'The Rocky Horror Show,' a cult classic presented by The Adirondack Regional Theatre

Oct. 27—PLATTSBURGH — Jump left in the 'Time Warp' again with The Adirondack Regional Theatre's 'The Rocky Horror Show," a musical Monster-mash of sci-fi, horror, sex, drag, rock'n'roll at the Strand Center Theatre this weekend.

Leave your props at home (it's not that kind of party), but do slip on sequins and fishnet stockings and don't hesitate on shout outs as squeaky-clean fiancees, Brad (Mason Barber) and Janet (Olivia Storms), are stranded with a flat tire on a dark and stormy night near the manse of Dr. Frank N Furter (Allie Racette).

If all this is alien to you, 'Rocky Horror' newbies are welcome to check out the slab in the lab of the "sweetest transvestite from Transsexual Transylvania."

If you're experienced, this iteration is fresh as twitching road kill as co-directors Sara Welch Munson and Sarah Cohen gave the cast and crew creative freedom to make the cult classic theirs.

A LOVE BIZARRE

For most of her life, Cohen was a fan of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," the 1975 musical-comedy-horror film starring Tim Curry (Dr. Frank-N-Furter, The Eccentric Transvestite Scientist), Susan Sarandon (Janet Weiss, The Heroine and Brad's Fiancée), Barry Bostwick (Brad Majors, The Hero and Janet's Fiancé), Richard O'Brien (Riff Raff, Hunch-Backed Handyman and Magenta's Brother), Patricia Quinn (Magenta, Maid and Riff Raff's Sister), Nell Campbell (Little Nell, Columbia, Groupie), Jonathan Adams (Dr. Everett V. Scott, rival scientist), Peter Hinwood (Rocky Horror, Creation), Trevor White (singing voice), Meat Loaf (Eddie, ex-delivery boy), Charles Gray (The Criminologist, An Expert).

Cohen was introduced to the stage version when she attended SUNY Plattsburgh during college.

"Plattsburgh State College Theater Association was putting on productions of that every year" she said.

"In 2013, I auditioned and actually portrayed Riff Raff in that production. I have been onstage in productions of Rocky Horror, a total of four times. This is my fifth time associated with it but just as co-director and co-music director. This show is very, very important to me and it means everything. It's such a great experience, and I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Munson watched TRHPS from afar, though she was active in community theater.

"In 2019, I auditioned and was opposite Sarah as Columbia that year," she said.

"I think it got deep into my soul and became a big part of me, and so I've looked forward to it every year. We couldn't do it in 2020. Then we came back last year in 2021, and I was onstage again as Magenta. This year, we decided to take on the roles as co-directors together. Again like Sarah said, it's something I look forward to every year. It's a wild, fun, exciting, show that can be done differently every time. So it's always really fun to see and experience how it all comes together in the end."

'ALWAYS UNIQUE'

This iteration stars: Magenta (LeAnn Yelton), Columbia (Gabrielle Dion), Janet (Olivia Storms), Brad (Mason Barber), Narrator (Justin Ihne), Riff Raff (Lee Fay), Frank N Furter (Allie Racette), Rocky (Gavin Perrine), Eddy (Mireena Fleury), Dr. Scott (Tom Tharp), Phantoms (Mireena Fleury, Katelyn Imhoff, Tiana Saroj, Stacey Senecal, Miranda Smith, Tom Tharp).

"I would say every production of Rocky Horror, especially the three that I've been a part of, is always unique and that's the beauty of the show," Munson said.

"That's no real set way that a character has to be whether that's gender or personality. It all can be interpreted different ways. and I think, for us, that was one thing we locked in wanting that, wanting some variety and wanting to not do the normal because Rocky is not the normal. At all.

"It played up in that way for us with a lot of different options and choices that maybe people hadn't put out on the stage before. So it's been really exciting for us to see different people in different roles."

"They are absolutely incredible," Cohen said.

"The amount of talent on that stage is unreal, from the leads to the Phantoms, who are kind of the ensemble of the show, but they're so much more than that. They are set pieces. They are background singers. They are props. The Phantoms do pretty much everything. They truly, truly support the entire show."

"Our leads are absolutely stellar," Munson said.

"It's so nice to see from the opposite side of things, not being on stage, it kind of is we've passed the torch to the next generation of Rocky, and they are taking that torch and running with it. Just like Sarah said, it's something unlike anyone has ever seen."

'POP'

The majority of the show's leads are female presenting.

"You can find a lot of shows are female heavy," Cohen said.

"Our female presenting cast members get to portray a more androgynous moment, to get to really experiment themselves, and that's kind of the beauty of it. You see how much fun this cast has had playing with everything.

"The way that we put it to them is that we as the directors may have built the foundation for this house, but the cast are the interior decorators. They are the designers. They are really what makes this show pop, and it does, in fact, pop a whole lot."

CREW & EXECUTIONERS

Co-Music Directors are Cohen and Shannon Passno-Waite, Choreographer is Ashleigh Baer, Showrunner: Chris Rabideau, Stage Manager: Samantha Seymour, Stage Crew: Sally Blow, Sound Design: Jamie Durivage, Lighting Design: Amanda Rice, Hair & Makeup: Morgan Raville and Poster & Playbill Design: Allie Racette.

"We kind of had the vision and then we brought people on our team whether it's our choreographer Ashleigh or our music director Shannon or our stagemanger, Sam, or our lighting director, (Amanda)," Munson said.

"We brought those people on to execute the visions, and then we kind of call our cast the executioners, and they kill it. They kill it every time. It's a really amazing thing to see onstage like Sarah said, how much play and fun they've been having with each other has made a whole, brand new show than people have ever seen before."

Auditions were held in May to give college students a chance before they left for the summer.

"We made the decision to direct last year when we were in the production," Cohen said.

"Even before it ended, we were like it would be cool if we stepped into it and we directed and we decided to do that.

A read through of the show began in early July, and rehearsals started in August.

"Just within in the last couple of weeks, we've gotten our absolutely amazing pit band," Cohen said.

"We have a live band for this show. We got all technical in this week, so it's just really a culmination of all the hard work, months and months of work that these amazing talents have been on that is just coming to fruition right now and is incredible to see."

THE PIT

The band, Who's Lorraine?, is under the musical direction of Chris Sarkis (piano/synth), and includes Austin Petrashune (guitar), Colin Fergusson (bass), Armand Langevin (saxophone), and Chris Shacklett (drums).

"The pit, this is very different having live super-talented musicians who play together all the time," Munson said.

"They just vibe so well together that it's honestly like going to a rock concert. The before, after, intermission of our shows, really are just a full-entertainment event in itself. They just bonded so well with our cast as well that it ups it to a higher level having those talented musicians in with us."

DEPOT SETS

Some of Rocky sets are borrowed flats from the Depot Theatre in Westport.

"They were perfect for what we needed," Cohen said.

"They are actually on wheels so they turn, so we have the ability to change the location. People will see the difference of them them being outside versus them being inside. So, it's very cool to see that."

SELF-DRESSED

The cast dressed themselves based on the directors '90s theme.

"It's all individual, too, so we kind of give people the opportunity to envision their own character but also a little bit within our theme," Munson said.

"Then, people checked with us throughout like how we feel about things and what they feel good about. It's really cool to see people's individual style come out in their characters as well."

Email: rcaudell@pressrepublican.com

Twitter@RobinCaudell