Get out your rice, newspapers, toilet paper and practice your shout-outs and “Time Warp,” because Richard O’Brien’s “Rocky Horror Show” is on stage at the Studio Theatre at Middlesex County College in Edison, N.J.
The show, directed by Tom McNeill, has been sold out since its opening night on Feb. 26, said Tony Ross, set designer and technical manager.
On opening night of the play, he said the cast and crew had to deal with some unexpected news from the community college’s campus police, legal counsel and health and safety department.
He said they came to the crew and said the set must be altered to meet safety requirements that had never been enforced before in the theater’s five years of existence.
“We thought, why right now, on opening night? They’ve known about the show, they’ve known about the set, [and] we’ve done past shows there, designed specifically like that,” he said. “It just seems like they were harassing us.”
Ross said the requirements were to build three handicap ramps because one character in the show uses a wheelchair. This would make it easier for him to gain access around the stage and to escape if there was a fire, he said.
Although only three ramps had to be built, it required checking specifications, making sure it held the weight of the actors and making sure it flowed with the design of the set. The set was not finished for the opening performance, he said.
“We had a lot of stuff to do on opening night, and they didn’t care,” Ross said. “They were not flexible.”
Ross said the crew asked if the rule could be enforced for the next show since there was not enough time to make the necessary changes, but they would not allow it. The police came back to make sure they were complying with the rules.
The police also came opening night and ordered to shut down the production if the audience threw rice or engaged in any of the typical participatory acts associated with Rocky Horror, Ross said.
But he said the police cannot control what the audience does or make an announcement, especially because they were told this so late on opening night.
“The cast was very upset opening night,” Ross said. “They didn’t want to deal with it. It just wasn’t good. We didn’t need the stress.”
MCC Campus Police Chief Robert Smilek and MCC Health and Safety Manager Judi Dimaio were unavailable for comment as of press time.
The show describes the journey of a straight-laced couple, Brad and Janet, who accidentally stumble upon the overtly sexual house of Frank N. Furter, a bisexual, mad-scientist transvestite. In the play, Frank creates an ideal male specimen named Rocky, and the four live out the alternative lifestyle of Frank and his “phantoms” from Transylvania. The phantoms sing the song “Time Warp,” which describes the plight of Eddie, an unlucky delivery boy who gets caught up in one of Frank’s experiments.
Audience members participate by shouting out provocative comments to the actors before or after certain lines. For example, they spray water during the storm Brad and Janet get caught in and dance the time warp with the cast after the show.
Despite the backstage difficulties, McNeill said this production is not the standard “Rocky Horror Show,” and the audience loves it.
“The musical director, Dmitri, wrote all the harmonies and some of the music so it’s fresh in that respect, [and] we reinvented the ‘Time Warp,’” he said.
McNeill said the play differs from the movie version, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, in several ways.
“At the movie, you shout at the screen, and at the play, they shout back,” McNeill said.
The play version also has a narrator the movie does not to help control the audience participation, he said.
“The narrator’s role is one of interaction with the audience,” McNeill said. “He’s kind of like the buffer.”
The majority of the cast members are the college’s students and alumni, but there are some outsiders as well, McNeill said.
“On this particular production, I absolutely love that everything we’re doing has never been done before,” said Joseph Nelan, who was one of the phantoms in the show.
Nelan said while this is his first production with the college, he has directed the “Rocky Horror Show” at the University’s Cabaret Theatre.
“Rocky’s been done so many times, and everything that we’re doing is completely fresh and original, and that’s what does it for me,” he said.
Nelan said he liked the show’s interactive aspect with the audience.
“The audience is awesome,” he said, “It’s a lot more fun than a regular musical.”
Audience member Veronica Ferreira said she attends many plays and particularly enjoyed this production of “Rocky Horror.”
“Compared to other plays, it was really, really good,” she said. “I found it really funny and it was one of the best times I’ve had watching a play.”
McNeill said when the theater was looking for shows, he offered the idea of “Rocky Horror.” He did not think they would select it, but when they did, he knew he had to direct it.
“[The theater] wanted to do a show that would draw people and that the kids would love to come to,” McNeill said.
The other scheduled dates for the show are March 6 at 8 p.m., and March 7 at 8 p.m. and 12 a.m. While those shows are sold out, it is possible to get stand-by tickets, and the crew has just added a midnight show on Friday, March 6 with tickets still available. Tickets can be bought online for $10 or at the door for $15.
Horror show sees rocky start on opening night
Published: Monday, March 2, 2009
Updated: Tuesday, March 3, 2009
 "Photo: Ramon Dampor / Staff Photographer")
Ramon Dampor / Staff Photographer
Actor Hans Augustave plays the part of Frank N. Furter in Middlesex County College’s sold-out presentation of “Rocky Horror Show” this weekend and next weekend.
5 comments
Janet Weiss
This was not the first and only incident that these officers have given the Performing Arts Department issues on this campus. Especially, during the rehearsal period of Rocky Horror in particular.
John Doe
There are some serious inaccuracies in this article relating to the facts of this incident. However, it is certainly not something worth discussing or debating here. More time to investigate all of the facts would be well worth the while.
john smith
No the ramps had nothing to do with the actor playing dr scott. In the event of a fire any handicaped audience member had to be able to also get on stage to exit thru a backstage fire exit. Beacuse if there a fire that's definatly the way im heading into the set and onstage to get out. that makes alot of sense
Dr. Everett Scott
Perhaps the actor playing the character in the wheelchair (Dr. Everett Scott), actually uses a wheelchair. I'm just saying that's all...
Kommon Cents
so let me get this straight. An actor plays a character in a wheelchair. Even though the actor doesn't use a wheelchair in real life, ramps had to built so the "character in a wheelchair" could escape in the event of a fire even though the actor could simply get out of the wheelchair and escape through normal exits. What am I missing here.
