Friday, September 12, 2008
The Rocky Horror Show
Pittsburgh City Paper - Pittsburgh: "Give the Rage of the Stage Players high marks for ambition, especially in dazzling visuals, when mounting a production like The Rocky Horror Show. But as some long-ago critic said, nobody ever left the theater whistling the scenery."
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4 comments:
Even if the show drags, I would still love to see this stage production of Rocky. I find cult film and other media hugely interesting; the internet is a great example of the propagation of ideas based on their residual merit or appeal to a large variety of people. Reconceptuallization is always interesting; Riffraff split into two characters? I am intrigued. On the other hand, it makes me sad that MTV is attempting to remake Rocky, with new songs and scenes, without involving Richard O'Brien. There's a fine line with any greatly loved text between an interesting new spin and a massacre.
This would be quite exciting to see and worth investigating, even if the show doesn't seem to live up to its visual appeal simply because it's not a commonly seen show.
I do think, however, that it's a shame when different parts of a production aren't matched up to create a single, cohesive show. There are many shows out there have beautiful scenery and design qualities, but the show doesn't live up to those because of a large failure in directing, choreography or things of the like. When it comes to that point, oftentimes designers question the validity of their designs, too, even if they shouldn't. Should I continue to produce a overpowering, beautiful set that doesn't match the quality of other aspects of the show? Or, should I "dumb it down" just because of this reason, just to create a cohesive experience? While one should always do their best, there do come times when these questions may inadvertently slip into one's mind.
Still though, ROCKY would be a great show to experience :)
This is a great lesson for us design and production nerds who try to put all the tricks in every show, it's only as good as the actors are. Distorted sound is typical in lower budget productions. It really is a balance between production expenses and production value. Put your money where it matters, where people see and hear it.
I love the Rocky Horror Show! The show itself is mediocre, but the crowds are great! I used to work at a movie theatre, and seeing the movie with a shadow cast is one of the coolest shows I've ever seen.
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