Rocky Horror Show Analysis

What do laser beams and Transylvania have in common? What happens when mad scientists meet groupies? The classic cult production, The Rocky Horror Show, brings together elements of glam rock and Horror B-Movies. This winter, the University of Colorado Theatre Department brought the classic science fiction and campy humor to the University Theatre stage. Directed by Hadley Kamminga-Peck with musical direction by David Nehlsthe, the musical captured the essence of Richard O’Brien’s 1973 musical. The story begins with our straight-laced leads, Brad Majors (Ian Fraser) and Janet Weis (Elizabeth Williamson), confess their love and are engaged, singing the iconic number Dammit Janet. While on a drive they get caught in a rainstorm, leading them to a castle to find a working phone and to seek shelter for the night. Within the castle, Brad and Janet find themselves transported to a sensual, science fiction world. They meet Dr. Frank N. Furter (Dillon Colagrosso), a bi-sexual, transvestite mad scientist, in the process of him animating a model specimen of a man, Rocky Horror (Aaron Bloom). The couple’s time in the castle is full of sexual exploration, groupies, betrayal, aliens, and choreographed dance numbers. The time warp …show more content…
The ideality of the sexual revolution and counterculture are clear in the music and costume choices. However, Rocky Horror is a criticism of many countercultures. When Frank N. Furtur kills Eddie, one of his former lovers and the musical’s pinnacle of rock and roll, he also kills the philosophy. This is a criticism of widespread countercultures as a whole and how they detract from true uniqueness. The musical is an elegy for the individualist. Under the hip-shaking and black leather, Rocky Horror is a call for self-expression, leaving the audience sharing the same curiosity as Brad and Janet: who are you after Rocky