Barry Bostwick to appear with \u2018Rocky Horror\u2019 co-stars in Detroit to celebrate film\u2019s 50th anniversary<\/a><\/p>\nThe Michigan Rocky Horror Preservation Society, a live performance group dedicated to the preservation of audience participation of \u201cRocky Horror,\u201d hosts screenings of the 1975 cult classic twice a month in Wayne.<\/p>\n
There will also be \u201cThe Rocky Horror Show Live\u201d at the Redford in Detroit the weekend of Nov. 7-8.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur cast isn\u2019t affiliated with the performance at the Redford, but we are all very excited to go see that cast! It\u2019s not that often that the live musical is produced around (metro Detroit), so it\u2019s a treat to go see,\u201d said Isabella Levitt of Bingham Farms.<\/p>\n
Levitt, an alumna of Groves High School in Birmingham and Oakland University, has been a member of the MiRHPS since 2021. She\u2019s portrayed Janet onstage, among other characters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mission of MiRHPS is to create a safe and productive space for folks to indulge in their passion and participate in keeping a queer legacy of 50 years alive,\u201d she said. \u201cBetween hearing about the movie for the first time and attending a screening, I showed the movie to as many people as I could and became fascinated by its place in queer culture. I attended my first show and continued to be an audience member until I was 21, when I joined MiRHPS.\u201d<\/p>\n
At first, Levitt was adamant she wouldn\u2019t get onstage. She was fine helping behind the scenes. However, an emergency arose, and she stepped in to play Janet at the last minute.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rest is history, but that moment did change my life in so many ways,\u201d Levitt said. \u201cShadow-casting is just so much fun! (Actor) Sal Piro started the shadow-casting tradition shortly after the film was released, and the ability to jump onstage and transform into someone else, to express yourself entirely freely in an accepting space is something that will always be needed, especially in the queer community. For many shadow-casters, it isn’t even about the movie anymore. As much as I love the movie, I continue to come back because of the love I have for preserving queer culture and the love I have for my chosen family.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s looking forward to performing with her fellow MiRHPS members when Bostwick, Campbell and Quinn come to Detroit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve performed with Barry and Pat in the past,\u201d Levitt said. \u201cWe will have the pleasure of meeting them before the show, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Created by Richard O\u2019Brien, \u201cRocky Horror\u201d began as a musical in 1973, spoofing low-budget science-fiction and B-horror movies. Bostwick, Susan Sarandon and Tim Curry starred in the movie. Curry played mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the role he originated onstage and the franchise\u2019s most popular character.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of words to describe Curry\u2019s performance other than iconic,\u201d Levitt said. \u201cHis voice and presence on the screen make it difficult to look at anyone or anything else. He captures your attention and never lets go. It never gets old to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anthony Stewart Head, alias Rupert Giles on \u201cBuffy the Vampire Slayer,\u201d portrayed Frank-N-Furter onstage in the 1990 West End revival. He saw the stage version when it debuted in 1973 at the King\u2019s Road Theatre in London, calling Curry\u2019s performance a \u201creal game-changer.\u201d Yet Head made the role his own.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt Frank-N-Furter growing inside of me, his voice in my head \u2013 different from everyone else who\u2019d played him. It was quite bizarre. I felt truly connected to him,\u201d recalled Head. \u201cWhen (designer) Sue Blane and I talked about how I wanted to look, I said I\u2019d always thought of having high heels than the platform shoes that he normally wore because I wanted to be very active. The platforms were very fashionable in the 1970s \u2026 but I felt they were a bit clunky for me. I also changed the hospital gown he appears in when he unleashes Rocky; there\u2019s a bunch of classic B-horror pic references, which I thought might be enhanced by being dressed as a 1940s nurse. I also thought about wearing a wig because my hair was short \u2026 but would that fit, being wigged up? Then I suddenly thought of him actually wearing one himself and removing it in his apparently emotional moment when he sings, \u2018I\u2019m Going Home.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the most flattering things to happen to Head was when two friends saw his performance and didn\u2019t realize it was him onstage until 20 minutes into the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce they had, they couldn\u2019t believe I could be so unpleasant,\u201d he said. \u201cWatching the show online \u2026 takes my breath away at how I legged it around and all over the stage. I had memories of being active, but seeing it manifest itself in reality leaves me speechless. I couldn\u2019t do it now. I think I\u2019d rather leave it out there in people\u2019s minds \u2013 very glad to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Head spoke about if Giles and Frank-N-Furter were to meet.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, would he be attracted to him? Maybe not, but Frank-N-Furter might find a way to deceive him. I wonder if they would stretch back to when Giles was Ripper (his dark side). I definitely think he\u2019d like him, but wouldn\u2019t trust him. Maybe he\u2019d think he was a sexy, songful demon,\u201d offered Head. \u201cI\u2019ve been so lucky to have been part of so many iconic shows, the last being \u2018Ted Lasso.\u2019 They live in my heart, and I do not take any of it for granted. I grew both Giles and Frank-N-Furter from within me. I sensed them there and ultimately let them be heard. It\u2019s wonderful to be a part of two shows that people have told me changed their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Head and Bostwick offered their advice to actors performing \u201cRocky Horror\u201d onstage.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo what Chris Malcolm (the original Brad) advised me to do in response to audience heckles: Write down a bunch of responses. I gathered a bunch of one-liners from all sorts of places, (including) a few from Rhea Perlman on \u2018Cheers,\u2019\u201d Head said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have to be grounded in reality with the characters. It\u2019s not a comic book. That\u2019s the mistake they make; they go out there and put a joke on top of a joke,\u201d explained Bostwick. \u201cIt\u2019s not as much fun if these people aren\u2019t serious about who they are and where they are, even though the setting is absurd, their characters are not absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you go<\/p>\n
The Michigan Rocky Horror Preservation Society hosts \u201cThe Rocky Horror Picture Show\u201d with a live cast on the second and fourth Saturday of each month at Phoenix State Wayne Theater, 35310 W. Michigan Ave., Wayne. Doors open at 11:15 p.m. Tickets cost $10 and $5 for a bag of props. No outside props allowed. Viewer discretion is advised. For questions or more information, contact michiganrhps@gmail.com.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Rocky Horror Show Live\u201d will be at the Redford Theatre, 17360 Lahser Road, Detroit, at 8 p.m. Nov. 7 and 3 and 8 p.m. Nov. 8. Tickets cost $25, which includes a bag of props. No outside props allowed. Viewer discretion is advised. For questions or more information, contact 313-537-2560 or visit redfordtheatre.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Oct. 18 event at the Masonic Temple Theater in Detroit with actors Barry Bostwick, Nell Campbell and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1621,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[967,1399,143,145,144,420],"class_list":{"0":"post-1620","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-movies","10":"tag-oakland","11":"tag-oakland-headlines","12":"tag-oakland-news","13":"tag-things-to-do"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1620\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}