“The Rocky Horror Show” at Blackfriars Theatre

While I had never seen a live performance of The Rocky Horror Show, I have no idea how many times I’ve seen the movie version. I remember going to Georgetown in the late 70’s, to the midnight show, and knowing most of the audience lines, and, of course, all of the music by heart. That’s when I fell in love with Tim Curry (and I know I wasn’t the only one, regardless of gender!). I even bought a maid’s outfit so that I could dress up as “Magenta.”

I’m always a bit hesitant to see a performance of a show whose movie version has been indelibly imprinted in my mind (the recent Broadway version of Mary Poppins comes to mind as a huge disappointment, for example). But I hadn’t been to Blackfriars in a couple of years, and I loved both of the only shows I’d seen there (Grey Gardens and Assassins), and I’m a sucker for a musical, so… 

I went to a Sunday matinee, because I wanted to go to the post-show talk-back. Everything about the performance was first-rate – the cast, the set, the costumes, and the way it paid homage to the film but also allowed itself freedom for its own creativity. The production begins and ends with a brilliant bit of film and live interaction, and by the time “Brad” and “Janet” set foot on the stage, the audience knows it’s in good hands.

At this performance, there was, sadly, very little audience participation. Although the two women next to me knew their lines cold, they were practically whispering, because they were a bit shy. The three of us did manage to almost-shout “Say it!” when “Frank-N-Furter” taunts, “I see you shiver with anticip…” But so many of the audience “callbacks” are not really callbacks as much as they are callforwards– anticipating the next actor line (like asking “what’s your favorite science fiction TV show?” in the brief pause between the narrator’s “lost in time” and “lost in space.”) And as the Blackfriars’ website says, “it’s all in the timing!” So, the actors need to allow the beat, in case the audience chimes in, but also need to keep the pacing when the audience is unwilling or unable to contribute. And they did.

At the talk-back, all of the actors introduced themselves, and most had been performing since they were teens or pre-teens. The set, built in just four weeks, is apparently one of Blackfriars’ most complex and expansive. Unfortunately, it will not travel with the cast when they take the show to the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York City on January 11 (yes, they’re taking a concert/cabaret presentation to NYC!), because that dinner theatre is too small to accommodate it. But I’m going to encourage all of my city friends to go see this wonderful cast. And I’m sure they will all fall in love with Ed Popil, aka Mrs. Kasha Davis. (Now I must see Drag Story Hour with Mrs. Kasha Davis...)

The show has been extended to November 11, and is selling out. For more info about the show and the season, visit blackfriars.org

"Thurgood" at Geva Theatre

“Thurgood” was the production in Geva’s season I was most looking forward to, and it did not disappoint. The one-man play, by George Stevens, Jr., focuses primarily on Thurgood Marshall’s accomplishments leading up to his being appointed to the Supreme Court. Lester Purry, as directed by Lou Bellamy, carries the almost 2-hour show (plus an intermission) seamlessly, and encourages audience input and applause at appropriate moments (a different audience demographic might need less encouragement, but alas, today’s traditional theatre audience has been trained to respect the fourth wall, and it’s hard to break through, even when invited). I was riveted.

Charles Isherwood’s New York Times review of the 2008 Broadway production was polite, but less than enthusiastic, calling the play “essentially an opportunity to watch a movie star deliver a history lecture” and a “superficially dry evening of theater.” He commented about the play through the lens of then-current events: “the presidential candidacy of Senator Barack Obama putting a renewed focus on the legacy of racism, as it is viewed by Americans both black and white, the play serves as a healthy reminder that separate drinking fountains, to cite one shameful practice, are just a generation or two in the past.” 

Unfortunately, Americans continue to need these history lectures, especially as the dark underbelly of racism and hatred has been returned to the light by our current President. MAGA is a blatant nod to the era of white supremacy that his supporters want to return to. A passage late in the play “serve(s) as a stark reminder of how radically the court evolves over the years as its makeup changes.” And this was before the Republican Party hijacked the nomination of Justice Scalia’s replacement and then threw out all future attempts at bipartisanship by changing the number of votes needed to confirm a Supreme Court judge (to be fair, the Democrats aren't blameless - they went "nuclear" for other nominees several years earlier). Only time will tell if Democrats are rightly afraid of the regressive potential Kavenaugh’s recent divisive appointment provides.

There were many moving moments during the play, but perhaps the most moving came at the end, when the play quotes lines of the Langston Hughes’ poem “Let America Be America Again.” Not surprisingly, my high school AmLit class didn’t include this poet, so I googled it to read it in its entirety: READ HERE. Wow. 

Kudos to Geva for giving us this play this season. The fact that this story of racism still resonates makes me wonder if, sadly, there will never be a time when it does not.

“Thurgood” runs through November 18. More info at: www.geva.org

Subscription Addiction

My addiction to performing arts subscriptions began in my late 20s-early 30s in New York City, when, despite not loving opera, I subscribed to both the Metropolitan and the New York City Operas!? Those quickly gave way to the ballet (mostly New York City Ballet, which I maintained throughout my temporary move to London and only reluctantly gave up after moving to Rochester) and theatre (Manhattan Theatre Company and Roundabout Theatre). In Morristown, we subscribed to a performing arts center that presented a mix of performances: dance, comedy, concerts (classical and pop), etc. It was one of the things I missed most moving to Rochester. 

Early on I realized the benefits of subscribing: locking in your preferred seats, theoretically getting the best ticket price (although a poor-selling stinker might end up selling tickets cheaper, since theatre seats are wasting assets; and as I’ve gotten more educated about non-profit arts organizations, I’ve felt a moral obligation to make donations to them to help offset the discount, because I am lucky to be able), and getting preferred access to add-on shows. In 2014, between subscriptions and additional shows I couldn’t live without, I attended my all-time high in a calendar year: 66 performances. (And that didn’t include the ones I performed in as a member of a chorus.)

This season (which corresponds to school, not calendar year) I’m taking it to new heights; in addition to the usual subscriptions at Geva, RPO (half classical, half pops), Eastman Presents, and Nazareth (mostly Rochester City Ballet (RCB), but not exclusively) … Blackfriars Theatre beckoned. That comes to almost 30 performances, before I starting adding and subtracting (yes, there is one show at Geva I will give our tickets away for, since we saw it on Broadway and didn’t enjoy it then; and there’s an RPO concert I probably won’t get to hear, but that’s the subject of a future blog…). Charlie is a peach to come along for the ride on most of these, although he draws the line at dance and more than one theatre subscription.

Shaw Festival Artistic Director Program Notes

I love sitting in a hall with lots of strangers and experiencing a live performance together. I love turning off my cell phone for an hour or two, and turning my mind from current events to let it be entertained and transported for a brief moment. I love a memorably good show, and even the memorably bad ones can provide laughs for years to come. I love my thick folder of tickets to performances to look forward to that will slowly deplete as we inch towards May. Mostly, I love my role as audience!