Itās a dark and stormy night. A young coupleās car breaks down near a castle. Seeking a telephone to call for help, the sweethearts meet Rocky, a buff creation of mad transvestite scientist Frank-N-Furter, along with a bunch of other zany creatures.Ģż
This is the storyline of The Rocky Horror Show. But the show is so much more than the plot.Ģż
The Rocky Horror Show has been described as a mashup of campy science fiction with Marvel-inspired characters, 1960s beach party jams and rock ānā roll music. Premiered at an experimental theater in London more than 40 years ago, The Rocky Horror Show is now a worldwide stage hit.
will run March 3-19. Itās an opportunity for talented theater and dance students to be a part of a cult classic.Ģż
Dillon Colagrosso, a senior studying performance with a dance minor, is playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter. While he has not seen the 1975 movie, Colagrosso did watch a stage version the night before auditions and decided to try out for the bawdy production.
āWeāre trying to stay traditional with the film,ā Colagrosso said, ābut weāre adding our own flavor to the play.ā
In portraying Frank-N-Furter, Colagrosso said the audience can expect to see a larger-than-life character on stage.
āYou can love to hate him, but you just canāt take your eyes off him,ā Colagrosso said. āAll my theater training and everything Iāve been taught at CU Boulder has led up to this play for me.ā
Bailey Trierweiler is a senior working toward a BFA in the design technology management program for theater and a BA in ecology and evolutionary biology. As an audio engineer for the production, Trierweiler is the assistant sound designer and the front-of-house mixer, which entails digitally blending the band with the microphones.Ģż
This is her 13th show with the department. Trierweiler has seen the movie and her parents are fans of the original.
āItās fun, wacky, goofy, dynamic and a cult classic,ā she said. āThereās so much you can do with it onstage. I love that theatre brings together different people to tell a story to an audience and then we move on to the next project, which I think is so beautiful.ā
Hattie Houser, a freshman double majoring in dance and sociology, is playing the character of a phantom, so sheās doing chorus choreography and singing. As a dancer, this is her first play. A Rocky Horror fan, she has seen the movie several times.Ģż
āThe musical incorporates discourse about sexual orientation, gender identities,ā she said, āand features aliens, science fiction, Frankenstein and more. Rocky Horror has a lot of depth, making it a really neat and entertaining show!ā
Houserās parents, who have seen the movie, are flying in from Arizona to see her perform. āMy mom told me, āIf youāre doing Rocky Horror, we have to see it,āā Houser said. āThereās lots of outrageous comedy and a ton of dancing. I donāt know if my dad knows what heās in for, but I think heāll enjoy it.ā
Natalie Reutimann is a junior studying costume, hair and makeup designāand that is exactly what she is handling for the play. The free-spirited, nontraditional theme of the play has allowed Reutimann to create a fantastical, sparkly, fun look for the characters. Ģż
āThe play is definitely out thereāentertaining and scandalousābut in a funny way,ā she said. āIf youāre a huge Rocky Horror fan, like I am, you wonāt be disappointed. Weāre keeping some of the iconic, characteristic look of the costumes, but with a Victorian-era twist for Frankās world. So, itās going to be heightened, more theatrical, but not straying too far from the original Rocky Horror costumes.ā
Hadley Kamminga-Peck, who received a doctorate from CU Boulder in 2015 in theater, with a focus on Shakespearean studies, is the director of the CU Boulder stage production.
āWeāre so lucky, because our musical director is David Nehls, who played Riff Raff in the original European tour,ā Kamminga-Peck said. āDavid learned the role from Richard OāBrien, who wrote the musical stage show. Which means that David has a direct line through Richard to the original show, so David is a wealth of information for our production.ā
Kamminga-Peck said the audience can expect classic Rocky Horror elements, but with a few modifications.
āWeāre punking up the songs a bit and adapting them to suit our own style, plus we have a female Dr. Scott character,ā she said. āBut itās still Rocky.āĢż
In other words, itāll be good.
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