Dallas Theater Center presents The Rocky Horror Show
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Richard O’Brien
Directed by Blake Hackler
Music Direction by Kwinton Gray
Choreographed by Kelsey Milbourn
Set and Projection Design by Natalie Rose Mabry
Costume, Hair, Wig and Makeup Design by Ari Fulton
Lighting Design by Amanda West
Sound Design by Brian McDonald
Assistant Director Christina Austin Lopez
Stage Manager Stephen Ravet
Featuring Bob Bohorquez, KJ Gray, Swinton Gray, Kynzi Gum, Isaiah Christopher-Lord Harris, Alex Heika, Roger Hunt, Christina Austin Lopez, David Lugo, Liz Mikel, Alex Organ, Dominic Pecikonis, Rachel Nicole Poole, Noah Randall, Asher Ross, Lee Walter, Jackie Whitmill Jr., Zachary J. Willis
My thoughts on The Rocky Horror Show at Dallas Theater Center or…cool, kinky, and crazy at the Kalita.
Director Blake Hackler’s Rocky Horror is like being on a roller coaster in a whirlwind. Music pounds, video screens flash, strange phantoms roam the aisles, and the motion and commotion never stop on this wild and wicked ride.
Music Director Kwinton Gray and his dynamic on-stage band keep all those familiar songs rocking the Kalita down to its studs. Go ahead and sing along. No one is going to hear you. Someone better check the Kalita’s foundation after the show closes.
This Rocky is literally in your face as the two large screens give us closeups, behind the scenes antics, and some hilarious Barbie doll copulation. (Leave the kids or any prudes at home). The set with its central spiral staircase suggests both foreboding castle and spaceship. It’s the perfect playground for those wild and untamed Transylvanians to gyrate to Kelsey Milbourn’s suggestive, energetic choreography.
The cast of this show is infectious energy personified. Even before the show begins, provocatively dressed phantoms played by Dominic Pecikonis, Isaiah Christopher-Lord Harris, Kynzi Gumm, and Asher Ross are all over the audience enticing us to enter their strange world. The inhabitants of this strange world include Rachel Nicole Poole, taking a walk on the wild side as Magenta and opening the show with “Science Fiction Double Feature.” She may not look like the Rachel Nicole Poole we all know and love, but there’s no mistaking that golden throat. Another one of the most loved actors in Dallas, David Lugo, plays the Narrator and pops in and out of the play often trading barbs with the audience. Lugo, dressed like a game show host from hell, is in top form here and I’m convinced he could have a second career as a stand-up comedian. This was my first time seeing Noah Randall perform in DFW. Randall makes an excellent geeky, awkward Brad Majors and to hear and watch him croon in his Superman underwear is a hoot. Likewise, I’d never had the pleasure of seeing Alex Heika perform previously. Heika, in the title role, has the buff, lust inducing body required, some terrific comic timing, and a voice just as strong as all those Rocky muscles.
The most fun aspect of Rocky Horror to me was seeing members of the Brierley Resident Acting Company in parts I would never imagine them playing. Alex Organ was a huge surprise as Riff Raff. Riff Raff is usually an obsequious Igor sort of character. Organ makes him a commanding presence and comes out with some rock star vocals. Christina Austin Lopez, recently Cinderella and Liesel, is the virgin turned sex kitten Janet Weiss. Cinderella would have most likely kept on running and Liesel would have probably taken her chances with the Nazis rather than deal with the Transylvanians, but Austin Lopez is comic gold as the sexually awakened Janet who comes to appreciates a little kink and muscles. What a treat it is to hear the fabulous Liz Mikel bust out with some rock numbers in the dual role of the ill-fated Eddie and Dr. Scott. Mikel literally brings the house down and she will forever change the way you look at people on those motorized scooters. You have to see it to believe it. Seeing Zachary J. Willis perform as the green haired, chain bedecked, tight short shorts wearing Columbia is a revelation. Willis, whether tap dancing in silver boots or crawling across the stage, is fascinating. Yes, Columbia is a comic character and Willis certainly gets his share of laughs, but there is so much more he brings to the part. He is at once androgynous, yet intensely masculine. He’s part slut and part little boy lost. Willis is an actor of great skill and equally amazing vocal prowess, and his Columbia is unforgettable.
Speaking of unforgettable, Lee Walter is Frank N’ Furter. Walter, in a wig borrowed from Tina Turner in the 80’s, is sleeker than sleek and struts across the stage with cat like grace. Walter’s Frank N’ Furter is high camp and high fashion. Frank’s costumes are phenomenal (kudos to designer Ari Fulton) I’d kill for that red patent leather lab/trench coat. Walter spurts out those famous lines with a condescending air of superiority that makes Frank N’ Furter both detestable and irresistible. They manipulate the audience with ease, silencing us with a glare one moment and have us shivering with anticipation the next. Walter’s vocals fill the Kalita and when they climb to the top of the steps and belt out the final notes of a song the audience erupts in near hysteria. This is the perfect pairing of actor and role.
The Rocky Horror Show is more of an experience than a play and so what if you get hit in the head with a roll of toilet paper? It’s all part of the fun. To paraphrase one of the songs from the show, my advice to you is “don’t dream it, see it.”
