. Stephanie Gibson (Janet) and Maximilian Sangerman (Brad) are fine. (Tara Rubin Casting deserves some props.)   

And Cahoon (starring as the cross-dressing mad scientist Frank-n-Furter) is absolutely perfect. He is playful and spontaneous and sexy. He is a star. And he’s playing a role that fits him superbly. I’ve always loved his work. Sometimes, he’s been in shows that allowed him to fully demonstrate what he’s capable of. He was first-rate, for example, in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. (He succeeded John Cameron Mitchell in the original Off-Broadway run. He, like Mitchell, was superb. And  the star who followed him in that challenging role was a dud; not everyone is right for a given role.) And sometimes Cahoon has  been in shows that never gave him a chance to shine. (His talents were wasted, for example, in the mediocre Broadway musical The Wedding Singer.) 

But give him the right opportunity, and he can hold an audience in the palm of his hand. I used to see him do that, brilliantly leading his own raucous band, Ghetto Cowboy, at the club CBGB in New York’s East Village. And he gave us something sublime—just unforgettable theater—when, late in Rocky Horror, he removed his wig, sat on the edge on the edge of the stage, began talking with us, then danced with one audience member (telling her not to be afraid), and sang “I’m Going Home.” In that sequence, he achieved something transcendent. Don’t  ask me to explain it. He does not have the prettiest voice in the world. But I wish I could be listening to a recording of him singing “I’m Going Home” right now. He’s capable of greatness—few performers are—and in that sequence he achieved it. It’s rare and special when a performer holds such thorough sway over an audience.

I saw the sensational revue Black and Blue a number of times in its Broadway run. All three of the leads—Carrie Smith, Linda Hopkins, Ruth Brown—were gifted pros. I’d long admired the work of all three—in club appearances, concerts and on recordings. I’d interviewed them at their homes. I liked them all personally. But as good as they all were, Ruth Brown had something extra, something that touched you, whether she was singing in that huge Broadway theater or in a late-night appearance at a little club.  She connected with audiences, in a way very few could. She, alone, won the Tony Award and she deserved it. I can’t tell you what she had; it was just something extra. Another example: Gwen Verdon didn’t have, by conventional standards, the greatest voice. But she could create magic on stage in a way few I’ve witnessed ever  could. I’ve seen the Broadway musical Chicago more than 10 times. No one playing the role Verdon originated has equaled the impact she had. 

And Cahoon, in that “I’m Going Home” sequence, rose above the material. He just has something extra. Very powerful. Exactly the right performer for that particular role. Profound magic. I  don’t think I’d change a thing about this production. Well, maybe I’d give Cahoon a chance to sing a chorus or two of “Time Warp” by himself, before bringing the whole cast in, at the end. Just to give the star a little more exposure, a chance to dig into a great song on his own before bringing everyone into it.  

At the very end, audience members got to go up on the stage (or just bopped in the aisles), to dance along with the cast to the irresistible “Time Warp.” I had to rush right out, due to other obligations. But I left feeling very much under the spell of the show. And I still feel that way, as I type this review.  I hope the producers—Robyn Goodman, Alexander Fraser, Stephen Kocis, Josh Fiedler, Sharon A. Carr—can find a way to do more with this production.

Chip Deffaa

Chip Deffaa is the author of 16 published plays and eight published books, and the producer of 24 albums. For 18 years he covered entertainment, including music and theater, for The New York Post. In his youth, he studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He is a graduate of Princeton University and a trustee of the Princeton "Tiger" magazine. He wrote and directed such Off-Broadway successes as "George M. Cohan Tonight!" and "One Night with Fanny Brice." His shows have been performed everywhere from London to Edinburgh to Seoul. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, NARAS, and ASCAP. He’s won the ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award, the IRNE Award, and a New Jersey Press Association Award. Please visit: www.chipdeffaa.com.