THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW Previews — Page 5

agree. the highest rates on Broadway merch - and from the non-profit Roundabout.

rosscoe(au) said: "That hoodie design is truly awful."

FYI, that lyric in that font actually appears on stage. And that green is everywhere!

The merch is, thankfully for my bank account, very ugly. I expected to come home with way too much crap but was happy leaving with just my soda cup with the show logo on it. I still have a couple shirts from the last revival that I wear (that was some good quality material they used) and see no need to replace them.

Has anyone down the rush yet? Wondering how early I’d need to be and where they put you

Saw this tonight and thought it was overall very solid. It's not a reinvention or a radical take, it's a very solid, well-designed production.

Luke Evans really is great. Can't be easy stepping into that role, but he tackles it and fully commits in every way. He looks like he's having a blast up there and that invites the audience to have fun too. Vocally rather good, he has a unique voice that sounds appropriately gruff and weary and it really works.

Andrew Durand isn't treading new ground in this role, but I found him really delightful and fun. And beautiful to look at.

Amber Gray is zany and odd and making a meal of that role.

Josh Rivera also stood out to me, sang it very well, had a fun dumb jock take on it, and looked spectacular in a really odd costume (shoutout to that jockstrap though!).

I've seen Stephanie Hsu onstage in SpongeBob and Be More Chill and did not care for her in those, have enjoyed her onscreen though so approached this cautiously optimistic. Thought she was overall very enjoyable, I think at times she's doing a little too much, but it's Rocky Horror so it doesn't not work. Vocally, rather messy, which again isn't much of a problem in this show, but I did find myself wishing she sang it all just a little bit better.

Juliette Lewis is sick apparently and you can tell. Her voice is just kind of not there and especially in the opening number she seemed really uncomfortable trying to push through. Will definitely return later in the run when she's feeling better.

Rachel Dratch I enjoyed. She's not doing anything exceptional, but she's being Rachel Dratch and that works for me. Harvey Guillén I think fares better as Dr. Scott than he does as Eddie.

Michaela Jaé I have loved since Rent Off-Broadway and was excited to finally see her back onstage but she felt...off. Vocally, rather impressive, but she is doing a character voice pitched SO high and it's coming from the back of her throat and so any dialogue she has is incomprehensible and her comedic timing seemed out of step. I'm hoping she finds her footing.

The direction didn't seem especially unique aside from "Over at the Frankenstein Place," which I thought was very clever and fun. The choreography is unobtrusive. The overall scenic design is impressive especially in a day and age when musical revivals are usually stripped down to a table and chairs. I did expect a bit more from the costumes, especially for the floor show -- why is Janet the only person who got a completely new costume for that? -- but everyone looked good.

It is odd how much they discourage the callouts. I understand why, but at the same time it shifts the energy of the show in some very odd ways because it is a ridiculous show that doesn't really make sense and it almost feels like there's something missing when you don't hear the audience shout out.

Overall, a fun night. I look forward to revisiting in a month or so when everyone has settled in and their pacing/timing has been figured out.

everythingtaboo said: "Merch is really kinda lame. In my mind, the pin set quotes should be on the rest of the merch. Would rather one of those on a t-shirt then Denton Athletics."

I was curious as to why they had a “Denton Athletics” shirt. It seems absolutely random

A shirt that says "Denton Athletics" feels more appropriate for Shock Treatment merch, tbh.

I'm a huge Rocky Horror fan and like I said I was super excited for this production. From all the things I've seen from the social media marketing, Sam seems to be the perfect director for this and that he has a real passion and vision for the show. Overall, I had a really fun time at the second preview Friday night. It feels like an event. I'm glad I saw it. That said, here are my thoughts.

What I enjoyed the most:

• The immersive aspect of the scenic design. It's like the aliens have taken over the theater, which feels like a callback to Brian Thompson's original set designs, setting the show in a rundown movie theater.
  
• Luke Evans is SPECTACULAR. Sexy, irreverent, menacing, and beautifully vulnerable during his final song. He holds the audience firmly in his grip from the moment he steps onstage and maintains it for the entire show.
  
• The staging of his entrance during the Floor Show equals the impact of his entrance for "Sweet Transvestite." It's drag, it's queer, it's spot on.
  
• Stephanie Hsu is HILARIOUS and completely gets the assignment. She appears to be having a lot of fun playing Janet and her comedic moments in Act II are terrific.
  
• Harvey Guillén is clearly having a ball! He makes bold choices with both of his roles but it is his take on Dr. Scott that’s WONDERFULLY SILLY AND CAMPY in the best ways. I disagree with the comments that he’s not a singer. Although he doesn’t have the type of voice that can blow the roof off the place like Meatloaf in the movie or Lea DeLaria in the first Broadway revival, he knows what he’s doing.
  
• Rachel Dratch is an ABSOLUTE JOY every time she appears on stage takes complete advantage of her time in the spotlight, showing off her comedic chops and wonderfully animated facial expressions. Her eyes can convey a thousand words.
  
• The use of the Phantoms/Ensemble. There's a very Christeene moment from Paul Soileau right before "Damnit, Janet" that cracked me up.
  

Here's what I felt on the fence about:

• Audience participation. When seeing the movie, I am 100% all for callback lines that differ from the ones most fans know and use. The movie never changes and isn't a live performance, so it's fun to hear a callback line that may reference something from 2026. When seeing the live stage show, there needs to be a balance that keeps that tradition alive but also doesn't distract the actors or become annoying for the rest of the audience. When something slightly affects the actors it can be fun, especially for Frank and the Narrator. (At the performance I saw, a moment in Act 2 before the Floor Show when Frank is lamenting to Riff Raff and Magenta someone said something that didn't land quite right to which Luke replied, "Oh, SHUT UP!" and that got a great laugh and reaction from the audience.) What is the metric for that balance? I don't know. Should everyone shout "Say it" at the end of "Sweet Transvestite"? Absolutely! However I don't think lines about the Criminologist's neck (or lack thereof) in the film, should be shouted at the Narrator, as that's something directly related to a shot in the film. It's definitely a tricky and nuanced call to make, especially when it happens during dialogue only in the stage show that most fans aren't familiar with. I hope for the sake of the actors and the ushers, audiences are able to find that balance.
  
• Amber Gray as Riff Raff. I know she can deliver a show stopper. When I saw her in The Great Comet, her performance of "Charming" was EPIC. She totally understands the material and is giving a decent performance—the moment she has before the end of Act 1 is solid, especially dramaturgically—but her vocals didn't blow me away. It's all Raúl Esparza's fault.
  
• Andrew Durrand. He sings the role very well and he seems totally game for all the shenanigans Brad is put through, but something is missing.
  
• Josh Rivera's Rocky. Like Andrew Durrand's Brad, he does a fine job and if you're excited about objectifying him, I have two words: DAT ASS.
  
• Although the elements of the scenic design that spill out into the theater are fun, what dots has actually put on stage although functionally effective (especially the television monitor set piece), is rather underwhelming. On the one hand the vision for this production reads like it's supposed to look cheap and DIY, which I can totally get behind, since there's a sense that Sam's vision is to take the show back to its scrappy roots, and reflect B-movie budgets. But paired with the legacy of Studio 54 and the fact that it's being produced on Broadway, it doesn't feel fully realized for some reason.
  

The negatives:

• Juliette Lewis. She has the difficult task of the starting the show as the Usherette, and while the crowd was electric, she doesn't match their energy. Knowing she's sick, I'm somewhat willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I also don't understand what she's trying to do with Magenta. Her take seems to be that Magenta is strung out and apathetic to everything happening around her, which is somewhat funny in contrast to how big and over-the-top all the other characters and performances are, but I was disappointed. When she returns as the Usherette at the end of the show her timid characterization makes a bit more sense, but there doesn’t appear to be a clear idea about who the character is.
  
• Michaela Jae Rodriguez's Columbia. She is going for the high-pitched, squeaky quality that Nell Campbell gave Columbia but her vocals and take on the character aren't successful. I'm a fan of Loot, so I know she can do comedy, and although she looks great and is putting in 100% into her performance, she is perhaps sadly miscast.
  
• The costumes. Some of the choices David I. Reynoso has made work and feel in keeping with the costumes designed by Sue Blane for the film but through a 21st-century lens. However, once again the intension seems to be that things are supposed to look cheap and without much or any of an editorial point of view. The best part of Rocky's costume is how it exposes his jockstrap.
  
  (SPOILER) Only Frank gets an outfit extravagant enough for the excess of the Floor Show, and even then he's in flats! What everyone else has on is pretty pedestrian and is more or less the same outfits they've been wearing throughout the show but with the addition of some accessories. (END OF SPOILER)
  
• Ani Taj's choreography, particularly for "Time Warp." It's not particularly memorable or adding much to the staging.
  
• The hair and wig design is all over the place. While I think it's a great choice for Frank to take off his wig during "I'm Going Home," the wig Frank wears looks so wrong. It'd be a much better look to use Luke's actual hair since he isn't shaving off his mustache.
  

TL;DR
It's a good time, especially for Rocky Horror fans, but I'm not sure this production will experience the same success as the last Broadway revival.

Updated On: 3/29/26 at 06:12 PM

There’s nothing to spoil. He makes his entrance from the top of the staircase that’s center stage. As for the other -

Oh, same here!

quizking101 said: "Jordan Catalano said: "There’s nothing to spoil. He makes his entrance from the top of the staircase that’s center stage. As for the other -

"

I loved that moment because

"

Haven’t seen it yet but it also sounds like it could be a reference to the infamous crescent moon doing coke off a spoon that hung in Studio 54.

TheatreMonkey said: "So wait...with all this praise for Luke Evans, we were wrong to completely damn a performance and performer based on a 20-second clip of a music rehearsal, before he had even gone on once?!"

I never doubted he'd be perfect.

Edited. I think I had too much coffee this morning, I'm really feeling my oats this morning.

Updated On: 3/30/26 at 09:03 AM