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THE INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH THEATRE Elden Street Players Richard O'Brien's book and lyrics by Richard O'Brien Directed by Todd C. Huse August 3 - 25, 2001 Produced by special arrangements with Samuel
French, Inc
Time: Then and Now Scenes and Musical Numbers Fifteen Minute Intermission Scene Five - Janet's Room
Director's Notes"The Rocky Horror Show" started in 1973 as a very small musical production in London. Written by an out of work musical actor trying to support a wife and family, "Rocky Horror" was conceived as the ultimate "anti-musical." London audiences and critics loved it and by 1974 it was playing to packed houses in Los Angeles and was quickly optioned as a movie. Shot in a mere six weeks, the movie flopped, as did the stage production when it finally moved to New York. However in 1976 the studio re-released the movie as a "midnight show" and the phenomenon we now know as "Rocky Horror" was born. It has been thriving and attracting an ever-growing fan base (or cult, some would say) for the past 25 years. I first saw the movie in 1982 at the age of 15 and remained a "Rocky-fan" through college, going with groups of friends whenever possible and introducing several "Rocky Horror virgins" to the experience. While I am a fan, I remained well short of "fanatic." ESP always strives to bring new and challenging stories to the stage, but when it comes to musicals the field is thin. Every year for the past several years, Elden Street Players put "The Rocky Horror Show" on the "short list." But when we asked Samuel French, the royalty company, about amateur rights for the production, we always received the same answer, "Mr. O'Brien does not allow 'The Rocky Horror Show' out for amateur productions." At one point I even put in a call to his agent's office in London, only to receive a similar dismissal. But last summer, miraculously, the rights were made available (a small window of opportunity which shut quickly after the revival on Broadway). ESP jumped at the chance and secured the rights to be the first community theater in the region to perform the show. We quickly discovered how challenging our choice would be. Perusing a copy of the score, we discovered that the chorus vocal parts and harmonies were not provided. In order to pull the show off; we needed to find a music director that was willing to not only teach the music provided, but also work out all of the harmonies and background vocals. I also wanted to pull the music out of the 70's and give it a fresh sound, if possible. As luck would have it, we found a music director that was part of an established band. "Conspiracy Theory" committed to the show and spent a great deal more time than most "musical orchestras/bands" learning and adapting the music for our production. I give my thanks to them. If you are in need of a band, I highly recommend them. Having never seen the staged version of the musical, and given the obvious musical challenges that lay before the cast, I went to New York in February to see the new Broadway version. I experienced both relief and an added layer of stress. Broadway had updated the music as we hoped to do and I could tell the show was indeed "scalable" to the Industrial Strength Theater's (1ST) tiny black box space. But it would be a challenging set design, costume design and lighting design. And, with the Broadway production and movie as inspiration, I realized several "special elements" would help to enhance the production in Herndon. The added layer of stress came from the casting requirements. The cast needed to be solid from top to bottom. Most musicals allow you to put extra bodies on stage for dancing or vocals, but this is a "small musical" and every character and chorus member needs to be able to rock (vocally and in dance) and they need that elusive quality of a "larger than life stage presence." It is a real gift to be able to "act badly" and do it well. In keeping with the 1950's Sci-fi B-Movie theme, we had to capture that campy nature that seemed to pervade those movies. And, like an old B-movie, the story underneath this musical is very thin. Add to this the participation by the audience, both vocal and physical, it became clear that my dreams of an "easy summer musical" were gone. The cast has been in rehearsal since Memorial Day learning the "unwritten" music. The set design challenged the ESP technicians to weld steel together (a first for ESP) to turn our "cinderblock black box" theater into a gothic proscenium theater, complete with a movie screen, working curtains and moving scenery that would support actors. If this is your first time at 1ST you should realize there is a cinder block wall 24 feet in front of the first row of seats. When we started building, the entire space was empty Everything you see between the first row and that back wall from the floor to the light grid was built, hung and rigged for this show. The costumer had to spend hours looking for lingerie and "p-leather" (plastic leather) that fit men and women, not to mention the shoe shopping. The lighting desiguer had to learn the programming of a robotic light and deliver several different looks on stage. The makeup designers went wild with the "aliens from the planet of Transsexual." ESP wound up investing in additional sound and construction equipment to support the show And, even then, it took the dedication of several crew and cast members working some very (VERY) long hours during July to "make it all work." (I owe a lot of favors to a bunch of people.) All of which has come together to give you, I hope, a fun-filled energetic performance this evening. Whether you are a Rocky Horror "virgin" or have come in the costume of your favorite character, we hope to give you the ultimate "Rocky Horror" experience. At its core, Rocky Horror was always meant to be fun. Reciting clever and/ or crude comments back at the actors on the stage or screen, throwing confetti, toilet paper, cards and becoming part of the show from your seats is why the phenomenon has endured. Over 25 years, audiences have added more and more to the "participation script." Some of the additions are very funny, others have bordered on shockingly offensive. Hopefully, our audience will be more clever than offensive, but that is out of our hands. If you are a "Rocky virgin," I can only advise you to put "political correctness" on the shelf for the evening and enjoy this production in the "Rocky Horror spirit." We have tried to weave together elements from the movie, as well as the original and new Broadway versions. These, together with our own energy; concepts and designs, have tried to remain true to Mr. O'Brien's original "anti-musical" musical and the cult phenomenon. Enjoy! Todd C. Huse
AcknowledgementsThe Elden Street Players wish to thank the following people and businesses for their help in making this production a success: Bill Aitken
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