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The Rocky Horror Show (updated)

Theatre.com interview with Tom

Tom Hewitt's Dr. Frank Whips Up a Frenzy in Rocky Horror

By Randy Gener <mailto:RandyG@Theatre.com>

Tom Hewitt as Dr. Frank N. Furter Tom Hewitt as Dr. Frank N. Furter NEW YORK - People magazine got it wrong. The sexiest Broadway star isn't any of the clean-cut clones, muscle-bound carbon copies or perpetually tanned romantic leading man types who usually get fingered by the usual gang of stereotype-brained media fawners. Oh, no. Broadway's sexiest man in stockings plays a sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania. Lusty, androgynous, lascivious, he wears black corset, satin undies, garter belt, fishnet gloves and stockings and platform shoes. And he's got big, thick, red-hot lips. As soon as Tom Hewitt walks onstage and flings open the lab coat, you immediately forget Tim what's-his-face. Towering over every nerd, sexpot, wacko, biker, riffraff alien or blond boytoy in the Broadway revival of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show, which opens Tuesday, Nov. 15, Hewitt juices up the lead role of Frank N. Furter and turns in an impudently infernal performance as the knight of dark desire. "As an actor, I'll do anything," Hewitt told Theatre.com, in the middle of previews. "I'm pretty shameless in that regard. It's a strange experience. I really enjoy doing it because I've been given a lot of freedom. This cast is so outrageous. It has inspiring and different everyday. It's such an adventure. And I'm still being encouraged to explore new boundaries.

The show plays an unorthodox weekly schedule, eliminating the traditional Wednesday and Saturday matinees: Saturday at 5 and 9:45 PM, Sunday at 2 and 7 PM and Tuesday through Friday at 8 PM.

Without question, this Rocky Horror revival is the highlight of Hewitt's career. It's a breakout role, after years of mostly replacing other actors in major Broadway shows. At around the same time he was cast in Rocky Horror, Hewitt was playing another outsized role, Scar in Disney's The Lion King. A Montana native, he's appeared on Broadway in Yasmina Reza's Art, Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosensweig and Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The School for Scandal. "I play a lot of royalty and a lot of larger-than-life, elevated type of characters," Hewitt confessed. "So that's helped me absolutely and let me be Frank. He's royalty. He's got to be the ruler in a certain sense." It's well-nigh impossible to tell which drips more with manly sensuality: Hewitt's resonant voice or his commanding physical presence. For years, he has intelligently played masculine characters. At his most brittle or lightly satric, his comic style blends boyish charm and suave timing. Hewitt's straight-acting persona is practically embedded in the noggins: Charles in Guthrie's Blithe Sprit, Antony in Shakespeare Theatre's Antony and Cleopatra, Alan Strange in Equus, Astrov in Uncle Vanya and Rochester in Paper Mill Playhouse's Jane Eyre. Hewitt is the first to point out that nobody is more surprised than he that he was cast in The Rocky Horror revival. During these celebrity-worshipping times when big-name stars are normally plopped in Broadway shows, he actually thought the show's director Christopher Ashley (The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told,) was going to cast him as an understudy to some popular so-and-so. "Christopher Ashley lives near me," Hewitt explained. 'We did Jeffrey together. Months ago, before auditions were held for Rocky Horror, Chris said he was directing this show with some famous name, probably David Bowie. I thought, 'My God, that's fabulous.' I knew they were looking for stars. My boyfriend got wind of the audition and told me that it would be fun for me to audition. At the time, I didn't think about Rocky Horror in the context of a a live show. When my agents called me to ask if I wanted to audition, I just did it on a lark. I felt guilty because I wanted to show off for Christopher. I mean, where else can a 42-year-old guy sing lyrics like 'I am sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania'?" Hewitt is not the Methody kind of actor who confuses life with his art. He will gladly leave Dr. Frank behind in the dressing room, though he did confess that since taking on the role he has spiced up his own wardrobe and made it "a little more textured." As Dr. Frank N. Furter, Hewitt makes outrageous use of his acting pedigree. He is one of the original Americans to work with Tadashi Suzuki's avant garde company in Japan. The cornerstone of the Suzuki method is the belief in the potential of human beings to tap into their animal energy. "For this show I started with external stuff and built the role going outward from there," he said, adding with a soupcon of mischief: "I like to build walls that are thick and hard. This show is silly. You have to invest and commit to what the characters are trying to do. Bringing into it realistic or naturalistic behavior is not a good idea. I was 17 years old when I first came in contact with the original Rocky Horror musical. I was an undergraduate at the University of Missouri in Montana. My friends and I were excited went we went to the movie, but we were disappointed in the film. It's so slow. That's why people yell things out; there are these huge gaping pauses." Now that he's performing in Rocky Horror at Circle in the Square, Hewitt has found that the audience participation element varies greatly night after night. "The audience is the newest member in the show," Hewitt said. "This show is the strangest damn thing I have ever done. We have to keep so awake and alert and concentrated in ways we don't expect. The audiences change every night. During Saturday nights, they tell throughout the show. But on Sunday matinee, there's nothing. We're literally figuring out how it works." If there's anything that Hewitt finds disappointing about The Rocky Horror Show, it's that Dr. Frank N. Furter has to die in the end: "The show has this 1955 sci-fi sensibility of the fag as a tragic character. I'm sort of tired of that. I'd like to see him live. His message is, 'Don't dream it. Be it.' He wants to spread love to people and free people sexually. But his plans are thwarted by Transylvanians." Speaking of freeing people up sexually, will Hewitt's parents come to see their son lord it up as Dr. Frank N. Furter on Broadway? "My parents are in their mid-80s," he replied. "I tried to explain to them what the show is about. My mom called me back and said, 'We just rented the movie. It looks like you're going to have a lot of fun.' They've seen me in real weird stuff." Can he share some of the twisted, perverted stuff he gets to act out onstage? "I'm not going to give that away," Hewitt said. "You have to wait and see, little mister!" Sigh! {:-)-:}

PLAYBILL ON-LINE'S BRIEF ENCOUNTER with Tom Hewit

Tom Hewitt is just getting to the point where he feels it may be safe to bring in a few additional items to his dressing room at Circle in the Square. He stars there as Frank 'n' Furter in the revival of the Rocky Horror Show and, by all accounts, Hewitt is a dynamic stage presence - an intelligent new star who is strutting his stuff alongside rocker Joan Jett, celebrated wit Dick Cavett, and theatre's ubiquitous songstress, Alice Ripley. Likable, direct, bold, funny and mesmerizing in performance, Hewitt spoke with Playbill On-Line backstage as he prepared for a show.

Playbill On-Line: In an earlier interview, Jordan Roth (producer Rocky Horror Show) commented on the national casting search and said that of all the Frank 'n' Furters and all their costuming choices, you were the one actor who portrayed true masculine menace together with feminine allure - how did you prepare for the role?

Tom Hewitt: Well, I think my choices were actually colored by the fact that when I auditioned, I didn't think I would ever be cast in the show. I didn't think it was a possibility. I've known Chris Ashley (director RHS) for a long time - he directed me in Jeffrey. I've known him since the early '80s and he lives near me, so I see him on the train platform once in a while. Last spring he told me he was directing Rocky Horror and by that time there were already rumors about the stars who were going to be in it. They were already tossing around Joan Jett and Dick Cavett.

PBOL: So how did you get in?

TH: Chris was on his way, as we spoke, to meet some famous rock star about the role and he said to me, "Would you come in and audition?" And I said, "Chris, you're never gonna cast me!" Plus, I was in the Lion King (as "Scar") and I didn't think Disney would let me out of my contract because there were a couple of months overlap.

PBOL: Were you just contracted with Disney, or still performing the role?

TH: I was still performing, and they overlapped. I performed two weeks in Lion King and rehearsed Rocky during the day. Disney was great though, and they eventually let me out.

PBOL: Getting back to how you came to the role, did you have any personal connection with the material as you were growing up?

TH: I never really considered the show as a "stage show" really. I mean, you only think of it in the context of the movie. And I wasn't a big fan of the movie, I never particularly liked it. I remember lovin' the music and listenin' to the original Roxy cast recording, I think it's an L.A. recording, made, perhaps, with the same production that was here in the '70s. Anyway, the music was great, and the arrangements were awesome and it rocked; and at an undergraduate school in Missoula, Montana in the mid 70s we played it all the time. It was like religious music-it was like funky and made fun of the genre of Sci-Fi and it was kind of sexy and naughty and we loved it.

PBOL: There was a meaningful connection for you?

TH: Well, we were so excited when the movie came out and yet so disappointed in it because it was not a particularly good movie. Of course, Tim Curry was brilliant in it, and I'd catch it every once in a while on VH 1, but I never really thought about it as a role I'd like to do. But then the agents called and said, "Do you want to audition?" And I thought about it for a second and said, "Yes I do."

PBOL: What prompted your interest?

TH: Well, I'm 42 and I thought: When else in my life am I going to have an opportunity to sing, "I'm just a sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania?" I just thought it would be fun to muster up the guts to go in and kinda show off for Chris Ashley. I wanted something-basically- to work on a little bit.

PBOL: It sounds like it was almost an exercise or a background statement..something you could look back on and say, "Remember the time I did that?"

TH: Exactly, and I needed some experience auditioning for musicals. I just don't do it...in Lion King we do a lot of speaking. It's kind of a Rex Harrison-y role you know, and I really didn't consider myself a singer in that role. But I wanted to give it a shot and I wanted to show off and I almost felt guilty going into it because I thought I might be wasting Chris' time. Then I started working on the music and became obsessed with it and I couldn't not work on it. I knew something was going on. It wasn't "work," and I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I was given three numbers and two scenes to audition with and by the time the audition came around I had really worked something up. I had really worked on it.

PBOL: The story goes that you arrived for the audition in character and fully dressed for the role.

TH: Against the advice of several of my friends I decided to show up wearing something. In the past, if I wore a tie to an audition, that was a big character choice for me. I've never done anything like that before and it took some guts. And I wanted to see if I had the guts to go through with it. So, I got mismatched fishnets - I put one fishnet on my arm and I got a lab coat from the puppet shop at the Lion King. My hair looked like this, I had it sort of bleached and it was grown out, so I think I actually got the role because I was blonde. I knew I had a lot of leg, so I knew that I could do some leg stuff. I got a pair of pumps from a hair guy at Lion King that I squeezed into. I could wear them for 15 minutes without bleeding. So, I squeezed into those and pranced around. But you know, I remember thinking in the audition, "Well, they're gonna have to deal with me!" It sort of all came through and there was nothing at stake for me. There really wasn't. I had all these assumptions: I had a great job at Lion King that I loved, I knew Chris, I knew Jerry Mitchell and I assumed they weren't going to give me the job. At the same time, I wasn't gonna understudy. I knew I wasn't gonna leave (Lion King to understudy. They were going to hire a star. So, I wasn't scared, I just went in and showed off. I just had fun for that day and tried to let that audition be what it was: "There, I sang "Sweet Transvestite," thank you very much for lettin' me. Goodbye...you'll never see me again." But then, they cast me!

PBOL: You can speak to different people about Rocky Horror and if they have a connection to it they seem to be able to define it. It seems that you found your connection somewhere in the preparation for the audition.

TH: Well, I knew that it was going to be all or nothing. It's one of those characters where you have to really, completely immerse yourself in it, you can't sort of go halfway. You really have to surrender to it and part of that is wearing that stuff. However shocking it is to see myself in it outside of the context of the show, and however humiliating it is - whatever - it's also very powerful to walk into a room (stands in dressing room and demonstrates a Frank 'n' Furter strut) and think, "I'm wearing this, and you're not." It's amazing - I was amazed at how powerful it was. And, in terms of auditioning in costume, there really wasn't a choice as far as I was concerned. I thought Chris might not like it, but I couldn't conceive of doing that material without making some attempt at bein' a fabulous alien transvestite.

PBOL: It had to be done.

TH: It had to be done, it was just a question of whether I really had the courage to carry through. (laughs) But I was embarrassed. The first time I went in, I didn't have the guts to change my clothes outside of the room, where everyone was congregating. Now, there were a lot of people there and nobody else was dressing up, it was just me. So, I had my sweatpants on and the lab coat and I took off the sweatpants really fast and tried to get dressed but that was kind of a mistake. But the next two times I auditioned I had the courage to prepare myself outside the room and sit proudly in my doctor's coat and fishnet stockings and spiked heels.

PBOL: But by that time, you probably felt like you owned it a bit, no?

TH: I felt like I owned it and I knew they were interested in me. I told them I wasn't interested in being an understudy and they said, "No, no, they want you for the role." Then I started to think it was a good idea to cast me. I mean, they have enough stars, I wouldn't give them any trouble, I'd be good.

PBOL: David Rockwell (set designer RHPS) said that what inspired him to do the show was director Chris Ashley's description of his message, which was essentially-and I'm paraphrasing here- that people should be free to make any decision they choose to make. What about you?

TH: "Don't dream it, be it." If people are going to leave with a message from the show, it would be that. Now, if people get that, that's fine, but it's a nasty little rock 'n' roll show. That's basically what it is, and it's a whole lot of fun and an opportunity to be incredibly indulgent and combine a lot of different disciplines that I've come in contact with over the years. As for any sort of redeeming social message or epiphany that they want to leave the audience with, that's not up to me. My job is in the moment to moment, song by song things, those smaller decisions that make up the bigger picture.

PBOL: Yet your character, Frank 'n' Furter is the play's undisputed focal point.

TH: Well, I suppose. In a way I get to have absolute permission to behave outrageously-so I am not dreaming it, I'm being it. So I feel a little bit of a responsibility to "be it" for those 700 people out there every night who can't-or won't-completely let themselves go. To have fun, for their sake.

PBOL: Do you find Rocky audiences interact and did you know what to expect of them?

TH: You know, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. A few weeks before the show opened , lots of us from the cast went to E. 12 St. and saw the show. I'd never seen it in the context of participation before and it was enlightening. I'm glad I saw it because it [the audience call-backs during the show] can sound like heckling. When people yell at you, especially things like "asshole, slut," things like that, these are not kind words they are yelling at you. It feels like heckling, but it's noooooot, not, not heckling-it's love. It's a feeling of community. It was almost religious without the spirituality. I thought it was so charmingly human and American, just grasping on to any kind of culture or ritual that we can in our young society. It was funny and clever, yet I couldn't watch the whole thing because I couldn't watch Tim (Curry), I was trying to get Tim out of my mind.

PBOL: Is the show so familiar to audiences that it is formal and predictable?

TH: It varies from night to night. It varies when people yell, what they yell and if they yell. I have a little permission to stray from the script. I tend not to, because it's hard. It's more fun for me to respond with the script but to give it a little spin (mugs in character). A lot of us have two or three different ways to deliver a line depending on what - and if - people say something. We have like Plan A, Plan B and Plan C. It continues to evolve. People now yell things that are specific to our show instead of just the movie.

PBOL: Like what? TH: Like when I sing, "So, I wanted to be dressed...." And they shout, "Like Eva Peron!?" And I sing, "Just the saaame." Now, Tim Curry was not dressed anything like Eva Peron and I've got beautiful silk gloves and stuff...

PBOL: This may be one of the most bold and outrageous role of your career-do you feel you've gotten to a point where you are able to really play with it?

TH: I feel like I'm getting a little bit braver. One example is that sometimes people get carried away and they throw rolls of toilet paper at us - a lot of rolls of toilet paper on the stage - and we have Lea (de Laria) in a wheelchair and we have to do a show and we have to deal with that. So, I have to stop them and try not to discourage them from participating; I try not to be school-marmish and chastising but still make it very clear that it's not okay to throw a bunch of shit at us while we're trying to work out there.

PBOL: Let's compare directors - Julie Taymor compared to Chris Ashley.

TH: Well, in Lion King, as a replacement, I really didn't work with Julie. I did a small film with Julie called "Fool's Fire." Julie directs...well, Julie designs and directs, so her direction has a lot to do with fulfilling a big aesthetic picture. It has to do with costumes and usually a puppet or some extension of a human body that you're wearing or manipulating. So her directions and her motivations have to do not only with you physically, but a prosthetic something or other that's happening, too. Chris, of course deals in more bare bones. Even the film "Jeffrey," was more minimalist, it was just a projection screen basically. This show is pretty bare bones, too. We're kind of on a thrust stage, and though the set does some pretty amazing things, we're really just people out there. Chris really gave me free reign. He liked what I did in the audition and he encouraged me to move along those lines, so this really felt like a collaboration between Chris and Jerry. They would ask my opinion and it was an awesome and really rewarding actor/director relationship.

PBOL: What's it like to work with Dick Cavett?

TH: You know, these people like Dick and Joan (Jett), they're like icons. I remember Dick, I watched him when I was a kid. It's really great. And his part changes daily depending on what's happening politically. He was completely clueless about the whole Rocky thing when he came in, but it's really fun to see him develop his dynamic in the show.

PBOL: Was there ever anything on your resume that you took off the moment you had bigger and better things to replace it with?

TH: I am proudly an American regional theatre actor. I always have been and I always will be. I am enjoying my time on Broadway, but for the sake of space I have lumped all of my regional theatre credits into "Tom Hewitt has worked in regional theatres throughout the U.S." For the first time, I've stopped listing things that I've done regionally.

PBOL: A final question - is there anyone you'd like to work with but haven't had the chance to?

TH: Victor Garber. I have had the opportunity of working with him, but I haven't spent any time on stage with him. I've understudied him twice and I've learned so much from him. I have this game where if I get stuck acting I like channel Victor Garber and ask, "What would Victor Garber do right now?" And it kinda helps. I really love him and admire him and I would love to share the stage with him sometime.

By Murdoch McBride <"mailto:mmcbride@playbill.com">

Rocky Horror Show to Open at Bway's Circle Nov. 15 Instead of Halloween

30-AUG-2000

Producer Jordan Roth's revival of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show, originally said to be opening Halloween night, will in fact open Nov. 15, production sources now say. As reported earlier, preview performances begin Oct. 20 at Circle in the Square. Roth has scheduled shows running Tues.-Fri. at 8 PM, Sat. at 5 and 9:45 PM and Sun. at 2 and 7 PM. Roth's revival of the cult musical, The Rocky Horror Show, will feature an eclectic cast, including Dick Cavett (Into the Woods, Otherwise Engaged, television's "The Dick Cavett Show"), Lea DeLaria (On the Town, Chicago, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, "The First Wives Club"), Joan Jett (her Broadway debut), Jarrod Emmick (Damn Yankees, Miss Saigon), Raul Esparza (Evita, Slaughterhouse 5), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent, Two Sisters and a Piano, Flawless ), Alice Ripley (Side Show, James Joyce's The Dead, King David, Les Miz, Sunset Boulevard) and Tom Hewitt (Disney's The Lion King, Art School for Scandal, The Sisters Rosensweig, Jeffrey).

O Brien's 1975 musical will feature comedienne-actress-singer DeLaria as Eddie/Dr. Scott, rocker Jett as Columbia, author-actor-talk show host Cavett as the Narrator, Hewitt as Frank 'n' Furter, Rubin-Vega as Magenta, Ripley as Janet, Emick as Brad and Esparza as Riff Raff.

The production team, under director Christopher Ashley comprises choreographer Jerry Mitchell (The Full Monty, Hedwig, Jeffrey, Jam on the Groove), scenic designer David Rockwell (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Theatre, Mohegan Sun Casino, Cirque Du Soliel Theatres), lighting designer Paul Gallo (Titanic, Smokey Joe's Cafe), costume designer David Woolard (Damn Yankees,The Who's Tommy, The Donkey Show, "A Few God Men"), sound designer Richard Fitzgerald, musical director Henry Aronson and orchestrations by Doug Katsaros (Footloose).

Producer Jordan Roth has made clear choices for the revival. "It's a going to be a very non-traditional Broadway show," Roth told Playbill On-Line in July. The producer said the show will be "absolutely as interactive" as audiences would expect The Rocky Horror Show to be. Over the years, the stage and film versions of the show have engendered a strong fan base, which, despite its size, has been described as a cult following. "People can expect the show to be done in the same way that audiences have always responded to Rocky Horror," Roth said, "meaning the way that the music and characters inspire people to sing and dance and interact with each other. That's the experience of the Rocky Horror Show live."

The stage version of the show ran on Broadway for about one month in 1975. The film version, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," was also released in 1975 and was directed by Jim Sharman. The film featured many members of the Broadway cast and starred Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O'Brien, Jonathan Adams, Meatloaf, Little Nell (Campbell), Charles Gray and Patricia Quinn.

Though Roth's current Off-Broadway show, The Donkey Show, was adapted from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and his mother's recent hit, The Bomb-itty of Errors, was based on the Bard's Comedy of Errors, there is no adaptation planned for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. "This is not going to be an adaptation," Roth insists. "The movie was actually based on the original stage show, which it followed quite faithfully. This is the stage show and it's not adapted, reworked or re-concepted.' But, it is certainly going to be a 'Rocky Horror' experience unlike any other."

Tickets are $30-$79.50. Circle in the Square is located at 1633 Broadway, on 50th St. For tickets call Tele-Charge at (212) 239-6200.

-- By Murdoch McBride

Rocky Leads Announced The people behind the upcoming Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show have finally confirmed most of the leading players for their production, which is set to open on November 13th at the Circle in the Square Theater. Although there are no proven box office draws in the leading roles, the cast is shaping up as an eclectic mix of theater pros, pop culture icons and lesbian role models. Joan Jett, Dick Cavett, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Alice Ripley, Jarrod Emick and Lea DeLaria have all been confirmed as cast members. The biggest question mark at this point is who will play Rocky, the hunky creation of Dr. Frank 'n' Furter. Bernard Telsey Casting, who is handling the show, has even begun placing ads in HX and other gay bar magazines looking for bodybuilders who can sing. Jett will make her Broadway debut as Columbia, the off-beat Frank 'N' Furter groupie. Jett is best known to be the 80s rocker who spawned such hits as “I Hate Myself For Loving You,” “Crimson and Clover” and “I Love Rock 'n' Roll.” Jett told Broadway.com that despite her lack of Broadway experience, this is not her first theatrical pursuit. “Theater was one of the first things I was interested in as a kid, even before rock and roll,” she said. “I was into theater in junior high school and putting on the school plays and things like that. So it's always something that's interested me.” Ripley has been cast as Janet, the innocent all-American girl. Ripley was in the original Broadway cast of The Who's Tommy, Sunset Boulevard, King David, Side Show and James Joyce's The Dead. Her work in Side Show, in which she and Emily Skinner (also returning to Broadway in The Full Monty) played Siamese twins, earned her a Drama Desk and Tony Award Nomination. She was also seen on Broadway as Fantine in Les Miserables. Check out Broadway.com's video footage of Alice crooning her solo rock songs at She Rocks Broadway. Jarrod Emick makes a return to the stage as Brad, the nerdy dupe who, with Janet, stumbles into Frank ‘n’ Furtner’s lair. Emick won the 1994 Best Featured Actor in a Musical Tony Award for his performance in Damn Yankees. Emick was also said to be a contender for the role of Curly in the Broadway revival of Oklahoma! before that show’s Broadway rebirth was delayed. Tom Hewitt will take on the legendary role of the sweet transvestite, Frank 'n' Furter. Hewitt’s Broadway credits include roles in The Sisters Rosensweig, The School for Scandal, Art and his current gig as Scar in The Lion King. Off-Broadway he has made appearances in Jeffrey, Beau Gest, Richard III and Othello. Hewitt has the intimidating task of following in the large footsteps of Tim Curry, who played the role in the film. “Tim's performance is iconic," Hewitt told Broadway.com. "The breakdown for the audition said 'we don't want a Tim Curry imitation,' but to set about working on it and not to do Tim Curry is... he's just so it and so right for the part. It's hard in a lot of ways not to manifest him in a lot of degrees.” For a gender twist, Lea DeLaria will play Eddie and Dr. Scott, roles originated by Meatloaf. DeLaria earned an Obie Award, Theatre World Award and Drama Desk nomination for her performance in 1998’s On The Town. Her other theatrical credits include the Encores! production of L’il Abner, the Chicago tour and the recent Actors’ Fund reading on The Women. Rent's first and most popular Mimi, Daphne Rubin-Vega, will take on the role of Magenta, the creepy sister of Riff Raff. She told Broadway.com that she's not afraid of the potential rabid nature of the Rocky audiences though. “As long as they don't throw things that hurt us, I think we'll be fine,” Rubin-Vega joked. For her performance in Rent, Rubin-Vega earned the Theatre World Award and Obie Award. She also received Tony and Drama Desk Nominations for her performance. Since leaving Rent she has worked on her recording and film careers, appearing in Wild Things and Flawless. Be sure to watch Daphne performing at She Rocks Broadway. Cavett will star as the Narrator. Although best known for hosting various incarnations of The Dick Cavett Show, he has been on Broadway before in Otherwise Engaged and Into the Woods. Raul Esparza will play Riff Raff, the bizarre and slightly sinister keeper of the gate. Esparza is best known for his appearance as Che Guevara in the recent Evita tour. 24-year-old Jordan Roth (The Donkey Show) makes a Broadway producing debut with The Rocky Horror Show. “Everybody's been dying for Rocky Horror to come to New York,” Roth said in his Broadway.com Q&A. “I think audiences are looking for and finding new ways of experiencing live entertainment. We've seen the trend over the last ten years and all of these interactive shows borrow something from Rocky Horror. It only makes sense to let audiences experience the original.” Christopher Ashley (Jeffrey, The Most Fabulous Story..., As Thousands Cheer) is directing the production. His only Broadway credit is last season's short-lived thriller Voices in the Dark. Ashley told Broadway.com that the creative team, “really wanted a cast that felt really fresh, that felt really eclectic, sexy… [like] you've never seen them together in a show." "It" choreographer Jerry Mitchell is creating the movement for the show. “The thing that makes me so excited about the project is it is a chance for people to feel free,” Mitchell told Broadway.com. Best known for his racy work on the annual Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefit Broadway Bares and The Full Monty, Mitchell joked about his reputation. “All of the sudden I'm the choreographer with nudity in every show,” he joked, “It happens! What can I say? My reputation proceeds me, I guess!” Come watch some of Mitchell's sexy footwork of Broadway Bares 2000.

August 22, 2000 (12:36PM)

Rocky Horror Show Features Quirky Cast: Cavett, Jett, DeLaria

22-AUG-2000Jordan Roth's revival of the cult musical, The Rocky Horror Show, will feature an eclectic cast, including Dick Cavett, Lea DeLaria (On the Town), Joan Jett, Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent), Alice Ripley (Side Show) and Tom Hewitt.

Today's Daily Variety (Aug. 22) reports that the revival of Richard O Brien's 1975 musical will feature comedienne-actress-singer DeLaria as Eddie/Dr. Scott, rocker Jett as Columbia, author-actor-talk show host Cavett as the Narrator, Hewitt as Frank 'n' Furter, Rubin-Vega as Magenta, Ripley as Janet, Jarrod Emick as Brad and Raul Esparza as Riff Raff.

As reported earlier, producer Jordan Roth has made clear choices for the revival. "It's a going to be very non-traditional Broadway show," Roth told Playbill On-Line in July. Roth plans a Halloween opening this season. "Rocky Horror will come straight to a Broadway house," Roth added, with no out-of-town tryout.

Director Christopher Ashley (Drama Dept.'s Communicating Doors, As Thousands Cheer and Claudia Shear's Blown Sideways Through Life at the New York Theatre Workshop) will helm the show, Roth said. Roth is the son of producer Daryl Roth (Wit, Three Tall Women and The Bomb-itty of Errors) and himself the producer of the Off Broadway hit, The Donkey Show. Roth also said the show will be "absolutely as interactive" as audiences would expect The Rocky Horror Show to be. Over the years, the stage and film versions of the show have engendered a strong fan base, which, despite its size, has been described as a cult following. "People can expect the show to be done in the same way that audiences have always responded to Rocky Horror," Roth said, "meaning the way that the music and characters inspire people to sing and dance and interact with each other. That's the experience of the Rocky Horror show live."

Though Roth's current Off-Broadway show, The Donkey Show was adapted from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and his mother's recent hit, The Bomb-itty of Errors was based on the Bard's Comedy of Errors, there is no adaptation planned for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. "This is not going to be an adaptation," Roth insists. "The movie was actually based on the original stage show, which it followed quite faithfully. This is the stage show and it's not adapted, reworked or reconcepted.' But, it is certainly going to be a 'Rocky Horror' experience unlike any other."

-- By Murdoch McBride

Wednesday August 23 6:07 AM ET

Jett, Cavett join cast of Broadway ``Rocky''

By Robert Hofler

NEW YORK (Variety) - Veteran rocker Joan Jett will make her Broadway debut in a revival of ``The Rocky Horror Show,'' which is set to open at the Circle in the Square on Nov. 13.

Jett will play Columbia, and will be joined by talk show veteran Dick Cavett as the narrator in Richard O'Brien's musical take on the Frankenstein legend.

In a show that features the escapades of a cross-dressing mad scientist, rookie Broadway producer Jordan Roth goes a step further with an example of female drag. He's cast lesbian comic Lea DeLaria (``On the Town'') to play Eddie/Dr. Scott, roles originated by rock 'n' roller Meatloaf in the musical's London premiere and the 1975 Gotham production.

Other castings include Tom Hewitt as Frank 'n' Furter; Daphne Rubin-Vegas as Magenta; Alice Ripley as Janet; Jarrod Emick as Brad and Raul Esparza as Riff Raff. Christopher Ashley will direct.

``The Rocky Horror Show'' revival marks Roth's second stage production. He is also producer of ``The Donkey Show,'' which continues in its Off Broadway run at the Club El Flamingo.

Cavett's Broadway credits include ``Otherwise Engaged'' and ``Into the Woods.''

Reuters/Variety REUTERS