Ready to Time Warp with City Circle?

Coralville - Not produced in the south corridor since City Circle produced it in 2001, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show is a perennial Halloween Favorite. An irreverent musical mash up of Science Fiction, Horror and Kitsch features such infectious tunes at “Sweet Transvestite”, “Over at the Frankenstein Place” and “The Time Warp.”

Featuring actors brand new to City Circle and many local favorites (including a generous helping of the Hairspray cast), this production features all the lines, all the songs, brand new choreography and a brand new, concert-like staging. Also, the hair, makeup and costumes are inspired by Lady Gaga and other current pop sensations.

The fun begins one half-hour ahead of curtain time where City Circle will be holding a costume contest in the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts lobby. In a unique move, they will also be auditioning singer/actors to take over the song “Charles Atlas (I Can Make You a Man)” in the production. “We wanted to take audience participation to a higher level and actually have someone come on stage and sing with us,” says director Chris Okiishi. “We will have the sheet music for them and the band and cast are excited to work them in. Come show us what you’ve got!”

Also on sale are prop bags filled with the necessary “Rocky Horror” essentials—confetti, flashlights, playing cards, noisemakers and more. Outside props are not allowed.

There are two performances Friday and Saturday night: 7:30 pm and 10:30 pm. For more information and tickets, go here.

CAST:

Narrator – Walker Williams (Kalona)
Brad – Michael Penick (Iowa City)
Janet – Ramya Hipp (Iowa City)
Magenta – Elizabeth Breed (Iowa City)
Riff Raff — Rod McCrea (Iowa City)
Columbia – Victoria Vaughn (Iowa City)
Frank – Justin Mangrich (Marion)
Eddie/Dr. Scott – Brett Myers (Iowa City)
Rocky – Ryan Forbes Shellady (Iowa City)
Usherette-who-survives/Tap Queen – Jessica Murillo (Iowa City)

Transylvanians:

Danielle Paulsen (Coralville)
Kelly Richeal (Coralville)
Alicia Weidner (Iowa City)
Becca Wright (Coralville)
Joel Collins (Iowa City)
Robert Kemp (Tiffin)
Jacob Ludin (Iowa City)
Wesley Tener (Iowa City)
Michael Wright (Iowa City)

The Transylvanian Trio:

Acaica Williams (Kalona)
Ellen Stevenson (Iowa City)
Barbara Lee (Iowa City)

Rocky Horror Auditions Sept 20 Only

Coralville - City Circle will hold auditions for Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show on Tuesday, September 20 from 7-10 PM at Community of Christ Church, 2121 South Ridge Drive in Coralville.

They are seeking actors, singers, dancers, rock stars, aliens, etc. for principal roles and singing/dance ensemble. Auditioners are asked to bring a song to sing (sheet music) or sing from the score to the show.

Contact CityCircleRocky@gmail.com to schedule an audition. The show goes up Halloween Weekend, Friday and Saturday, October 28-29, 2011.

A Review of Rocky Horror

By Sarah Jarmon

CSPS - Rocky Horror is the kind of cult classic that die hard followers can feel comfortable coming home to, so it seemed an odd choice to start the show off with an unfamiliar, albeit hauntingly beautiful, rendition of “Science Fiction.” And while Meghan Donohue, this production’s Magenta, was more than equal to the task, belting the sliding notes of this revised piece with chilling grace, it nevertheless started the show off with a shaky equilibrium that never quite settled into comfortable territory.

The simplistic set worked well for this production, giving the actors opportunities to act as set pieces and props while providing levels and interesting stage pictures, which they did admirably. The most notable example of this was the transition from “Over at the Frankenstein Place” to Brad and Janet’s entry into the castle. When the lights cut out for the song there were audible gasps. Flashlights created both the storm and a wickedly appropriate convention for lighting Brad and Janet’s journey to the castle door where the phantoms, who formed the castle wall, rotated en mass to show the switch from outdoors to indoors. It was easily the most visually exciting section of the play. They set up this convention with the audience well, but regrettably underutilized it.

The sold-out house was comprised of more than a few Rocky Horror “virgins,” perhaps due to the slightly questionable casting of more than a few minors. But the large crowd on Thursday night was oddly subdued for a Rocky audience. There were some technical aspects that may have been the cause of this hush. The cast and crew were allowed only two days, of their already tight production schedule of twenty-three, to rehearse in the performance space. This manifested itself in a helter-skelter spattering of lighting issues and microphone complications. The most regrettable of which rendered all of what I’m sure was a wonderful rendition “Sweet Transvestite” entirely inaudible.

But when we couldn’t hear everything, we certainly had plenty to look at. The costumes blazed with the vibrant pizazz we in the Cedar Rapids arts community have come to almost unconsciously associate with Alisabeth Caraway. Oversexed pastels practically dripped off the phantoms, while Frank, Magenta, and Riff Raff were adorned in the more typical black leather and red lace Rocky fans the world over will instantly recognize.

The largest problem with this Rocky seemed to be character development. Janet started out with more worldly qualities than perhaps wise. She never quite came off as innocent and seemed all too willing to sex up Frank which made “Touch-a Touch-a Touch-a Touch me” less about giving in and more about going all out, which actually made me feel really sorry for Brad. The chorus themselves never really gave Ryan Foizey, or Frank ‘N’ Furter, the cowed and lustful respect Frank is due. That lack of reverence coupled with the choice to sodomize Eddie with a giant dildo gun, as opposed to murdering him with a chainsaw, muddied the story. Frank, whose Ziggy Stardust make-up and soulful vocal quality should have stood out above all else, was shunted aside in favor of Abby Pederson as a valley-girl version of Columbia, who was pretty consistently falling out of whatever top she was in.

Meghan Donohue and Rob Merritt stood out as the most believable characters. As Magenta, Megan went with classically sardonic and slightly bored, while Rob opted for an unusually nerdy thus understandably jealous Riff Raff. The duo were spot on and delightfully alien in contrast with the human phantoms whose in your face sexuality seemed slightly distasteful by comparison.

This performance did showcase the extremely ardent work that was put into this Rocky. Given a few more days and a bit more attention to the development of the plot this piece would have matured into a great show. The outstanding vocal talent and diversity of this group of actors made this a visually appealing wonderfully outrageous Rocky Horror to be remembered.

Rocky Horror in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids

CSPS and Riff Raff Theatre - Black leather corset: Check. Fishnet stockings: Check. Transvestites from another planet: Check.

Halloween 2009 offers you two different opportunities to experience Rocky Horror. From October 29 through the 31st, CSPS in Cedar Rapids hosts the return of the all-local stage version of the famous midnight cult flick. And on Halloween night at midnight, Riff Raff Theater is proud to bring that famous midnight cult flick back to life once again at the Englert in Iowa City. Both shows promise lots of audience interaction. For information about the CSPS show, go here. For information about the Riff Raff show, go here.