Review: THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW Thrills Edmonton

After their car breaks down in a rainstorm, sweethearts Brad and Janet knock on the door of a nearby castle, asking to use the phone. They are whisked inside by a candelabra-toting butler and into the streamer-filled lair of a scantily clad mad scientist, Dr. Frank ‘n Furter. 

Since its humble 1973 debut, The Rocky Horror Show has thrilled audiences across the globe. The 1975 film adaptation remains a cult classic, enticing throngs of costumed fans to late-night screenings each October. Shouting at the screen is encouraged, as is dancing in the aisles, throwing rice, and waving glowsticks. Until November 3, audiences can revel in Grindstone Theatre’s wickedly entertaining live production at Edmonton’s Orange Hub.

Directed by Byron Martin, The Rocky Horror Show features a stellar cast and onstage band. Cameron Chapman and Bella King star as the sheltered Brad and Janet, sharing a playful chemistry and showcasing impressive vocals. Brad and Janet’s exaggerated reactions to the castle and its flamboyant occupants are often laugh-out-loud funny, especially when they are reluctantly drawn into the castle dwellers’ boisterous dance, The Time Warp. The couple is scandalized by their bizarre welcoming committee: sneering butler, Riff Raff (Josh Travnik), writhing housemaid, Magenta (Kendra Humphrey), and cackling groupie, Columbia (Karlee Squires). 

But nothing could prepare Brad and Janet to meet their host, the stiletto-wearing sweet transvestite, Dr. Frank ‘n Furter (Zachary Parsons-Lozinski “Lilith Fair”). Parsons-Lozinski steals the show every time he struts onto the stage, delivering a larger-than-life performance as the conniving yet vulnerable mad scientist. Rounding out the cast is Mark Sinongco as Frank’s passion project- a blonde muscle man named Rocky- and Evan Dowling as both the doomed delivery boy, Eddie, and wheelchair-bound science professor, Dr. Everett Scott. For the October 27 matinee, city councillor candidate, Joshua Wolchansky, took the spotlight as the show’s unnamed narrator. (Each performance features a different public figure; other guest stars include former Alberta premier, Rachel Notley, and drag trailblazer, Darrin Hagen.) 

Wildly entertaining from start to finish, The Rocky Horror Show makes for a perfect Halloween treat. It plays at Edmonton’s Orange Hub until November 3. 

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