THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW Previews- Page 8

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 4/8/26 at 8:51am

Ultimately, Rocky Horror is unlike any other show. It has its own culture, and most going into it have an understanding of what that culture is. There is an expectation of the Rocky Horror audience to be met. There are ways to meet these expectations while limiting the culture clash that can occur with those expecting a traditional Broadway show.

There has been a regional production performed in Indianapolis a couple times over the years that has a participation screen with lines for the audience. It includes the most popular callbacks, and it is made clear that audiences should stick to the script. It gives those who are familiar with the show their outlet, it gives those less familiar with the show a chance to participate, and it lets the actors get through the show with minimum distraction because they know what is coming. It worked really well, and it was genuinely fun.

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/8/26 at 8:57am

WldKingdomHM said: "CoffeeBreak said: "LUKE EVANS. That's all. Best lead in a musical this season. He makes this production."

I don’t get the Sam P hype as a director or even Michael Arden"

Both are part of the new age of Broadway directors and aren’t afraid to take big swings or be precious about existing source material. Michael Arden took off because of his mixed-hearing production of Spring Awakening, and one of his Tony Awards is for a technology heavy musical about robots that seemed close to folding until reviews got in and hailed it a triumph.

Pinkleton is slightly more green than Arden, but his bag is merging the worlds of scrappy downtown theatre with uptown “legitimate” (used loosely) theatre. 

Both are entitled to their flops, especially when they’ve had success in equal measure. Hal Prince and Des McAnuff are both multi-award winners I can think of who’ve directed a few boners in their long careers. Let Arden and Pinkleton cook - their visions are always going to be in competition with your expectations 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/8/26 at 9:38am

Exactly. Everyone is entitled to their flops but it doesn't make it any less disappointing for someone who on paper would be a great choice for a certain show, to end up with an all around disappointment for folks who've waited years for this. I think of all the shows this season, this is the one I'm most curious about what critics will say.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/8/26 at 10:03am

Just extended to July 19. 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 4/9/26 at 9:19pm

So has Luke been out the last three nights at Rocky? And Andrew out tonight?

[chrisampm]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 7:13am

I was there last night and thought Paul Soileau, the U/S for Evans, gave the best performance of the bunch. Commandingly transgressive.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 10:22am

chrisampm said: "I was there last night and thought Paul Soileau, the U/S for Evans, gave the best performance of the bunch. Commandingly transgressive."

I imagine Paul aka Christeene will be phenomenal in the role. He’s a seasoned performer and performance artist. Completely brilliant. I’d love to see him. 

 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 4:31pm

Bettyboy72 said: "So has Luke been out the last three nights at Rocky? And Andrew out tonight?"

Andrew is out again tonight!

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 6:37pm

I had actually never heard of Paul Solieau until someone mentioned his Christeene alter ego, and after a quick Google search, two things come to mind.

1) Based on pictures alone, you can already tell they know what they are doing and the show will be in good hands.

2) C’MON SAM WITH THE STEALTHY DOWNTOWN CASTING!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christeene_Vale

[yyys]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 6:39pm

I’d love to see Paul Soileau as Frank…I read that he is speaking in his Louisiana accent? 

[yyys]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 6:45pm

Christeene 

https://vimeo.com/200916466



I believe it’s still banned on YouTube

 

Updated On: 4/10/26 at 06:45 PM

[All that Yazz]

Posted: 4/11/26 at 3:06am

quizking101 said: "I had actually never heard of Paul Solieau until someone mentioned his Christeene alter ego, and after a quick Google search, two things come to mind.

1) Based on pictures alone, you can already tell they know what they are doing and the show will be in good hands.

2) C’MON SAM WITH THE STEALTHY DOWNTOWN CASTING!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christeene_Vale"


my friend saw him perform in a tiny venue in Brighton, UK. He said he started the show by pulling some KFC  out of his a** and throwing it into the audience! Classy!

Updated On: 4/11/26 at 03:06 AM

[Lot666]

Posted: 4/11/26 at 10:09am

yyys said: "Christeene

https://vimeo.com/200916466

I believe it’s still banned on YouTube"



 

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/11/26 at 10:20am

All that Yazz said: "quizking101 said: "I had actually never heard of Paul Solieau until someone mentioned his Christeene alter ego, and after a quick Google search, two things come to mind.

1) Based on pictures alone, you can already tell they know what they are doing and the show will be in good hands.

2) C’MON SAM WITH THE STEALTHY DOWNTOWN CASTING!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christeene_Vale"


my friend saw him perform in a tiny venue in Brighton, UK. He said he started the show by pulling some KFC out of his a**and throwing it into the audience! Classy!"

Coulda went my whole life without knowing that information and yet now I’m kind of weirdly glad I do.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 4/11/26 at 10:46am

Can anyone who’s seen the show speak to what the orchestrations are like?

[darquegk]

Posted: 4/11/26 at 12:18pm

It's a five-piece band: guitar, bass, drum, keyboard and sax. Same size as the last Broadway revival (subbing in a sax instead of a Key 2/Guitar 2 book).

[cglaid]

Posted: 4/12/26 at 7:51am

Bettyboy72 said: "So has Luke been out the last three nights at Rocky? And Andrew out tonight?"

Andrew was out last night, April 11.

[Schvinga]

Posted: 4/12/26 at 11:07am

Pinkelton isn't all that green-- he directed a disastrous Head Over Heels in Pasadena and an equally awful La Cage. It may be that musicals are not in his wheelhouse.

[BwayStarlette]

Posted: 4/12/26 at 2:18pm

Was Luke back on yesterday (Saturday) and/or any understudies? I'm going next week and getting nervous ! 

[the.hard.part]

Posted: 4/12/26 at 4:02pm

At the matinee Sunday just Andrew is out

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/12/26 at 6:26pm

So, in 99% of theater productions, people should always follow theater etiquette. Do not distract, be quiet, etc. But I would never expect a silent Rocky Horror Show, that's just not within the spirit of this show. I've only seen one regional production of this, and it was tons of chaotic fun. From the jump with this announcement, I was questioning the company and director behind it. It didn't seem like a natural fit, like at all.

As someone who doesn't love constant call outs, I attended a matinee since I knew that would be naturally quieter than their late-night shows, and most likely full of subscribers just trying to get their money's worth. The show was fun, the cast was exciting, and the audience was older and reserved for the most part. I was sitting between an older couple and a younger man. When the man shouted out "She's got no f*cking neck!!! regarding Rachel the older man leaned allll the way over and told him to "SHUT THE HELL UP". He was stunned and remained quiet for the rest of the show. The couple never laughed once, they were just...there stone-faced. It's like Sir, do you know where you are? The rest of the show had basic call outs but no one trying to make the show about them (I read on Reddit someone just screaming things for 5 minutes until Luke finally said something that shut them up). I spoke to an employee who said there's been a lot of issues striking a balance between "different types of theater-goers" and complaints on both ends. Very diplomatic and polite, but I could tell it's been a lot for them.

This got me thinking about the note on their website that has changed at least twice. It's confusing and clearly not getting the message across. It's truly the "Shake your ass BUT.... watch yourself" show of the Broadway season.

Updated On: 4/12/26 at 06:26 PM

[Jumpin_J]

Posted: 4/12/26 at 6:47pm

Sutton Ross said: "So, in 99% of theater productions, people should always follow theater etiquette. Do not distract, be quiet, etc. But I would never expect a silent Rocky Horror Show, that's just not within the spirit of this show. I've only seen oneregional productions of this, and it wastons of chaotic fun. From the jump with this announcement, I was questioning the company and director behind it. It didn't seem like a natural fit, like at all.

As someone who doesn't love constant call outs, I attended a matinee since I knew that would be naturally quieter than their late-night shows, and most likely full of subscribers just trying to get their money's worth. The show was fun, the cast was exciting, and the audience was older and reservedfor the most part. I was sitting between an older couple and a younger man. When the man shouted out "She's got no f*cking neck!!! regarding Rachelthe older man leaned allll the way over and told him to "SHUT THE HELL UP". He was stunned and remained quiet for the rest of the show. The couple never laughed once, they were just...there stone-faced. It's like Sir, do you know where you are?The rest of the show had basic call outs but no one trying to make the show about them (I read on Reddit someone just screaming things for 5 minutes until Luke finally said something that shut them up).I spoke to an employee who said there's been a lot of issues striking a balance between "different types of theater-goers" and complaints on both ends. Very diplomatic and polite, but I could tell it's been a lot for them.

This got me thinking about the note on their website that has changed at least twice. It's confusing and clearly not getting the message across. It's truly the "Shake your ass BUT.... watch yourself" show of the Broadway season.

Thanks for posting this, but it seems like they're sending very mixed messages.

 

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/12/26 at 7:00pm

the.hard.part said: "At the matinee Sunday just Andrew is out"

I was also there this afternoon. John Yi was on as Brad and, honestly, I liked him a HELL of a lot more than Andrew. Yes - Andrew is good, but John had a certain chemistry with Stephanie that just made things crackle a lot more.

Luke Evans’ Frank is certainly no fluke - after being sick and coming back today, he was in full force as much as he was 1st preview and he had the primarily post-menopausal audience in heat. If nothing else, his “Sweet Transvestite” should be the Tony performance so it’s preserved for all time. 

The callout situation is…still not fixed. While the first preview was a free for all, this performance had a heavy air of restraint - which is a major problem because you could feel the audience wanting to shout out and the cast even left some pregnant pauses in to coax the audience, but even the usual Brad/Janet slander was restrained.

I will say I did cause the whole audience to laugh at one point since I was initially sitting house left right in front of Rachel and when she said the words “the clouds were heavy, black, and pendulous”, I instinctively called out “LIKE YOUR BALLS”. After it came out, I covered my mouth, but Rachel heard me, gave me and in character glance and continued “Yes, like my balls!”. What a moment…

 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/12/26 at 7:19pm

 Thanks for posting this, but it seems like they're sending very mixed messages.

You're welcome, and that's why I posted both. They thought the first sign was good enough but then changed it to the second. I hope they can find a balance, but I completely agree with your statement. 

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 4/12/26 at 7:26pm

Every single one of these statements Roundabout has sent is meaningless. They are just words on a page. I truly believe the only way this is fixed is with decisiveness. Give us a stuffer with 5~ callouts we are encouraged/instructed to shout and a polite request to refrain from anything else. Send that email. Make it a verbal pre-show announcement.