Review: THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW at Music Theatre Of Connecticut

It's totally outrageous with a lot of fishnet stockings, red lipstick, sequins, feather boas, and a plot that is hard to follow. Yes, it's The Rocky Horror Picture Show and it's closing the Music Theatre of Connecticut's 36th season with a bang.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a show that should be on everyone's bucket list, and the Music Theater of Connecticut's production is the one to see before it closes on April 8. Its intimate stage enhances the experience of the show - and that's the main reason people go to it. It's not just a show people can watch passively and politely. Its soaring energy and engaging characters grab the audience by the throat.

If you insist on knowing the plot, here it is. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is an improbable combination of science fiction, B horror movies, and rock 'n roll. The show opens decades ago when people didn't have cell phones. The newly engaged square couple, Brad and Janet are driving in a storm when their car gets a flat tire. They need to find a telephone so they walk to a spooky castle that's inhabited by androgynous, bizarre people who serve a mad scientist. There's dancing. There's murder. There's sex. There's even a Frankenstein creation come to life - and, wow, he is a hunk!

But forget the storyline. As stated earlier, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is about the experience, and that still remains strong 50 years since it first opened in London. It was perhaps the first show to portray gender fluidity, something that just wasn't done five decades ago. And even though people today can't imagine anyone not having a cell phone, the part about having to walk in the rain to find a telephone isn't out of sync in the play. It's a harmless cult. In many productions and at the showing of the 1975 movie, audience members often dress up as characters in the search and shouting lines.

Music Theater of Connecticut's Kevin Connors assembled a stellar cast of performers - Skye Gillepsie (Janet), Michael Luongo (Brad), Brianna Bauch (Phantom 1/Usherette), John Treacy Egan (Eddie/Dr. Scott), Hillary Ekwall (Columbia), Justin Johnston (Frank 'N' Furter), Leigh Martha Klinger (Magenta/Usherette), Stephen Petrovich (Phantom 2), Jeff Raab (Riff Raff), Domenic Servidio (Rocky), and Jim Schilling (The Narrator). Raab, Johnston, and Servidio steal the show with their antics, and Egan and Schilling add some gravitas for balance.

Everyone gets an opportunity to shine, and every member of the large crew has done an amazing job making the production first-rate. Diane Vanderkroef (costumes), Sean Sanford (props and scenic design), RJ Romeo (lighting), Dan O'Driscoll (fight and intimacy choreography), Chris McNiff (choreography), Tony Bellomy (musical direction), and Abbey Murray (stage management). The musicians include Tony Bellomy and Rodney Loren on keyboards, Max Caserta and Alan Lounsbury on guitar, Nick DeVito on woodwinds, and Michael Blancaflor on percussion.

Even if you don't think this is a show for you, you must see it at least once in your life. And do the time warp at the end of the show! It's a shame that this show closes on April 8, because it has a definitive cast and crew. Tickets are available on https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=134947. The Music Theatre of Connecticut is located at 509 Westport Avenue in Norwalk, opposite the movie theatre. There is free and ample parking. Visit www.musictheatreofct.com. Subscribe now for the best seats at reduced prices for the 2023/2024 season which will include Million Dollar Quartet (September 15 through October 1), Clybourne Park (November 3 through 19), The Legend of Georgia McBride (February 16 through March 3), and Ghost: The Musical (April 12 though 28). Single tickets go on sale in June, but why would you want to miss any of the shows? Music Theatre of Connecticut brings Actors Equity performers to a wonderful venue.

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