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‘Rocky’ great
interactive theaterThe Rocky Horror Show: At 8 p.m. tomorrow, Friday and Saturday, Leeward Community College Theatre. Tickets $15, with discounts available for students, active military and senior citizens. Call 455-0385
By John Berger They came, they screamed in anticipation, and even though only a few did "The Time Warp," the overall audience experience was successful for Leeward Community College's ambitious production of "The Rocky Horror Show."
Special to the Star-BulletinNo one in the audience Friday night dressed as any of the familiar characters, but most apparently paid the extra $5 for a Rocky Horror activity bag, because the air was filled with flying objects at key moments. Consider that LCC is presenting the original stage version rather than the movie -- and thus many were seeing this version for the first time -- and things went well indeed. It isn't quite the same show, but the performance was great interactive theatre.
First and foremost it was friendly and consensual. Even "virgins" -- the term for anyone seeing the show for the first time as live theatre -- seemed to enjoy themselves as barrages of toast, toilet paper and other items were thrown toward the stage in response to key bits of dialogue.
What was lacking Friday was aggressive verbal participation by the audience, another important part of a complete "Rocky Horror" experience. Some characters are generally "greeted" with a particular word or phrase. Some events in the story allow for a "freestyle" ad-libbed approach. There could have been more of both types of input Friday, although contributions from ushers and a few members of the audience fit in reasonably well.
The cast overall does remarkably well in getting into roles that have been defined in public consciousness for a quarter century.
Jillian King (Janet) gives an absolutely amazing performance as the virgin-turned-libertine who is the designated heroine of the story. King plays "wholesome" quite nicely in the early scenes but slips easily and convincingly into the other half of the role. King's "Touch-A Touch-A Touch Me" opens Act II on an appropriately debauched note.
Nathaniel Pulkrabek (Brad) looks great as the nerdish straight-arrow "hero" of the story until he removes his shirt and reveals a large tattoo. Brad Majors with a tattoo? I don't think so, but Pulkrabek plays the role well.
Credit Ryan Torigoe (Frank-N-Furter) with a game performance as the celebrated transvestite mad scientist. Forgive him for not being Tim Curry and he does quite well. Most of the crowd seemed to make that adjustment a few seconds into Torigoe's rendition of "Sweet Transvestite." He probably won won over the others with "I Can Make You A Man."
Kris DeRego (Riff Raff), JanDee Abraham (Columbia) and Laura Brucia (Magenta) are the key members of the household. "The Time Warp" is their best number together. Abraham becomes one of the visual leads thanks to her costume and tap-dancing. Brucia also registers strongly and does a solid job opening and closing the show with "Science Fiction Double Feature."
Kent Alverio (Rocky Horror) brings quiet dignity to Frank-N-Furter's artificially created idealized surfer boy/bridegroom. Dan Furst (Narrator) and Charlie L. Hil (Dr. Evrett Scott) received surprisingly respectful treatment from the crowd. The characters are often objects of audience scorn but Furst and Hil drew rousing applause at key moments.
Keoni Kaawa (Eddie) brings enough bulk and attitude to his portrayal of Frank-N-Furter's previous love interest that his big song ( "Sweet Patootie" ) is a strong number.
Malfunctioning props aren't the liabilities they'd be in a conventional musical since the problems just gave quick-witted fans more opportunities to heckle the cast. Unfortunately, good clean sound is not an option and there were significant problems. The band and the sound crew need to address this before the big Halloween performance tomorrow.
Overall, however, director Paul Cravath, choreographer Peter Rockford Espiritu, and set designer Donald J. Ranney Jr., have done a good job. The show moves well and the cast is energetic. With those basic components in place the rest is up to the audience.
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