So as many of you know, I may be a little too in love with The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It is hands down the best, worst movie ever. Well last night FOX aired a live version of the play. At first I was against the remake, and judging by the previous live plays that have aired the last few years, I felt for sure FOX was going to ruin this great show as well. Well months went by and I began reading articles about the play and then the cast list dropped. Now I my interest was piqued. I love Laverne Cox in Orange Is The New Black, but I love love love Tim Curry and wasn't sure if she could hold a candle to him. (I'll get back to that later on.) Well October 20th showed up, and of course I was going to watch the performance. I only wanted to watch it to see how bad they would screw it up, and so I could text my other die hard friends during the performance to mock their interpretation.
Below is my review of the new RHPS: Live. A compare and contrast of the characters/actors will be listed as they appeared in the latest version. I will then throw in some random thoughts. Enjoy.
Ivy Levan- Usherette (Science Fiction/Double Feature)
Now that is how you get my attention! Who is this chick? Not only is she gorgeous, she has an amazing set of pipes on her. I love the way she opened the show. I was not disappointed. She needs to sing the next Bond theme. Also I love the Tarantino vibe the opening had. I hope to see Ivy in future productions. I give her 5/5 stars because I am the writer, and what I say goes.*****
Ryan McCartan/Barry Bostwick- Brad Majors, A Hero (ASSHOLE!!!)
One word: Swoon! So in the original, Brad is my least favorite character. Ryan actually made me like the character. He needs to work on his timing, but his voice made up for what he lacked in acting skills. I found the original Brad too bumbly for my taste, but the new version of Brad was portrayed as super confident, and that is what the character needed. Overall I enjoyed McCartan's portrayal. I give him 5/5 stars. *****
Victoria Justice/Susan Sarandon- Janet Weiss, A Heroine (SLUT!!!)
Oh sweet, innocent Janet Weiss what can I say about you. Victoria Justice did what she needed to do to make this part work. Her timing was off a few times, but her rendition of Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me was flawless. Justice had one thing going for her and that is her singing voice is way more soothing than Susan Sarandon's voice. Now having said that, Sarandon wins this battle. Although she is not the greatest singer, she is and will always be Janet Weiss. I give Justice 3/5 stars.***
Reeve Carney/Richard O'Brien- Riff Raff, A Handyman
Hate. Hate. Hate. Double Hate. Loathe entirely!!! Nothing compares to Richard O'Brien's Riff Raff. Carney was not hitting the mark. His voice is nice, but seriously who screws up The Time Warp??? Tim Curry had a stroke and still sang his part better than Carney did. Drunks during karaoke can sing that song on point, and you call yourself a professional. He was too pretty to play the role of Riff Raff. Also Riff Raff is pretty darn creepy in the original. Carney gets 1/5 stars because eww! Seriously you messed up The Time Warp!!!*
Christina Milian/Patricia Quinn- Magenta, A Domestic (WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?)
Magenta is my favorite character in the whole play! Patricia Quinn set the bar really high with her original performance. I was excited to see what Christina Milian would do with the role. I just love her. I enjoyed her performance. The only thing that would have made it better is if she toned down her perkiness a notch. The original Magenta had a more sinister vibe. I would have liked to seen that side of Milian. I give her 4/5 stars because I'm a fan.****
Annaleigh Ashford/Little Nell Campbell- Columbia, A Groupie
First off, I am one of the rare people who actually enjoys Columbia. Before RHSP: Live, I have never heard of Ashford. I really enjoyed her performance. I think out of the entire new cast she was the only one to hit her mark every single time with Columbia's character. She nailed it. I wouldn't mind seeing her in other things. I believe Little Nell would be proud of this performance. I give her 5/5 stars.*****
Staz Nair/Peter Hinwood- Rocky Horror, A Creation (OOH!!!)
Well what can you about a non-speaking role? Nair had better dance moves than Hinwood. This character was actually played very well, even if we had to settle for gold lame basketball shorts instead of booty shorts. Thanks FOX! Nair gets 4/5 stars.****
Ben Vereen/Jonathan Adams- Dr. Everett Scott, A Rival Scientist (KISS ASS!!!)
Aww Ben Vereen is back in my life!!! I haven't seen him since he was Mayor Ben on Zoobilee Zoo. There is not much to say about this character. Nobody I have ever met loves Dr. Scott. The character is mediocre at best. I give Vereen 3/5 stars based solely off my love for Mayor Ben.***
Adam Lambert/Meatloaf- Eddie, An Ex Delivery Boy (EDDIE! EDDIE!)
In both versions of RHPS Eddie's five minute appearance is always on the top of my list of favorite scenes. Who doesn't love Hot Patootie? Nailed it. I give Lambert 4/5 stars simply because the scene is too short in either version.****
Laverne Cox/Tim Curry- Dr. Frank-N-Furter, A Scientist (ANOTHER HELPING OF CURRY PLEASE!!!)
Miss Cox had a very tight corset to fill. Putting all bias aside (TIM CURRY RULES ALL!) I gave her a chance. Once I got over the fact that Frank-N-Furter wasn't Tim Curry, I quite enjoyed Laverne Cox' take on the role. Her timing was spot on. She was pretty comical in this role. Her wardrobe was out of this world. (Pun intended.)The lady also has some sweet dance moves. The only thing I could not stand about Cox was he voice kept changing pitch during the songs she sang. Technically she has a good voice, but the frequent pitch change was off putting. I also think she was trying too hard to mimic Curry's voice, even though she nailed it a few times. She wasn't bad at all, but she didn't live up to the hype. I give Miss Cox 3/5 stars.***
Tim Curry/Charles Gray- A Criminologist, An Expert
First of all, TIM CURRY!!! This man had a stroke a few years back and he still did a wonderful job. How he nailed his part during The Time Warp, and Reeve Carney couldn't even get his timing down is beyond me. Curry was in this play for four minutes and he nailed it. To be honest he was the real reason I chose to watch RHPS: Live in the first place. Long live the real Dr. Frank-N-Furter! I give him 6/5 stars because, he's Tim FREAKING Curry!******
The Time Warp
The world has been dancing to this song for forty-one years! Any Halloween or horror fan knows this song by heart. The die-hard fans (me) know the dance. Like I have mentioned before, the cast ruined this song and dance. I have seen professional versions, neighborhood productions, drunk people at karaoke, Tim Curry after suffering a stroke, and myself in the shower belting out this tune, and never once did I hear it screwed up as bad as the cast did in RHPS: Live. I was quite disappointed. Reeve Carney, your rendition of this classic gets 0/5 stars. Seriously who messes this song up?
The Floor Show
Can we please talk about The Floor Show? Two words: NAILED IT! It was flawless. Even though the outfits were changed due to censorship, the cast rocked the new look. Again Laverne was kind of pitchy, but that Tina Turner-esque dance sequence/vibe won be over. McCartan and Justice prancing around in their corsets and stockings was a perfect homage to the original flair of the movie, and wow did they look hot! McCartan, we all saw that little leg extension slip up. Kudos on making that look like it wasn't an accident. This is my favorite song in the entire script. I even have "Don't dream it, be it" tattooed on my arm. Love. Love. Loved this rendition. This performance gets 5/5 stars...because I said so!*****
Sexuality/Sensuality
At first I was nervous when I heard this very, sexually charged play was airing on FOX, a conservative network. Somehow the director pulled it off, and for that I am grateful. RHPS would be nothing without the sex factor. After all, it is a movie about sexual awakening. I thought each sexual scene was done very tastefully, and gave the audience just enough to let their imagination run wild. I'm glad the network and director found a happy medium.
I don't know what your favorite part of play was, but mine was definitely watching Laverne Cox prance and stumble around the cemetery during Dammit Janet. I could not stop laughing. I even rewound the scene a few times just to laugh harder.
So in summery, RHPS: Live was definitely the best play to air live over the past few years. Sure the cast has is relatively new and have some things to work on, but hey, they are up there doing it. My fandom of the movie has me a little bias. I did not think this play was the greatest thing ever, but it sure was not a bad performance. I would watch it again. Knowing me, I'll probably own it when it comes out on DVD. Just remember to...
Steve Barber Jr.
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