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...ived. Things didn't appear much brighter on September 24th, 1975 when The Rocky Horror Picture Show had its American theatrical debut. Although the film, touted as "A Different Set Of Jaws", opened to sell-out crowds at the UA theater in Westwood Village (a college town surrounding UCLA in Los Angeles ), the story was quite dismal almost everywhere else. The film bombed in most cities, and looked to be doomed to the vaults until a strange phenomenon was observed. Although theater owners were complaining of low attendance, it seemed that a small dedicated audience was returning for repeated viewings. While the film was still running successfully in Los Angeles , Lou Adler and Tim Deegan (20th Century Fox's marketing director for Rocky Horror) began to discuss the situation at hand. Together they decided the film would need a special kind of marketing, geared toward helping the film find its own unique audience. Their first step was to try Rocky Horror as a midnight movie in New York City , a relatively new idea at the time. Word of mouth, they decided, would be the best form of promotion - let the audience find the film and vice-versa. Six months after its initial release, Rocky Horror hit the midnight-movie circuit (with a re-edited ending - sans the down beat Super Heroes and Science Fiction Reprise) by opening at the Waverly Theater in Greenwich Village . Within weeks, The Rocky Horror Picture Show was also playing at several other theaters throughout the country at the witching hour. The audience continued to grow steadily and, in addition, began to develop a special relationship with the movie. The first evidence of the unique tie between The Rocky Horror Picture Show and its audience surfaced in its initial run at the UA Westwood. Many of the same people who attended multiple performances at the Roxy were attending the movie on a nightly basis. These people were actually singing along with the songs as early as opening week, and calling out "2-4-6-8-10-12-14-eat your heart out, Anne Miller" from the Roxy Soundtrack's Time Warp. This phenomenon was not, however, exclusive to the Westwood audience. The barriers between audience and screen broke down almost simultaneously at Rocky Horror screenings throughout the country. At first it surfaced in small ways - someone might hold up a teddy bear during the "Eddie's Teddy" number or a group of viewers would bring noisemakers to rattle during the creation scene. Although no one knows for certain what the first audience comeback was, some people were already calling out "antici-'say it'-pation" before the movie hit the midnight scene. And doing the "Time Warp" in the aisles during the closing credits became an essential part of the Rocky Horror experience very early on. A ritual began to develop around attending a Rocky Horror screening. Its glittery, colorful palate inspired people to dress up in outrageous costumes, usually designed to mimic the movie's main characters. Groups of regulars developed loyalty to their Rocky Horror venue wherever it played. In early 1977, the first full-fledged official "dress-up" group emerged at the Fox Venice theater in Los Angeles . "The Rocky Horror Revue" performed a staged, lip-synch Rocky Horror act on the Fox stage in between the evening's two screenings. Possibly the most noteworthy group emerged at the Waverly Theater. This industrious ensemble was one of the earliest and most enduring of all the performing groups, eventually becoming the founders of the Official Rocky Horror Picture Show Fan Club. At its peak, the New York based national fan club boasted over 20,000 active members worldwide, according to fan club president Sal Piro. In its earlier run, it was noticed that the film's attendance seemed to rise when one of these "live" groups were performing. The wackier the audience, the bigger the draw. By the end of 1977, Rocky Horror had mutated into a multimedia event - a loud and boisterous come-as-you-are party where anything could - and often did - happen. "Don't Dream It, Be It" was Rocky's central message, and the ever-increasing audience took it to heart. Attending The Rocky Horror Picture Show was an experience that could be compared to no other. Where else could you go out at midnight , dressed in lingerie, and hang out with a couple hundred other free-spirits? Soon annual and semi-annual conventions were held in celebration of Rocky Horror, and a great many friendships were formed through its faithful cult. One couple even got married at a midnight screening at Hollywood 's Tiffany Theater . By 1979, Rocky Horror was receiving a great deal of media attention worldwide. The New York group (now transplanted to the 8th Street Playhouse) was featured on The Tom Snyder Show. The Tiffany's group was featured on various news programs. Groups in all areas were finding themselves featured on local news broadcasts. Magazines from Newsweek to Rolling Stone ran features on the film and its massive following. At this point The Rocky Horror Picture Show was experiencing its greatest success ever. Aside from its usual midnight showings, many 2-AM shows were added to accommodate the sell out crowds. Media coverage included a feature on NBC's Real People and a Ronald Reagan spoof on ABC's Fridays called "The Ronnie Horror Show". In addition, the films Fame and Willie and Phil contained scenes depicting the Rocky Horror experience. Because of the widespread interest in Rocky Horror, it was decided to stage a major revival of the play in The United States. Rocky Horror - the play, had run continuously in London , moving from the 60-seat Theatre Upstairs to the 400 seat Kings Road Theater in 1974 where it ran straight for 7 years. Touring companies had already performed in Germany , Norway , Australia , Japan , France , and New Zealand (where rocker Gary Glitter took the lead as Dr. Frank-N-Furter). The U.S. touring company surfaced in 1980, and played to sell-out crowds wherever it performed. This was the first opportunity for most of the hard-core fans to see Rocky Horror in its original form. Most notable of the performers who participated in the revival were Kim Milford from the original Roxy Cast reprising his role as Rocky and Wendy O. Williams (from the controversial punk band The Plasmatics) in the role of Magenta. Australia and New Zealand also experienced successful revivals of The Rocky Horror Show at this point in time. In 2000, The Rocky Horror Show was revived on Broadway with much success. Guest Narrators included everyone from Dick Cavett to Sally-Jessy Raphael. The musical still continues to be produced across the U.S. and abroad. Last year it enjoyed a successful U.K. 30th Anniversary tour. DIRECTORS NOT- PHILOSOPHY OF THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (3) “Don't Dream It, Be It.” For 30 years, this lyric has defined the philosophy of Rocky Horror. Written at the peak of a social revolution, Dr. Frank N. Furter's refrain was embraced by fans who celebrated the liberation from traditional boundaries and the intoxicating empowerment of radical individualism. A generation later, this mantra has been enshrined not just by a cultish fringe, but by our society at large. Today, what was once dangerous and exotic is mass-marketed to every living room. To be, rather than to dream, is now regarded as an inalienable right. But for every freedom gained, something must be lost. When we can be whatever we want, what becomes of our dreams? However, Rocky Horror ends not with Frank's paean to self-actualization, but with a bitter and prophetic warning. Janet mourns a world where “Superheroes come to feast, to taste the flesh not yet deceased,” and the narrator reminds us that we are “insects called the human race, lost in time and space and meaning.” Is this not our world, where our celebrity gods descend to feed upon a willing body public, where we know everything and believe nothing? Brad and Janet are our American Adam and Eve, expelled naked from paradise after tasting the forbidden fruit of knowledge. As in every hero's journey, the final step on the path from innocence to experience is the realization that one can never return to the home left behind. The Right, as personified by Riff Raff, and the Left, embodied by Frank N. Furter, collide against each other, casually crushing us to pulp between them. The golden age of American innocence is lost to us forever, along with the spook shows and drive-ins. But for one night, perhaps we can take a time warp. It's just a jump to the left, back to the sights and sounds of that vanished world. And then, a step to the right into the brave new world crafted by the good doctor and his spiritual heirs. Join us in the dance, but beware that it doesn't drive you insane… Reviews: The Rocky Horror Show A time-warped hit takes a darker edge By Rebecca Swain Vadnie | Sentinel Staff Writer Posted October 28, 2004 Once you cross the threshold at Theatre Downtown these nights, you cross into the risqué dream world of Dr. Frank N Furter, evil genius extraordinaire. Your heart starts to beat faster. When the doors shut behind you, uneasiness sets in and you don't quite know what will happen next. In the theater's production of Richard O'Brien's cult musical, The Rocky Horror Show, director Seth Kubersky creates an alternate reality where something could be anything. It's a decadent blending of punk and pop culture in which society's rules don't apply anymore. Sex, drugs, aliens, games of strip Simon Says. Feeling bold yet? As the horror show begins, squeaky clean couple Brad Majors (Matthew Trahan) and Janet Weiss (Sarah French) happen onto the bizarre home of Dr. Frank N Furter, a Dr. Frankenstein type who is ready to unveil his ultimate creation -- Rocky Horror, a dishy hunk built from spare parts. But lust wrecks Dr. Furter's plans for a happy-ever-after ending with Rocky when Brad and Janet get caught up in the dark events that unfold at the mansion. The glam camp of the 1975 movie version has been replaced with the hard-edged mentality of '70s London punks, a turn that finds new meaning while preserving the deliciously salacious appeal. Song orchestrations are translated into heavy angular chords and aggressive pacing, though the reworked music doesn't always mesh with O'Brien's particular phrasing. Lyrical phrasing can occasionally be jarring, and muddy sound mixing also makes it difficult to hear the singers. After 20 years of playing Frank N Furter, John DiDonna has perfected the self-assured swagger, the winking homage to Tim Curry (who starred in the movie version), but he adds a darker edge. His Frank is more Marilyn Manson than Marilyn Monroe, only a bit naughtier and a lot cheekier. Stephen French makes for an imposing, sinister Riff Raff. And while Natalie Kuritzky's Magenta has a cool air of aloof sensuality, Katrina Johnson's Columbia is more playful. The chorus of phantoms -- Dr. Frank's hangers-on -- is the perfect complement to the tone Kubersky sets up. They are a menacing, wildly fascinating and slightly unnerving presence. One part rock concert, one part twisted morality play, Rocky Horror isn't a show for delicate sensibilities. There are several moments of questionable taste, but the performers know it, revel in it and that is why Rocky may always be one of those "either you get it or you don't" deals. When the show is over, you get up to leave, but your knees shake and your heartbeat still hasn't recovered yet (of course, it could be all that jumping to the left during the "Time Warp"). As you walk away, the theater looks quiet and unassuming. But you're wise. You know what's going on inside. Rebecca Swain Vadnie can be reached at rswain@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5677. ----- Published Thursday, October 28, 2004 REVIEW 'Rocky Horror' on Stage Is Ghoulishly Irresistible By Michael W. Freeman The Reporter ORLANDO Now, repeat after me: "It's just a jump to the left . . ." " . . . and then a step to the right. . ." Barring the possibility that you spent the past 29 years on Mars, or simply abhor popular culture, you probably know those words as being from that most irresistible dance craze, The Time Warp. Hard to believe now, but it was on Sept. 26, 1975, when "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" first hit U.S. cinemas -- and was a quick box office flop. I first saw the film in 1977 at a small movie house on Cape Cod at age 13. It was in the early stages of the Rocky Horror craze, with audiences just beginning to talk back to the screen, throw rice during the wedding scene, etc. It was hard to decide what I loved more, the audience's zany enthusiasm or the film itself. I became a Rocky devotee, and must have seen the film dozens of times. "Rocky Horror" became such a massive cult phenomenon that a lot of people probably forget that this camp classic actually started out as a London stage show, created by playwright/composer Richard O'Brien as a homage to 1950s trash sci-fi/horror drive-in features, with some unusual twists: a muscular hunk as the "monster," a mad scientist who also happens to be a "sweet transvestite," and plenty of bisexuality to go around. When young and innocent Brad Majors and his fiancé, Janet Weiss, get a flat tire and seek help at the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, they're not exactly walking into an episode of "The Munsters." But the obvious question for any theater group that revives "The Rocky Horror Show" is: will audiences accept the story without the familiar likes of Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Meatloaf? Can the play stand on its own two feet without inviting disappointing comparisons with the movie, or the wacky audience participation that made it so much fun to begin with? Well, yes. It's a credit to O'Brien's fiendish imagination that you can enjoy the theatrical version, regardless of whether you love the film. In the past two years, I've already seen two first-rate -- and radically different -- versions of "Rocky Horror Show." In October 2002, the Moonlight Players in Clermont staged a hilarious version. Now Orlando's Theatre Downtown is putting on a different -- but equally creative and entertaining -- production that's downright irresistible. Director Seth Kubersky puts a lot of creative touches into the show, including his use of a video screen at the back of the stage. It's used for a very funny introduction film that sensibly cautions the audience not to throw things at the actors or yell out lines during the show, since this is a play, not a movie. It's a wise move, because Kubersky ably demonstrates that "Rocky Horror Show" can work without the audience participation. The Clermont production gave us Drew Tessier as a giddy Frank N Furter who came off like a hyperactive kid in a candy store. But I also enjoyed Theatre Downtown's casting of John DiDonna; he plays Frank as a much more malevolent, and downright naughty, mad scientist, which sums up the tone of the play itself. The Clermont production played the songs in a 1970s pop vein, much like the movie did, while a 2001 Broadway revival made O'Brien's songs sound more like 50's rock `n roll. Theatre Downtown cranks up the volume, with guitarist Steve Schneider playing it more like grunge rock, an interesting choice. It won't always remind you of the film, that's for sure. The show also tosses in a few audience participation zingers of their own, some too X-rated to be noted here, and a few quite political; seconds before Frank says "I think we can do better than that," someone screamed out "What do you think of George Bush?" The cast plays up the show's camp humor with gusto, and they're all quite good, although I have to single out Jeff L. Lindberg -- who ironically directed the Clermont production two years ago. Here he plays Simon Lock, the show's narrator, who also happens to be a bit of a lech. He stops the show near the end to invite a young man from the audience on stage with him for a mischievous version of "Simon Says." Lindberg and his chosen victim -- who was a great sport -- were one of the true highlights of this consistently inspired, madcap production. In fact, anyone who's been thinking about renting "Rocky Horror" on DVD should go to Theatre Downtown instead. Michael W. Freeman can be reached at Michael.Freeman@ theledger.com or at 863-421-5577. ========= ORLANDO WEEKLY By Al Pergande Published 10/28/04 Purists may squirm and new-comers will be delighted, but either way this multimedia adaptation of the venerable The Rocky Horror Show will enthrall all aficionados of late-night sexually oriented silliness. For the five or so people out there unaware of the plot of the cult play turned film (now back in the theater), dorkish Brad Majors (Matthew Trahan) and his prissy bride-to-be, Janet Weiss (Sarah French), stumble into the secluded mansion of Dr. Frank N. Furter (John DiDonna). It's a special night – the doctor's most recent science project, Rocky (Andrew Springer), is about to be unveiled. While Rocky cools on the rack, Frank seduces Brad and Janet, and the couple finds that sex really can be fun, even with all the cleanup. Butler Riff Raff (Stephen French) and downstairs maid Magenta (Natalie Kuritzky) really run the mansion, and when Frank tries to pull off a sappy Broadway-style production number, they toast him with lasers and kick out the humans. And just when the party was getting interesting …. But this show isn't really about plot, is it? It's about the sort of tasteless elegance that introduces the holiday season and leads right down to the elegant tastelessness of Christmas that wraps it up. Starting the night is a pre-show montage of bad 1950s sci-fi trailers and drug-scare films and a great piece about how to behave in the theater. (We are warned that only "dipshits" leave their cell phones on during a play – and by God, we got one midway though the first act. We should have pummeled the guy with marshmallows and Vienna sausages.) DiDonna's Frank N. Furter has a striking Marilyn Manson look and enters on stilts and high-rise kicker boots, all the better to sexually intimidate the cast and crowd. Riff Raff menaces with a weird facial tattoo and random Fairvilla Megastore junk, and supervising the entire show is Steve Schneider – yes, Orlando Weekly's own arts & entertainment editor – playing a mean guit...