PTC's Will Swenson-Led ROCKY HORROR SHOW Concert Set for This Weekend

Pioneer Theatre Company reprises its successful concert series for a limited run. Richard O'Brien's raucous musical THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW is being offered as a special event, for four performances only, in a script-in-hand, singing-and-dancing concert-style presentation tonight, October 22, at 8:00 p.m., Friday, October 23 at 8:00 p.m. andSaturday, October 24 at 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Remarking on the production, PTC Artistic Director Karen Azenberg said, "I have never seen an audience in this theatre have as much fun as the sold out houses for last year's Rocky did. I worry that theatre sometimes has this staid, conservative reputation as an art form, and Rocky is a show where you get to interact with the performers, and really let yourself go. We loved having that energy in Simmons PMT last year, and are looking forward to having it again this year."

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, a tribute to horror B-movies of yesteryear, tells the tale of newly married couple Brad and Janet lost in the woods on a dark-and-stormy night. They soon meet Frank-N-Furter, the "Sweet Transvestite" mad scientist about to reveal his latest Frankenstein-esque creation -- with a little help from drive-in usherettes, creepy sidekicks, and, of course, the "Time Warp."

The production features Utah local and Broadway's favorite WILL SWENSON as Frank-N-Furter, and Utah State Senator JIM DABAKIS as The Narrator.

What is a "Concert Version?" This is a choreographed production of the entire show, performed with scripts-in-hand and an on-stage orchestra, costuming and limited set.

The show contains strong themes, sexual content and language. Audience members are encouraged (but not required) to dress up. "Props kits" will be available for purchase from the theatre, or audience members may bring their own kits (please no water, no rice, no open flames, and no real sausages).

WILL SWENSON plays Frank-N-Furter. Swenson's Broadway credits include the latest hit revival of Les Misèrables and Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (Drama League Nomination). Prior to that Swenson received Tony, Drama League and Drama Desk nominations for his role as Berger in Hair.Other Broadway credits include 110 in the Shade, Lestat and Brooklyn: The Musical. Off Broadway credits include Little Miss Sunshine, Murder Ballad, Rock of Ages, ...Superman, Two Gentlemen of Verona and Camelot with the New York Philharmonic.

JIM DABAKIS returns to play the role of The Narrator in the show. Dabakis is a member of the Utah State Senate, where he represents the state's 2nd senate district. He is also a former chairman of the Utah Democratic Party and a co-founder of both Equality Utah and The Utah Pride Center.

ERIC SANTAGATA and ASHLEY GARDNER CARLSON reprise their roles as Brad and Janet, andADAM PELLEGRINE plays the role of Rocky.

The cast also features CARLETON BLUFORD as Riff Raff, GINGER BESS as Magenta, LATOYA RHODES as Columbia, DAVID GUY HOLMES as Eddie, and DAVID BEACH as Dr. Scott. JARON BARNEY, SAM COOK, MANDY MCDONELL, KIM SAVA, and NADIA VYNNYTSKY round out the ensemble.

PTC Artistic Director KAREN AZENBERG directs and choreographs, after having directed Fiddler on the Roof earlier this season. Originally from New York, Azenberg's work there includes Lyrics and Lyricists (92nd St. Y), Blocks (a collaboration with Jonathan Larson), Prom Queens Unchained, and choreography for Richard Greenberg's The Dazzle (Roundabout). Other credits include National Tours of Carousel and Brigadoon, Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Regional Theatre Premiere at Geva), over fifteen productions of West Side Story, one of which earned her a Dramalogue Award for Outstanding Choreography, and many others.

Guest artist HELEN GREGORY music-directs and conducts the production. Gregory's credits include national tours of Oklahoma!, Grease, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She has also worked at regional theatres across the country, including the Asolo Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, and the Maltz-Jupiter Theatre, where her work has received six Carbonell Award nominations. She returns to PTC after music directing and conducting Fiddler on the Roof, Rent, Something's Afoot, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for the company previously.

PTC Head of Wardrobe AARON SWENSON designs costumes for the production. Most recently, Swenson designed costumes Salt Lake Shakespeare's production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Twelfth Night; he will also be designing costumes for the world premieres of Two Dollar Bill at PTC and BOOKSMART at Plan-B Theatre Company. Additional design credits: Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Plan-B Theatre, 3rd Revival); Assassins, tick...tick...BOOM! and The Great American Trailer Park Musical (Dark Horse Company Theatre); Nine Dragons, There's a Monster in My Closet!, and The Dinosaur Musical (University of Utah Youth Theatre). He also works as PTC's Head of Crafts/Resident Costume Crafts Artisan.

Lighting design is by guest designer KIRK BOOKMAN. Bookman's Broadway credits include The Sunshine Boys with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, The Gin Game with Julie Harris and Charles Durning, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Right You Are for the National Actors Theatre. Off-Broadway: What Then at the Ohio Theater, The Cook at Intar Theatre 53 and Recent Tragic Events at Playwrights Horizons (starring Heather Graham). He has numerous regional credits in New York City, as well as around the country. His ballet credits include the English National Ballet, Santiago Ballet, the Cincinnati Ballet, Kansas City Ballet and Hungarian National Ballet, and projects with the San Francisco Symphony - including A Flowering Tree directed by Peter Sellars.

Sound design is by JOSHUA C. HIGHT. Hight is an established live sound engineer in both London and Salt Lake City. His other projects of note include working with Sommerset House for the 2012 Olympic Games, Of Monsters and Men, Collective Soul, Fallout Boy, Slash, the Psychedelic Furs, Citizen Cope, the Dropkick Murphys, Gogol Bordello, Kate Nash, Easton Corbin, Sevendust and many more. Hight is a Graduate with Distinction of London's Alchemea College of Audio Engineering and the Resident Sound Designer for PTC.

Hair and makeup design is by PTC resident designer AMANDA FRENCH. French has worked for Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Opera, Egyptian Theatre Company and the University of Texas as Austin. She is a contributing writer in the tenth edition of Stage Makeup by Corson, Glavan and Norcross, and her work can be seen in The Costume Technician's Handbook by Ingham and Covey, and Wig Making and Styling: A Complete Guide for Theatre and Film by Ruskai and Lowery.

For tickets and more information, visit www.pioneertheatre.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.