The Rocky Horror Show, Alexandra Centre,
 
I have heard so much over the years about The Rocky Horror Show, that I was really looking forward to finally seeing it at this year's Fringe.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be a major disappointment. 

The majority of the cast members do not have strong enough voices to carry the songs, nor enough stage presence to make these larger-than-life characters come alive.  The one exception is the young man who plays the show's infamous transvestite, Dr. Frank-N-Furter.  He looks good in his garter belt and hose and has the personality to carry off the part, complete with a wonderfully-developed character voice.  (The other plus of the show is the costumes.  They are very well done.)

Now, I know there's a tradition of audience interaction/callback lines throughout the play, but the people sitting in the audience the night I went, went WAY overboard.  Almost every other line, somebody was calling out something stupid, usually drowning out what the character was saying.  Quite frankly, fifteen minutes into the show, I wanted to leave.  (To be fair, I don't know if over-zealous audience participation is a reality of every production, as this Fringe version is the only one I've seen.  If it is, I guess I'll never have a hope of ever liking The Rocky Horror  Show...) 

Truthfully, unless you're a die-hard Rocky Horror fan, don't waste your time with this one.

-Kathleen Renne