Nov 10, 2019

Rocky Horror Live Show Had Us Shivering with An-ti-ci....PATION!

ABOVE PHOTOS BY SCRIBBLES

Back for a record-breaking 17th year, the Oh Canada Eh Dinner Theatre  the once again presented the Rocky Horror Show Live for four performances, appropriately enough, on and around Halloween. I had seen the theatre group’s first production in 2002, where they aired the movie and only the musical numbers were actually live. That format had long since been abandoned as the entire show has been performed live for many years now.

This year, in order to accommodate larger crowds, the theatre group took up residency at the Seneca Queen Theatre in downtown Niagara Falls. In addition to entertaining Rocky Horror fans, the shows also raised funds for Positive Living Niagara. Theatre-goers were encouraged to dress as their favourite characters and to ensure everyone was ready to play along, audience participation kits were available for only $10.

When my friend Cathy asked me if I’d be interested in going to see The Rocky Horror Show Live with her, I figured she must be a big fan who - not unlike myself - has seen the cult classic movie countless times and is familiar with all the crowd interaction.

My assumption was as off as Brad Majors decision to drive his car without a spare tire. Cathy was actually what they refer to as a Rocky Horror “virgin”, who had heard of but never before seen the show. For me, this added an element of amusement as I would often glance over to check out Cathy’s reactions and prompt her as to what to do with the newspaper, when to throw toast or playing cards and when to yell out “asshole” and “slut” whenever Brad introduced himself and his fiancé Janet to other characters in the show.

Many of the diverse cast had performed in past productions of the theatre group’s Rocky Horror Show Live, including J.P. Baldwin who brilliantly reprised his role of Dr. Frank-N-Further for the seventh year. Baldwin even broke “the fourth wall” to interact with enthusiastic audience members. “You’re in my castle now”, he quipped to a rather rambunctious fan, much to the delight of the entire room –both the cast and the crowd.

The Rocky Horror Show differs slightly from its 1975 big screen counterpart The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The moment Frank-N-Furter’s creation Rocky comes to life is a bit more subdued, Eddie doesn’t ride around stage on a motorcycle before being bludgeoned and Dr. Scott and the other guests don’t gather for a Meatloaf meal, but the premise is similar.

Kudos to Oh Canada Eh Dinner Theatre, Seneca Queen Theatre and the stellar cast and crew for a night out we’re going to remember...for a very long time.