Kinda embarrassed to admit that before this very night, we were total virgins.
We’d never seen Rocky Horror live before, but OMG what a cast to pop our cherry with!
Back by phenomenal demand, the iconic rock ‘n’ roll musical The Rocky Horror Show returned to Sydney for its 50th anniversary tour, starring Australian superstar Jason Donovan as Frank N Furter.
Written and created by Richard O’Brien, it has become one of the world’s favourite musicals – seen by over 30 million people worldwide, performed in over 30 countries, on every continent and has been translated into more than 20 languages. This is the only contemporary rock musical to celebrate 50 years on stage.
The story is well known: follow squeaky-clean sweethearts Brad and Janet on an adventure they’ll never forget. Bursting at the seams with timeless classics, including the Time Warp, this show is a guaranteed party.
Jason Donovan was mind blowing as the cross-dressing mad scientist. This role is world’s away from the boy next door Scott Robinson on Neighbours – the clean cut role that catapulted him to international stardom. Since then Donovan has enjoyed a massive pop career, most famously duetting with his childhood sweetheart Kylie Minogue, before making his mark on musical theatre.
He scored rave reviews on the West End as the title role in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat – even taking his version of Any Dream Will Do to #1 on the UK pop chart. He later appeared in UK productions of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Sweeney Todd, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, The Sound Of Music and this very show – first playing Frank N Furter in the 1998 UK tour.
It’s clear this is a role he knows well and he absolutely performs the hell out of it!
The rest of the Australian cast all deliver, with show stopping performances across the board. The narrator role was played by Paralympian and former Australian Of The Year, Dylan Alcott. He was fantastic in the role, and took full advantage of his wheelchair with his own personalised jokes and dance moves.
One of the most fun parts was the audience participation. The show has a legendary cult following, with fans attending midnight screenings of the film and developing an entire alternate script of one-liners and complimentary comebacks shouted from the audience.
Fans have been dressing up and singing along to the show for thirty years now. The array of costumes in the crowd was fabulous – from abstract original creations to exact replicas.
All of these elements add to the experience, making the theatre feel even more alive than usual.
Go see this show – it’s a riot! For dates and info, log onto rockyhorror.com.au