By James V. Ruocco
Everton Ricketts as Rocky
Lu Dejesus as Eddie and Dr. Scott
This production - a change of pace for the always effervescent G-rated Pantochino - takes audiences on a wild, thrill-a-minute, roller-coaster ride, offset by cultish bravado, grand, gothic indulgence and lewd, crude frivolity.
Delicious.
Devilish.
Physical.
Rhythmic.
Spectacular.
Insanely Crazy.
This is an 80-minute musical treat, that despite its age - 49 years and counting - still feels fresh, alive and inviting while happily delivering the goods in all its oozy, gooey, timeless glory.
With the addition of six new castmates, the 2022 edition of "The Rocky Horror Show" at Pantochino actually surpasses the greatness of last year's 5-STAR production and gallops forward with more speed, more polish and more resounding smack than its predecessor.
And yes, the audience goes WILD.
The story - which, pretty much everyone on this planet knows - goes something like this.
Following the opening song "Science Fiction Double Feature, sung magnificently by movie theater usherette Mary Mannix who sets musical's eerie sci-fi vibe, married couple Brad and Janet seek refuge in the middle of nowhere (their car breaks down during a rainstorm) at the Transylvanian castle of Frank-N-Furter, a mad scientist and transvestite from the planet Transsexual whose lust for both men and women finds him back in the laboratory where he creates a muscle-bound hunk named Rocky for use as his own companion, bedmate and sexual plaything.
Let the games begin!
As penned by O'Brien, the production abounds with plenty of other crazies that include Frank-N-Furter's trusty, live-in butler Riff Raff, his oversexed sister Magenta, a shapely and sexy groupie named Columbia and perplexed, put-upon Eddie, the unfortunate victim of a botched-up delivery that led to very troubled circumstances. Also, along for the ride are a smiling Narrator who addresses the audience with playful tidbits and remarks about the pending action, a trio of phantom minions who pop up any given place throughout the story and Dr. Everett Scott, the paraplegic science tutor Brad and Janet had hoped to visit at the start of the story.
Staging the 2022 incarnation of "The Rocky Horror Show," director Bert Bernardi (he also directed last year's sold-out production) brings plenty of buzz, bite, zing, swathe and snap to this oft-produced sci-fi parody, matched by a thrilling creative mindset and dazzle that gives this revival a uniqueness and paint-brush gleam of freshness that makes it soar, entice, hypnotize and run wild. Here, as in other productions he has directed including "School Spirits," "Checking in on Charles," The Gingerbreads of Broadway" and "The Wicked Witch of the West: Kansas or Bust," Bernardi goes the extra mile and crafts something that is not only special, but dances to its own individual rhythm and decided beat and bluster.
Here, gallop and invention thrust this musical into orbit and keep it spinning, turning and tilting right through to the final curtain. In one of the musical's most hilarious and memorable sequences, the towering Frank-N-Furter seduces Brad in the bedroom - a well-placed sheet (think "Two Ladies" from "Cabaret") camouflages most of the below-waist and rear-ended, X-rated action - thus, allowing Bernardi to create an orgiastic sexual coupling where mind-blowing oral sex and hard anal penetration produce lots of cries, screams and yelps that are amusingly orchestrated to the point of a celebratory climax that both actors toss off brilliantly. Immediately after, Frank N-Furter beds Janet using the same pent-up sexuality and energy that pushed Brad over the edge. Once again, sexual pleasures abound with the same, over-the-top frenzy and merriment as before signaling additional giggles as Bernardi imaginatively cuts loose without any form of censorship or hesitation.
Another fun bit of stage business finds Brad having trouble walking, moving about or lifting up his legs after getting invaded by Frank-N-Furter. Again, Bernardi prompts laughs in all the right places allowing his audience to witness Brad's sleazy dilemma as the character winces and tries to hide his discomfort after his first time, same-sex experience. Ouch!!!
As with most productions of "The Rocky Horror Show," audience participation is encouraged and welcomed. Still, rules and regulations are delegated for both the safety of the onstage actors and everyone in the audience. In turn, there is no throwing of rice, toast, water, soda, flour, chocolate syrup or other objects.
Regardless, there's still lots to enjoy and cherish from the cosmic Technicolor feast that Bernardi has put on display including his feverish, centered, intuitive direction, O'Brien's swiftly-paced scenario and the production's colorful, immersive staging and choreography.
One of the show's guilty pleasures - there are many - comes from the "Call Backs" which, for anyone who has seen the show before, are humorously and freely shouted back to the characters from the diehard groupies in the audience, many of whom have seen the musical hundreds and hundreds of times.
A clever bit of mayhem and madness that began during midnight showings of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" movie back in the 70's at the 8th Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village, this playful conceit heightens the musical's frivolity and impromptu silliness if only because you never quite know who's going to say what to whom from performance to performance.
The enthusiastic spiritedness that is "The Rocky Horror Show" comes full circle with Richard O'Brien's witty, wacky and energetic megamix of lyrics, orchestrations and scoring. Here, there are sixteen musical numbers, all carefully interspersed throughout the ongoing story.
They are: "Science Fiction, Double Feature," "Dammit Janet," "Over at the Frankenstein Place," "The Time Warp," "Sweet Transvestite," "The Sword of Damocles," "I Can Make You a Man," "Hot Patootie," "I Can Make You a Man (reprise)," "Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me," "Once in a While," "Eddie's Teddy," "Planet Schmanet-Wise Up Janet," "Floorshow/Rose Tint My World," "Superheroes" and "Epilogue/Science Fiction/Double Feature."
In this production, the kitschy, tongue-in-cheek, underground-inspired music is pre-recorded. Nonetheless, it's all tightly controlled, reinforced and delivered by musical director Justin Rugg (he plays Riff Raff) who leads himself and the rest of the cast happily through the show's exclusively tailored, musical craziness with the total involvement, zing and abandonment envisioned and set forth by O 'Brien.
Under Rugg's direction, it's all crisply articulated and performed impressively in unison by the entire cast. As "The Rocky Horror Show" evolves, there's also lots of refreshing spontaneity and discipline at hand completely in sync with the topsy-turvy mechanics, melody and rollicking exuberance of the musical score.
Surrounding himself with a "dream cast" of new and veteran performers - many of whom have contributed greatly to the success of dozens of hit musicals that have comprised Pantochino's acclaimed repertoire - the entire "The Rocky Horror Show" cast is well-suited for each of the particular roles they are asked to portray. All twelve are fresh, flashy and dynamic throughout, embracing the musicals' B-movie plotting, its sci-fi stylization, its campiness, its glitter, its free-wheeling sexuality, its famous one-liners, its songs, its heart, its soul, its choreography, its homosexuality, its surprises and its hilariously welcomed callbacks. There's plenty of emotion here, mixed with a love of performance, encounter and lace well worthy of a standing ovation or two - and so much more.
In the pivotal role of Frank-N-Furter, Jimmy Johansmeyer brings lots of swirl, whirl and twirl to the iconic transvestite character using just the right amount of camp, flair and fishnet stocking mania whenever he's on stage. It's a 5 STAR character turn - fresh, alive and in-the-moment - from the actor, who also designed the musical's colorful, dazzling costumes.
Cast in the role of the show's Narrator, Don Poggio takes center stage and wherever else the spotlight takes him, offering a crafty, dedicated and personal performance that often gets interrupted by endless "Call Backs" that are hurled at him from every direction in the audience throughout the musical. Justin Rugg's Riff Raff, an eerie Transylvanian, based, in part on "Frankenstein's" servant Igor, is ecstatically campy and hugely entertaining. Fresh from Downtown Cabaret's voltage-charged production of "Rent," Everton Ricketts is kitschy, narcissistic and amusing in typical B-movie fashion. Lu DeJesus has great fun with the dual roles of Eddie and Dr. Everett Scott. Tatiana Castillo, Alex Hartofelis and Sydney Yargeau make their presence known as the musical's trio of ghostly Phantoms.
Shelly Marsh Poggio, cast in the role of Riff Raff's sister Magenta, delivers a sci-fi appropriate character portrait that's chock full of personality, spirit and sugar-rush adrenaline. Here, as in other productions at Pantochino, her vibe, her style and her dedication are true-to-form as is her complete embracement of every single role she is asked to perform. Mary Mannix, in the dual roles of the Usherette and Columbia, is simply spectacular, finding real purpose, passion and personality in her decidedly different "Rocky Horror Show" roles. Vocally, she takes charge of her important musical moments with perfect pitch, command, power and refreshing gamboling.
As Brad and Janet, Dan Frye and Skye Gillespie have lots and lots of chemistry, which makes their many scenes and songs together, work especially well within the framework of O'Brien's over-the-top sci-fi parody. This dynamic is handled with deliciously witty abandon, sweetness and knockabout vitality by the twosome, both of whom add a certain freshness and individuality to the already proven production that theatergoers and diehard "Rocky Horror Show" fans simply cannot get enough of.
Hot. Sexy. Refreshing. Raunchy. Upfront.
That is "The Rocky Horror Show" at Pantochino.
"The Rocky Horror Show" was staged at Pantochino Productions (Milford Arts Council, 40 Railroad Ave., Milford, CT) from October 14 through 30, 2022.
For tickets to upcoming productions and more information, call (203) 843-0959.
website: pantochino.com
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