‘Horror’ flick rages to stage

This weekend the massive Equitable Gas clock-sign in the South Side will serve as a glowing… This weekend the massive Equitable Gas clock-sign in the South Side will serve as a glowing beacon for Pittsburgh’s alternative theatergoers, sci-fi monsters and ‘mdash; of course ‘mdash; sweet transvestites from Transylvania. On Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., the Rage of the Stage Players, comprised of local thespians and Pitt student Shana Fowler as the music director, will be finishing out its three-week run of Richard O’Brien’s cult classic, ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ ‘mdash; albeit a version unlike anything even the most hardcore Rocky Horror fans have ever seen. ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ a sexy and subversive musical satire of the horror and sci-fi film genres, was first performed in 1973 and quickly became an alternative theater staple. ‘[The Rage of the Stage Players’] philosophy, when we do stage standards, is to make changes without fear,’ said James Michael Shoberg, director of the show and founder of the Players. ‘I re-imagined all the character concepts, visuals and even some of the choreography, but I refused to touch the dialogue or the music.’ A wise decision, as ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ is perhaps best known for its leagues of zealous fans that dress up as their favorite Rocky Horror characters ‘mdash; and other sci-fi and horror figures ‘mdash; to attend infamous Rocky Horror late-night showings. ‘I was, of course, aware of the fervor of Rocky Horror fans,’ said Shoberg. ‘I was just removed enough from Rocky Horror to be able to make these changes, and I knew I was on the right track when [my wife] Carrie, a fan and long-time performer of the show, started getting excited about the changes.’ The general plot of the show, however, remains unchanged. Brad Majors (Dave Gallagher) and Janet Weiss (Erica Jureckson), a recently engaged couple, experience a car breakdown on the way to see their science tutor. They find their way to the mansion of one Dr. Frank-n-Furter (William Newman), a self-proclaimed ‘sweet transvestite from Transylvania’ and mad scientist who takes Brad and Janet hostage for the night. Shoberg’s changes begin with the frame of the show ‘mdash; in O’Brien’s original version, a late night double-feature presided over by an usher/narrator ‘mdash; into a film class, with the teacher serving the same role as the double-feature’s usher. Even before the show starts, an actor playing the role of an obnoxious student (attending the course because of fleeting promises of ‘titty flicks’) greets ‘mdash; and harasses ‘mdash; audience members as they arrive. ‘We like to create a theatrical experience from the moment the audience walks through the door, and the classroom setting was perfect for that,’ said Shoberg. The most sweeping changes Shoberg made were to two of ‘The Rocky Horror Show”s most beloved characters, Dr. Frank-n-Furter and his Transylvanian cohort, Riff Raff. Rather than have Dr. Frank-n-Furter simply be a man in women’s clothing, Shoberg ‘mdash; in an inventive costuming turn ‘mdash; has Frank-n-Furter dressed on one side as a man and on the other as a woman (complete with makeup, hair and shoes), literally bifurcating the sweet transvestite into male and female personas. ‘I was not going to allow him to be a man dressed in woman’s clothing,’ said Shoberg. ‘If we went with almost a ‘freak show’ aspect to him ‘mdash; so when he’s facing Brad you would see the male side and when facing Janet, the female side ‘mdash; I thought it would be interesting and powerful. I wanted to give him more panache. I wanted to meld Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers together.’ The biggest change, however, was the actual bifurcation of Riff Raff into incredibly creepy boy scouts Riff (Gentry Thurman) and Raff (Peter Anthony Vetrini). ‘I just stared at the name until it came to me,’ said Shoberg of the big split. ‘I knew I would be treading in dangerous waters by changing them, but I had always seen [Riff Raff] portrayed in the same way, and I wanted to change that.’ Shoberg’s subtle theme for the show ‘mdash; a ‘time warp,’ which is also the big dance number in the show ‘mdash; led him to make many other similar changes in order to create representatives of every decade since the ’30s. So many changes, in fact, that Shoberg does not expect every audience member to absorb it all in one viewing. ‘I realized we were dumping a lot [of changes] on this, but you don’t have to appreciate everything to thoroughly enjoy a few things. It’s all a big, really exciting painting we’ve been working on,’ he said. ‘But I encourage everyone to come and watch it again to get anything they missed.’ The production’s well-known music (the other aspect untouched by Shoberg) was directed by Shana Fowler, a junior music major at Pitt. ‘I had a friend who knew [The Rage of the Stage Players] were looking for musicians, and that’s how I got involved in music direction for it,’ said Fowler. ‘It’s my first time being a musical director for a production, although I was familiar with ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ beforehand. I worked with the vocals, taught the actors the songs and worked with and played in the ensemble, Eddie and the Mind-F*cks.’ On the changes, Fowler was positive. ‘I was really impressed with what Jim [Shoberg] was able to do with it. I thought he did a great job with re-imagining it.’ Overall, both Shoberg and Fowler are pleased with the turnout and the experience of the show so far, especially at the requisite midnight showing last weekend. ‘I’ve received a lot of positive feedback on the changes,’ said Shoberg. ‘The production started out a bit light, but by the second weekend every show was almost to capacity. We even had a huge group of Pitt students come out in full costume.’