New Red River Rivalry? OKC's Lyric Theatre revives 'Rocky Horror Show' with a Texas twist

When Lyric Theatre does "The Time Warp" again this year, songs like "Hot Patootie," "Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me" and "Science Fiction Double Feature" will remain the same.

The familiar lines and corresponding callbacks will be unchanged as the "Official Theatre of the State of Oklahoma" brings back everyone's favorite transvestite mad scientist, Dr. Frank ‘N’ Furter.

But the visuals will have a twist the size of Texas this time as Lyric Theatre reprises the seasonal favorite "The Rocky Horror Show."

"So, the glamorous mansion is not your gothic mansion but like Southfork ... on the TV show 'Dallas.' This show is definitely more '70s in glamour: Frank ‘N’ Furter is glamorous in the way Miss Mona is from 'The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,'" said Producing Artistic Director Michael Baron.

"And then the idea has just expanded from there."

A mechanical bull, country line dancing and a dubious homage to University of Texas football are all sights audiences might spy when the Oklahoma City professional theater brings back Richard O'Brien's ultimate cult-classic show for performances Oct. 5-30 at Lyric at the Plaza.

"I took the 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' outfit, and we're making it a bedazzled sexy dress. So, it's sexy bedazzled Leatherface," said Jeffrey Meek, Lyric's longtime resident costume designer.

"They don't teach you things like that in design school," he added with a laugh.

Why is Lyric Theatre giving 'The Rocky Horror Show' a Texas twist?

So, why is Lyric Theatre Texas two-stepping into "The Rocky Horror Show" this year?

It may sound strange since we're talking about a show featuring a cross-dressing mad scientist with a Frankenstein complex, but giving "The Rocky Horror Show" a Lone Star State flair helps to keep it interesting for the creative team.

"It keeps us excited about the project. We get to dig into it and find stuff that maybe we didn't see before," Meek said.

Lyric stages O'Brien's wildly entertaining 1973 tribute to sci-fi and horror B-movies every three years, and every time, the theater adopts a different visual theme for the show.

"There's certain things every five minutes that have to happen. Otherwise, you're not really doing 'Rocky,' and if you're a purist and you're a true fan, you're like, 'They're doing it wrong.' So, it's one of these shows where you think, 'Make it your own,' but you always have to do these things," said Baron, who is directing the title for the third time.

"The first time I did it, it was a huge homage to the '60s drive-in sci-fi world of the show. The second time I did it was an homage to the glamour of the show ... so it was kind of the Beyonce version."

In between, Lyric mainstay and resident "Rocky Horror" super-fan Matthew Alvin Brown, who is playing Dr. Frank ‘N’ Furter's servant Riff Raff this year, directed the 2013 version of the show, which was set in a haunted traveling circus and boasted a sideshow look.

For Lyric's last presentation of "Rocky Horror" in 2019, J. Robert Moore, who starred as Frank ‘N’ Furter in Lyric’s 2016 production, returned to OKC to helm a version of the Halloween favorite set in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The setting allowed Moore to tap into his own roots as well as the famed debauchery of Mardi Gras.

What can audiences expect from Lyric's 'Rocky Horror Show' this year?

For those who aren't familiar with the famously racy and raunchy musical, "The Rocky Horror Show" follows the naive and newly engaged Brad and Janet (Logan Corley and Sadie Koopman) who are forced to seek help at an eerie mansion on stormy night after their car gets a flat tire.

The rambling house turns out to be the home of mad scientist Dr. Frank ‘N’ Furter (Dallas-based actor Lee Walter), his assorted colorful minions and his latest Frankenstein-style creation: Rocky (Joshua Morgan Thompson), a physically perfect muscle man “with blond hair and a tan.”

The show features strong language and mature themes, so no one under the age of 13 will be admitted.

Audience participation has become a key component of the cult-favorite: Lyric will sell prop bags full of items to be deployed during the performance for $5 — outside props are not permitted — and theatergoers are encouraged to dress as their favorite characters from the show.

"I think it's fun for everyone to experience 'Rocky,' but it makes, I think, what we do as live theater special in that we can honor the moment as well as the nostalgia of the show. That's reflected in who's in the cast, who's directing, their perspective on it," Baron said.

O'Brien's popular stage show was adapted in 1975 into a now-iconic film, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Meat Loaf. Like the musical, the movie has developed its own spooky season following. For grown-ups searching for the live interactive cinematic experience in OKC, The Boom is continuing its annual "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" tradition, which includes a meatloaf dinner, through Halloween.

How does a Texas setting work for 'The Rocky Horror Show?'

The basis for Lyric Theatre setting this year's production of "Rocky Horror" in Denton, Texas, is in the line the narrator (local performer Lyn Cramer, who is a Texas native) speaks early in the show: "It seemed a fairly ordinary night when Brad Majors, and his fiancée Janet Weiss ... two ordinary, healthy kids ... left Denton that late November evening."

"The sequel to 'Rocky Horror' called 'Shock Treatment,' which is a bizarre film written by the same people, it's mentioned as Denton there, too," Baron said.

He credited Meek, who hails from the Lone Star State, with suggesting the deep in the heart of Texas theme for this year's show.

"Texas kitsch has always been just a major fascination of mine: cow print and bandanas and ropes and steer horns, all that kind of stuff. I've just always loved it. It's such a strange decorating trend and such a strange fashion trend. Anytime you see something made out of cow print, I just think that there's humor in it. You can't take anything seriously that's Holstein," Meek said.

"There's lots of fringe. It's still a lot of black and fishnet, and we still stayed the sexiness (of the show) — but with a twist. ... Of course, there's football references, because you can't have Texas without football."

From burnt orange to barbecue, the Texas theme will allow Lyric to stage some entertaining surprises that even the most experienced "Rocky Horror" super-fans won't be expecting, while giving new meaning to the term "Red River Rivalry."

"I don't know if anyone not from Oklahoma and Texas maybe will get it — but our audience is, and they're going to laugh their butts off. And it's about time we get to do a whole show that just makes fun of our neighbors to the south ... because what’s scarier than Texas?" Baron said.

LYRIC'S 'ROCKY HORROR SHOW'

When: Oct. 5-30.

Where: Lyric at the Plaza.

Tickets: https://lyrictheatreokc.com.

Features Writer Brandy "BAM" McDonnell has covered Oklahoma's arts, entertainment and cultural sectors for The Oklahoman for 20 years. Reach her at bmcdonnell@oklahoman.com,www.facebook.com/brandybammcdonnell and twitter.com/BAMOK. Support her work by signing up for her See & Do Oklahoma newsletter and subscribing to The Oklahoman.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC's Lyric Theatre brings back 'Rocky Horror Show' with a Texas twist