'Rocky Horror' to Hit Joliet Stage

When “The Rocky Horror Show” first opened on stage in London, there was no way of knowing the lasting impact it would have. It spawned several revivals and a movie that gave birth to the very definition of cult cinema.

Now audiences can do the time warp again as community members gear up to stage a production of “The Rocky Horror Show.” Co-Director Tim Tholl, a Lockport resident and assistant technical director at Joliet Junior College, teamed up with co-director Jeni Donahue to bring the show to life.

“Rocky Horror” is most often seen during Halloween, but Tholl said they were looking for something that’s upbeat and fun for a summer show.

“Something kind of rock n roll-y,” Tholl said. “But also something that would put butts in the seat, really. Surprisingly, it seems like a lot of people don’t do the musical. The whole midnight showing and the shadow cast is a really big deal. We’ve got a pretty positive response to doing the musical, we’re not doing the midnight showing or anything.”

A shadow cast for “Rocky Horror” means people will act out the show while the movie plays in the background.

Also different in this production is it will not feature audience participation due to its difficulty and the many different responses people have learned to give over the years.

“It’s just too hard,” Tholl said. “We are encouraging people to dress up and come out. If they want to sing, feel free to sing, but don’t throw anything at us, don’t prohibit the actors from doing anything, don’t touch the actors. If so, we’ll remove you from the show.”

During intermission, old sci-fi movie trailers will be shown, giving the audience a taste of the films the musical spoofs.

With a production like “Rocky Horror,” a musical that’s been performed tens of thousands of times, keeping things fresh and new can be a challenge. For this show, the lesser-known “Rocky Horror” song “Once in a While” will be added, and the feel of the show will be a bit different, all while keeping aspects audiences know and love.

“Something that’s unique to our production in and of itself is Jeni and I really wanted to live in this sci-fi, comic book type of world,” Tholl said. “We wanted to have this “Sin City,” “Batman” villain kind of vibe, but also leave all the iconic things people will be waiting for. It’s got its own life and you just got to create your own version of it that people will hopefully love.”

Playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter is Andrew Gilson from Lockport. This is his first time playing the character and wasn’t as familiar with the show as a lot of people were coming into it.

“It was such an experience finding the role, as well as taking some things from Tim Curry, but not all of it, trying to make it my own,” Gilson said.

Tim Curry played the character in both the film version and on stage.

Gilson said he took some of the mannerisms and vocal inflections from Curry, but he’s tried to change it up.

“I tried to make the character a bit more feminine,” Gilson said. “That’s an aspect that I like about the transvestite situation.”

“Rocky Horror” is known for revealing a lot of the actors physically and Gilson said that was one of the challenges for him. The music is also different from what he’s used to singing.

“It’s more rock n roll so it’s a little bit more strenuous on the voice,” he said.

But there was one part that wasn’t too difficult for him.

“The heels were surprisingly easy to get used to, so that was fun,” Gilson said.

Plainfield resident Ryan O’Connell plays Brad Majors, who finds himself trapped in Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s mansion with his fiancee Janet.

O’Connell said he had only seen bits and pieces of the movie before taking the role. Since then, he’s seen it all and got hooked.

“It’s totally something else,” O’Connell said. “It’s crazy.”

Brad is the character that O’Connell wanted to play, citing the song “Dammit Janet,” which is sung by Brad, as his favorite.

“Ever since I started to find out about the plot and the characters, Brad just spoke to me,” O’Connell said. “I also like how he changes into one of the maniac people. You get the best of both worlds.”

Playing Brad, O’Connell will spend a decent amount of time onstage in his underwear, but he said that’s not a concern for him.

“It’s something that I had to ready myself for auditioning for the show,” he said. “I was ready to go balls to wall crazy with it. It’s all for laughs. It’s all for good fun.”

“The Rocky Horror Show” will be performed at the Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park and Theatre in Joliet at 7:30 p.m. June 19, 20, 26 and 27 with a 2:30 p.m. performance June 28. Tickets are $15 or $10 for groups of ten or more. Tickets can only be purchased with cash or check.

Beer, wine and appetizers will be available for purchase before showtime and during intermission. Refreshments can be brought into the theater.

CAST LIST

USHER/USHERETTE & PHANTOM: Michael Miller (New Lenox)

PHANTOMS:

Andrew Casey (Joliet)

Tim Vollmer (Elwood)

Emily Gorski (Plainfield)

Stephanie Maldonado (Park Forest)

Shanan D’Agostino (Joliet)

Jennifer Schreiner (Plainfield)

BRAD: Ryan O’Connell (Plainfield)

JANET: Alyssa Emilio (Plainfield)

NARRATOR: Reg McReynolds (Joliet)

RIFF RAFF: Antoniao Bouie, Jr. (Joliet)

COLUMBIA: Alexandra Alontaga (Crest Hill)

MAGENTA: Allison Scigalski (Aurora)

FRANK: Andrew Gilson (Lockport)

ROCKY: Triston Dirks (Dwight)

EDDIE: Tom Schmitt (Joliet)

DR. SCOTT: Dan Jagodzinski (Naperville)