By Katrina “Kat” Reynolds
The Rocky Horror Show presented by The Carnegie through July 7th. I attended the Opening Night performance.
Various cast members including Kyle Taylor as Riff Raff (center) of The Rocky Horror Show presented by The Carnegie. Photo by Mikki Schaffner.
Boy meets girl, boy proposes to girl, boy and girl get stranded and are forced to find shelter in a spooky house rife with over-sexed aliens. Wait, what?! Just in time for Pride month, The Carnegie is giving us its take on The Rocky Horror Show with book, music, and lyrics by Richard O’Brien. Some of you may be familiar with the story after having seen the film version at various indie movie houses – and while the story is odd at best, the music will keep you going.
Directed and choreographed by Eric Byrd, this staging of the cult classic is both fresh and aesthetically pleasing. Actors take full advantage to use the playing space to its fullest advantage. Movement is seamless and fluid but remains purposeful.
With a sheer curtain of sorts as a backdrop for projections as well as to add further dimension to an already awesome set, Producer and Scenic & Video Designer Tyler Gabbard doesn’t play around with this presentation. Music Director extraordinaire Steve Goers (who always leads the live band!) deserves every word of praise for his masterful engineering of the many strong harmonies and vocal balance. Last but not least, kudos to the team who helped make the actors look great: Costume Designer Jeff Shearer and Wig Designer (finally giving proper credit to those who wrangle the hair!) Candace Leyland.
The ensemble of performing artists who grace the stage to entertain us for a while are upper echelon. While it is hard to chose a standout, I am going to admit that, for me, the best way to ruin a perfectly good go at The Rocky Horror Picture Show is to cast the wrong artist as Riff Raff. (I know – you assumed I’d say Frank ‘N’ Furter, didn’t you?) Fortunately for me and everyone else, Kyle Taylor eats this role and leaves no crumbs. Their physicality and powerful vocals along with their perfectly subtle spoken words – until they are NOT so subtle – blew me away. Not to be outdone, Sam Evans as Magenta/Usherette matches Kyle’s energy completely. She is not only a very talented vocalist, but knows how to command attention when the time comes. Bravx to my favourite folx from Transexual!
While The Rocky Horror Show may have a choppy story and is not for the easy offended, it is certainly a rockin’ good time. I encourage veteran and virgin viewers alike to purchase their tickets now.
Click here for more information about the production.
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 