THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW Previews — Page 8

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.

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.

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

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. 

 

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

Christeene 

https://vimeo.com/200916466



I believe it’s still banned on YouTube

 

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

yyys said: "Christeene

https://vimeo.com/200916466

I believe it’s still banned on YouTube"



 

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

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

Andrew was out last night, April 11.

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

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

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…

 

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.