Review: ROCKY HORROR SHOW at Red Curtain Theatre

The Red Curtain Theatre, 913 W Oak Street, in Conway, has recently redone their studio and turned it into an intimate venue just in time to put on an amazing production of ROCKY HORROR SHOW, and Broadway World was thrilled to catch the last show Sunday, Nov. 12, when the amazing Dr. Nick Farr was the guest narrator. As an added bonus after the matinee, we all headed to TC’s Midtown Grill, 1611 E Oak St., Ste. 19, in Conway, for a concert version with guest narrator Perry Morriss and had an even better time with non-theatrical patrons who were not shy about getting up to do the Time Warp with a beer in their hands. Fun was had by all! 

For the very few who may not know, ROCKY HORROR is about a Sweet Transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania and his servants who entertain a vanilla couple while their car has a flat. Lucky for Brad Majors (Ben Parrish) and Janet Weiss (Madison Courage-Fleck), they have arrived on the evening when Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tyler Alexander) is ready to reveal his newest creation, Rocky (Jared Chaney), after a party where ex-lover Eddie (Kurt Baumann) is sliced up and half of his brain goes to the new creature. Things get worse after that. Columbia (Amber Welch), who was madly in love with Eddie, is distraught after his death. Dr. Everett Scott (Scot Polk) comes to the castle to search for his nephew and learns of his demise and that they are all aliens. Then, Riff Raff (Chistopher Turner) and his sister Magenta (Serena Wharton) form a coup, killing half the cast and prepare the house to return to Transylvania.  

Now about the cast.....they were off the charts fabulous in every way. To set the mood, Usherette Wharton sang like a horror starlet while the Manual Cinema Projectionists (Noah Elrod, Clover McEntarffer, Issac Udouj, and Amy Wittenburg) made images to accompany the opening song. Parrish and Fleck embraced their straight-laced characters that transitioned into sexual beings. Baumann was a Rock God bursting on the stage, and I couldn’t quit laughing when Frank—N-Furter chased him around with a chainsaw. Welch and Wharton were absolute vixens as Columbia and Magenta, and Turner is now my favorite Riff Raff (That makeup was a beautiful creation all in itself). Polk made me laugh when his Nazi came out, and according to my daughter, Alexander was “lusty, confident, and domineering” while he paraded around the stage. Each performer really understood their characters and beguiled us through the entire musical. We had a ball! 

To top it off, every night’s show had a new narrator, and I was thrilled to learn that mine was Dr. Farr. I am a huge fan, and he did not disappoint. It was evident that Dr. Farr did not have much, if any, rehearsal time, which made it that more hilarious as he interacted with the cast. When we went to TCs Midtown Grill, my other favorite Perry Morriss put on an impressive performance as the narrator as well. Both Hot Patooties had me blessing my soul!    

This is my favorite show that the Red Curtain has done thus far. The whole audience really embraced the spirit that is the Rocky Horror experience. Before the show, we were given the option of buying a Rocky Horror goodie bag that had props to use during the performance. The participation level was high with both crowds on Sunday. People were yelling all sorts of comments while the show was going on. I’d tell you some of my favorite calls and responses, but in respect of censorship, I’ll just leave that part out of my article.

No one knew what to expect at the TCs show, but once they got started, it turned into a major party. The cast took the stage and shimmied, shaked, and told the story in an abbreviated version. Narrator Morriss had a little more to say since a lot of the acting was cut, but the show was understood and enjoyed the same...if not more. The patrons at TCs were not your normal theatre people, so it was fun sitting amongst them and watching their reactions to the show, and honestly, there were more than I expected that were familiar with the storyline. One even came dressed as Rocky, which really cracked me up. I had fun dancing and singing along with my fellow audience members and will remember this extravaganza for a long time.  

Coming up next, the Red Curtain Theatre has a festive holiday treat for their younger thespians. ELF JR. Hits the stage in their downtown venue Friday, Dec. 8-10, and again Dec. 15-17, with two different casts. Check out their website at the link below for more information.  

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