The Rocky Horror Show, Richard O’Brien’s campy 1973 musical, has returned to Broadway at Studio 54 with a star-studded cast including Luke Evans, Juliette Lewis, and Rachel Dratch. However, the revival struggles to capture the energy of the iconic 1975 film adaptation, which remains the definitive version for many fans.
The production, directed by Sam Pinkleton, begins promisingly with Lewis’s wobbly rendition of Science Fiction Double Feature and clever stagecraft by Pinkleton. But the energy soon sags, with aimless staging and a lack of the crispness that marked Pinkleton’s earlier work on Oh, Mary!.
Luke Evans, playing Frank-n-Furter, appears self-conscious in dialogue but shines in songs like I’m Going Home, where his tenor voice impresses. Rachel Dratch delivers comedic highlights as the Narrator, engaging with audience callbacks, but other performances fall flat, including Harvey Guillén’s barely audible turn in Hot Patootie.
The revival assumes too much familiarity with the material, leaving some audience members confused. At one performance, two adolescents and their mother did not return for act two. While die-hard fans may enjoy the show, the production fails to make the experience accessible or consistently entertaining for a broader audience.
