Waldron does the timewarp again

Does the image of actor Tim Curry in black lingerie and stilettos sound familiar? What about a young Susan Sarandon running around in her bra and underwear, while Riff Raff and Magenta sing and dance?

It’s the “Rocky Horror Show,” and Frank N’ Furter, Brad, Janet and the whole gang are on stage in the musical production at the John Waldron Arts Center.

The show centers on newly engaged couple Brad and Janet, portrayed by freshman Hayden Moore and sophomore Alana Cheshire, respectively. One stormy night, they get a flat tire, so Brad tries to locate the nearest residence so they can use the phone.

They soon find themselves on the doorstep of transvestite Frank N’ Furter’s (senior Ryan Adam Wells) castle. On that particular evening, Frank is holding an erotic event for all his alien guests, who hail from the planet “Transsexual.” He unveils his new creation, a man named Rocky (local actor Robert J. Ping), and insanity ensues as he throws Brad and Janet into the mix.

Before “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” was a movie, creator Richard O’Brien wrote the campy, fun-filled show as a musical. It premiered on the London stage in 1973. Play director Russell McGee and Starrynight Productions are taking O’Brien’s creation back to its roots.

One of the new changes to the production was the addition of live host and narrator Don “Wolfman” Chaney, portrayed by local actor Derrick Krober. Dressed in full wolf makeup, Krober roamed the stage and led the audience through the course of events, encouraging sarcastic remarks toward the actors.

The show began with the initiation of audience members who were “virgins” to the show. The Wolfman asked three people to crawl through the “tunnel of love,” under the legs of actors dressed as phantoms.

The Wolfman created an opportunity for the audience to interact with performers by offering fun packs for $3. The fun packs include a bag of rice, roll of toilet paper, squirt guns and a noisemaker. Squirt guns were popular during the performance to help douse Cheshire and Moore as they approached Frank N’ Furter’s castle.

“The crowd is a lot more interactive tonight,” McGee said during intermission.

A few other changes included the transformation of the song “Once in a While,” which was originally a solo, into a duet between Brad and Frank N’ Furter, and the addition of the song “Superheroes.”

While there might have been minor problems with the sound at times, the singing and acting more than made up for it.

Cheshire, in her performance as Janet, hit every note, even when distracted by three hecklers, who were part of the performance.

The phantoms danced on the stage with black and neon costumes and makeup.

With wild hair and makeup, Danielle Sacks, as Magenta, started the production with a performance of the song “Science Fiction/Double Feature.”

Wells, who played Frank N’ Furter the transvestite host, donned a black corset, lingerie, fishnets and stilettos. His performance was similar to Curry’s original.

In addition to the main characters, the actors who played Columbia, Dr. Scott, Eddie, Magenta, Riff Raff and Rocky gave performances that rounded out the offbeat cast of characters.

Ping, who played Rocky, said the last couple of performances have gone well.
“Tonight’s audience was fantastic,” he said. “Everybody’s just done a really great job.”

The audience is also encouraged to dress up for the performance, heckle the actors and get in on the action.

“I really hope more people will come out,”  said. “We want this to be a big, fun event and we want this to be a destination for the Halloween season.”