The Rocky Horror Show
COSTUMES AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ARE WELCOME!
We will have prop bags for sale in the lobby – for safety reasons we ask that you NOT bring your own props!
To completely embrace its history and audience expectations, the Garfield Center for the Arts production will feature both shoutout callback lines and props usage from the audience. It is important to note, though, that the GCA will not allow certain props. So, the GCA will control all props usage by selling bags of approved props at a minimal cost. Audience members who bring their own props will have to surrender their items at the door. This policy is meant to protect the actors, staff and the condition of the theatre for safety reasons. The GCA asks patrons to leave such items at home and there will be bag checks at the Lobby doors to ensure no props are brought in from outside.
The film version of Richard O’Brien’s musical, retitled to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”, was a flop. Though it eventually became the pop culture phenomenon as we know it, most people do not know that critics despised it and audiences initially rejected it. But audiences may also be unaware that it was a stage show first. Writer and creator O’Brien, who was also the original stage show and film’s Riff Raff, has said that he wrote it just to pass the time. It debuted on stage in June 1973 at London’s Royal Court Theatre, and it ran for 7 years. The film, featuring O’Brien and Tim Curry, was released in 1975 and it completely bombed at the Box Office.
But then something unusual happened after the film’s initial failure. In April 1976, New York City’s Waverly Theater began running the film at midnight. Fans started dressing in costume, dancing in the aisles, and shouting callbacks at the screen. Audience participation rituals, like throwing props and using newspapers and a squirt gun during a rainstorm, turned screenings into interactive live parties. A counterculture community transformed the box-office failure into a global success when other cities began to put up midnight showings of their own.
Tickets are already selling briskly for the production. The show typically always sells out where it plays, so the GCA recommends that ticket buyers buy early. The Midnight show on Halloween will likely sell out first, so anyone interested in this particular show should buy their tickets very early.
The Garfield Center’s production has an absolutely incredibly talented and experienced cast performing the show. The cast, in order of appearance, features Stevie Lyles as the Usherette and Magenta, Erin Bradley as Janet Weiss, Quin Hu as Brad Majors, Brian Whitaker as the Narrator, Matthew Newman as Riff Raff, Kelly Elmlund as Columbia, JW Ruth as Dr. Frank N Furter, Ian Stotts as Rocky, Dylan Lyles as Eddie, and Matt Folker as Dr. Scott.
Playing the Phantoms, a singing Goth Greek chorus, are Lucien Battcock, Jasmine Bouman, Lauren Burnett, Dominic Delcoco, Gabe Feinberg, Nicole Fiorellino, Ace Loewenstein, Thomas Martinez, Patrick Pearce, Lia Powers, Krista Rideout, Grace Sutherland, Suzanne Thuecks, and Krystal Zarnak
The show will feature a live electric pit band with Michael Casey on Keyboard, Frank Gerber on Drums, Kyle Warner on Guitar, Johnny Mag on Bass, and Andrea Neiman on Synth. In the tradition of the movie screenings, the show will also utilize audience responders to shout out lines from the crowd. Participating as “callback” cast members will be Michelle Christopher, Connie Fallon and other special guests.
The Director and Set Designer for the production is the Garfield Center’s Executive Director, Steven Arnold, who is retiring at the end of the year. He has brought together an incredibly talented production staff for his final GCA directorial effort, including Music Director Michael Casey, Choreographer Jacki Moreland, Vocal Music Director Andrea Neiman, Costume Designer Barbi Bedell, Assistant Costumer Heather Robuck, Lighting Designer Nic Carter, Sound Engineers Benji Price and Charlie Joiner, Stage Manager Sophia Rooks, Assistant Stage Manager Mary Poorman, and Dance Captain Suzanne Thuecks. Butch Clark is the GCA Tech Director and set builder, and Cory Palmer is the construction assistant and decor artist.
The Garfield Center’s production of The Rocky Horror Show opens October 16th and runs weekends through October 31st. All Friday and Saturday shows begin at 8 PM, and Sunday Matinees begins at 2 PM. However, there is no final Sunday show because there are two shows on Halloween night, Saturday, October 31st. The first show that evening starts at 7 PM and the second show starts at Midnight.
Tickets are expected to go very fast for this show, so it is highly recommended that ticket buyers purchase far in advance to ensure they have tickets before performances sell out. Tickets may be purchased anytime online at www.garfieldcenter.org, or through the Box Office at 410-810-2060. The Box Office is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10 AM to 3 PM.