Review: ROCKY HORROR SHOW at Pendragon Theatre

Tucked away in the Adirondack Mountains, back off the road in an unassuming cottage (barn? cabin?)-like structure, is a theatre company you may not have heard of any probably wouldn’t notice driving by. You’ll find no glitzy marquees or marble gargoyles adorning this venue, and certainly no valet parking. But make no mistake, despite their modest trappings and humble accoutrements, the Pendragon Theatre (pronounced ‘pen-dragon’, not ‘pen-dreh-gahn’ like I assumed before hearing it said out loud) is bringing its audiences on a wild, raunchy, leather-clad ride with its current production of the cult classic “Rocky Horror Show”, playing now until July 16th.

“The Rocky Horror Show”, the 1973 musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien, tells the story of newly engaged couple Brad and Janet (Sam Balzac and Jessica Wagner) getting caught in a storm and coming to the home of a mad transgender scientist, Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Stephen Sheffer), unveiling his new creation, a sort of Frankenstein-style monster in the form of an artificially made, fully grown, physically perfect muscle man named Rocky (Teddy Best). Via lasers, leather, rock & roll, and more than a few sex toys, the night’s misadventures cause Brad and Janet to question everything they’ve known about themselves, each other, life on Earth, love, and lust.

“Rocky Horror” has become such a fixture in theatre culture that it is essentially a blank canvas on which artists can splash whatever bizarro interpretation they wish. In my years covering theatre I’ve seen “Rocky Horror” productions that leaned heavily into the sci-fi aesthetic, with elaborate props and spaceship-like set pieces; others that went in a minimalist direction and utilized nothing to tell the story other than the bodies of the performers; and others still that were effectively an all-out drag show. Pendragon’s production is somewhere between these extremes, with performers clad in short shorts and belly shirts, a small stage (utilized quite effectively) with spare set pieces, and a Dr. Frank-N-Furter who isn’t quite the deep-space gender-bending alien that some productions lean in to, but is sassy and funny and fabulous all the same.

While they’re not typically the characters that get the most attention and acclaim in “Rocky Horror”, the cast standouts in Pendragon’s production are led by Brad and Janet. In addition to having great chemistry, Balzac and Wanger are the perfect strait-laced suburban do-gooders to play opposite the zanier alt characters like Frank, Riff Raff (Tyler Spencer) and Magenta (Hannah-Kathryn Wall). They’re delightfully out of place, reminiscent of Mormon missionaries that accidentally wandered into a drag bar, the exact contrast you want to draw when staging this show.

And speaking of Riff Raff and Magenta, they also make for a great onstage pair! Spencer and Wall bring all the creepy unease that these characters are supposed to deliver, with the addition of killer pipes that harmonize together delightfully.

And what a band! Having the ensemble right on stage is a fun artistic choice, giving Frank and other audience members a chance to pull the musicians into the show like members of the cast; it gives the production unique rock concert flair.

While “Rocky Horror” is a fitting show to stage during Pride Month, its place in the culture still divides audiences. Many see Dr. Frank-N-Furter as one of very few leading, memorable gender-ambiguous characters in any piece of pop culture ever, one who reverses the typical power dynamic and exercises slavish control over a cookie-cutter white bread couple. Rather or not that’s problematic, they’d argue, it gives visibility to a non-gender-conforming character and illustrates the suppression that people in the LGBTQ+ community often experience…only in reverse. On the other hand, some folks view Dr. Frank-N-Furter as a cartoonish amalgamation of every gay trope imaginable; loud, campy, leather-clad, promiscuous, and sexually abusive. Regardless of where you fall in this debate, it’s up to each individual audience member to decide what place “Rocky Horror” should hold in the culture, and the impact that it has on how people perceive the LGBTQ+ community.

Pendragon Theatre’s production of “The Rocky Horror Show” gives you everything you want from this madcap underground classic; laughs, cringes, shrieks, rockin’ tunes and audience interaction. It’s a scrappy, well-produced rendition of the cult hit that makes a trip up to Saranac Lake well worth it. For tickets and more information, click here.