Producer Jordan Roth's revival of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show, originally said to be opening Halloween night, will in fact open Nov. 15, production sources now say. As reported earlier, preview performances begin Oct. 20 at Circle in the Square. Roth has scheduled shows running Tues.-Fri. at 8 PM, Sat. at 5 and 9:45 PM and Sun. at 2 and 7 PM.
Roth's revival of the cult musical, The Rocky Horror Show, will feature an eclectic cast, including Dick Cavett (Into the Woods, Otherwise Engaged, television's "The Dick Cavett Show"), Lea DeLaria (On the Town, Chicago, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, "The First Wives Club"), Joan Jett (her Broadway debut), Jarrod Emick (Damn Yankees, Miss Saigon), Raul Esparza (Evita, Slaughterhouse 5), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent, Two Sisters and a Piano, Flawless ), Alice Ripley (Side Show, James Joyce's The Dead, King David, Les Miz, Sunset Boulevard) and Tom Hewitt (Disney's The Lion King, Art School for Scandal, The Sisters Rosensweig, Jeffrey).
O Brien's 1975 musical will feature comedienne-actress-singer DeLaria as Eddie/Dr. Scott, rocker Jett as Columbia, author-actor-talk show host Cavett as the Narrator, Hewitt as Frank 'n' Furter, Rubin-Vega as Magenta, Ripley as Janet, Emick as Brad and Esparza as Riff Raff.
The production team, under director Christopher Ashley comprises choreographer Jerry Mitchell (The Full Monty, Hedwig, Jeffrey, Jam on the Groove), scenic designer David Rockwell (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Theatre, Mohegan Sun Casino, Cirque Du Soliel Theatres), lighting designer Paul Gallo (Titanic, Smokey Joe's Cafe), costume designer David Woolard (Damn Yankees,The Who's Tommy, The Donkey Show, "A Few God Men"), sound designer Richard Fitzgerald, musical director Henry Aronson and orchestrations by Doug Katsaros (Footloose).
Director Christopher Ashley (Drama Dept.'s Communicating Doors, As Thousands Cheer and Claudia Shear's Blown Sideways Through Life at the New York Theatre Workshop) will helm the show. Roth is the son of producer Daryl Roth (Wit, Three Tall Women and The Bomb-itty of Errors) and himself the producer of the Off-Broadway hit, The Donkey Show. Producer Jordan Roth has made clear choices for the revival. "It's a going to be a very non-traditional Broadway show," Roth told Playbill On-Line in July. The producer said the show will be "absolutely as interactive" as audiences would expect The Rocky Horror Show to be. Over the years, the stage and film versions of the show have engendered a strong fan base, which, despite its size, has been described as a cult following. "People can expect the show to be done in the same way that audiences have always responded to Rocky Horror," Roth said, "meaning the way that the music and characters inspire people to sing and dance and interact with each other. That's the experience of the Rocky Horror Show live."
The stage version of the show ran on Broadway for about one month in 1975. The film version, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," was also released in 1975 and was directed by Jim Sharman. The film featured many members of the Broadway cast and starred Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O'Brien, Jonathan Adams, Meatloaf, Little Nell (Campbell), Charles Gray and Patricia Quinn.
Though Roth's current Off-Broadway show, The Donkey Show, was adapted from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and his mother's recent hit, The Bomb-itty of Errors, was based on the Bard's Comedy of Errors, there is no adaptation planned for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. "This is not going to be an adaptation," Roth insists. "The movie was actually based on the original stage show, which it followed quite faithfully. This is the stage show and it's not adapted, reworked or re-concepted.' But, it is certainly going to be a 'Rocky Horror' experience unlike any other." Variety reported that the show is capitalized in the $2.5-$3 million range.
Tickets are $30-$79.50. Circle in the Square is located at 1633 Broadway, on 50th St. For tickets call Tele-Charge at (212) 239-6200.
