{"id":2386768,"date":"2026-04-24T01:37:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T01:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2386768"},"modified":"2026-04-24T01:37:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T01:37:05","slug":"the-rocky-horror-show-review-broadway-shows-got-killer-performances-but-dammit-janet-make-it-more-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-rocky-horror-show-review-broadway-shows-got-killer-performances-but-dammit-janet-make-it-more-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;The Rocky Horror Show&#8217; review: Broadway show&#8217;s got killer performances, but, dammit Janet, make it more fun"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F04%2F126246209.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--review alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n\t\t<span class=\"inline-module--review__eyebrow subsection-heading-semi__label\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tTheater review\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"inline-module--review__title subsection-heading-semi\">\n\t\t\tTHE ROCKY HORROR SHOW\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"rating\">\n<div class=\"rating__stars\">\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--half\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--empty\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>One hour and 50 minutes, with one intermission. At Studio 54, 254 W. 54th Street.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s just a jump to the left. And then a step to the right.<\/p>\n<p>Put your hands\u2026 over your mouths!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou will not be seeing a film, but a live theatrical performance,\u201d goes a lecturing preshow message at the revival of \u201cThe Rocky Horror Show,\u201d which opened Thursday night at Studio 54.<\/p>\n<p>The rather patronizing announcement works, and the sexily performed, well-sung production from \u201cOh, Mary!\u201d director Sam Pinkleton for the most part reverts back to the 1973 musical\u2019s quieter origins before superfans in fishnets began shouting back at the screen and throwing rice at midnight movie screenings down in the Village.<\/p>\n<p>Callouts are not strictly prohibited on Broadway. There are still a few. At the performance I attended, a dusting of ticketbuyers yelled \u201cslut!\u201d at Janet Weiss (Stephanie Hsu) and \u201cassh\u2013e!\u201d at Brad Majors (Andrew Durand). The narrator, played by Rachel Dratch, absorbs some more, although they were at times so timidly expressed that Dratch had to ask the solo screamers to repeat themselves. During \u201cScience Fiction, Double Feature,\u201d in shame I silently mouthed, \u201cWhat the f\u2013k\u2019s a triffid?\u201d for fear of being put in time out.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--more inline-module--columnist inline-module--more--thirds\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<h2 class=\"inline-module__heading subsection-heading subsection-heading--single-line \">\n\t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"subsection-heading__sub\">Johnny Oleksinski<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>By intermission, the audience interaction is pretty much over.<\/p>\n<p>I dwell on this for a few reasons. Most apparently, the production\u2019s indecisiveness on the rules regarding a 50-year-old global tradition that organically began right here in New York is awkward, and ticketbuyers should not be feeling wobbly at a show that preaches \u201cgive yourself over to absolute pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Do it or don\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Luke Evans plays Frank-N-Furter in \u201cThe Rocky Horror Show\u201d on Broadway. <span class=\"credit\">Sara Krulwich\/The New York Times\/Redux<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But if you don\u2019t, brace yourself for an inevitable energy dip. While composer, writer and original Riff Raff Richard O\u2019Brien never intended for his sci-fi horror rock musical to be mocked by costumed attendees in unison, the show also wasn\u2019t designed to be in a 1,000-seat Broadway theater either. It started out decidedly subversive \u2014 playing London and LA rock clubs, abandoned cinemas and tiny theaters.<\/p>\n<p>Trying to size up, it proved a bad fit during its first go-around on the Great White Way in 1975, and closed a flop after 45 performances. As Jim Sharman, the director of the original production and the cult-classic movie,<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/08\/13\/entertainment\/how-nyc-turned-the-rocky-horror-picture-show-into-a-cult-classic\/\"> told me last year<\/a>, \u201cIt only faltered once, when it went mainstream, on Broadway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a lesson in that: It\u2019s wise to embrace what \u201cRocky Horror\u201d is, or, in the case of the fans\u2019 orgiastic outbursts, what it wondrously has become.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Brad (Andrew Durand) and Janet (Stephanie Hsu) get more than they bargained for when they wander into Frank\u2019s castle. <span class=\"credit\">Joan Marcus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Still, there\u2019s much to like, even adore, in Pinkleton\u2019s revival \u2014 from its Fritz Lang-y metallic manikins to a dark and seductive castle set that feels ripped from a Jim Steinman music video to two knockout performances from Luke Evans as Dr. Frank-N-Furter and Hsu as Janet. Yet when the plot practically disappears midway through Act 2, and the crowd\u2019s lips are zipped, you just crave something more, more, more.<\/p>\n<p>You can\u2019t do better than \u201cSNL\u201d alum Dratch as the Narrator. A pompous hoot, she turns the Narrator into Professor Downer and takes us on the strange journey of engaged young lovebirds Brad and Janet.<\/p>\n<p>Durand and Hsu make the ideal pair of sexually naive Goody Two-shoes that scamper into Dr. Frank\u2019s spooky manse to use the phone after their car breaks down only to wind up in sex ed. class. If you saw Durand in \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/04\/04\/shucked-review-broadways-best-new-musical\/\">Shucked<\/a>\u201d or \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/04\/27\/entertainment\/dead-outlaw-review-wild-corpse-musical-is-too-tame-on-broadway\/\">Dead Outlaw<\/a>,\u201d you know he\u2019s born to be Brad.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>They\u2019re greeted by Riff Raff (Amber Gray) and Magenta (Juliette Lewis). <span class=\"credit\">Joan Marcus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Clutching their pearls before removing their clothes, B and J are greeted with \u201cThe Time Warp\u201d by butler Riff Raff, who Amber Gray plays as a gremlin, and his weird sister Magenta (Juliette Lewis with a possessed vibe that\u2019s refreshingly un-Broadway).<\/p>\n<p>In an especially wishy-washy moment of pseudo-involvement, two audience members go onstage to do the pelvic thrust while the other 998 remain politely seated.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re rocked back awake when that sweet transvestite from Transylvania bursts in in the spectacular form of Evans.<\/p>\n<p>To be frank, he\u2019s a fantastic Frank. The Welsh actor has Tim Curry\u2019s easy lasciviousness and chesty voice, but he\u2019s not so sinister \u2014 he\u2019s more mischievous and playful as he gets buttoned-up Brad and Janet to do some exploring. Evans\u2019 his-and-her seduction scenes with Hsu and Durand are the liveliest parts of this \u201cRocky Horror,\u201d and whenever Evans struts onstage, you can\u2019t take your eyes off him.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Josh Rivera makes a refreshing Rocky. <span class=\"credit\">Joan Marcus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Of course he vies for our peepers\u2019 attention with Josh Rivera as Frank\u2019s manly monster Rocky. It\u2019s nice to see that Rivera isn\u2019t the usual International Male type that so often plays the hunk-enstein, and he does well with that 1950s pastiche toe-tapper \u201cThe Sword of Damocles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eddie, the rebel delivery boy, is a rocky ride for anybody. When Meatloaf is the Eddie of record, his godlike range is a tough act to follow. Harvey Guill\u00e9n, by contrast, isn\u2019t much of a vocal powerhouse on \u201cHot Patootie, Bless My Soul\u201d and it\u2019s a fleeting diversion. He improves, however, when he switches into Dr. Scott after poor Eddie is sawed to pieces.<\/p>\n<p>But, dammit Janet, what a total wow Hsu is. The \u201cEverything Everywhere All At Once\u201d actress\u2019 descent from virtuous to vixen is more fun and full-out than I\u2019ve ever seen it. And her \u201cTouch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me\u201d vibrates with vivacity. She\u2019s naughty, nice and nuclear.<\/p>\n<p>Also Hsu, thank Frank, finally reacts shocked and offended when the crowd calls her a \u201cslut!\u201d The super funny reaction comes as a big relief in the uncertain room and offers an enticing glimpse of what might have been.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Theater review THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW One hour and 50 minutes, with one intermission. At Studio 54, 254 W. 54th Street. It\u2019s just a jump to the left. And then a step to the right. Put your hands\u2026 over your mouths! \u201cYou will not be seeing a film, but a live theatrical performance,\u201d goes a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2386769,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[344468,21741,347325,24047,345886],"class_list":["post-2386768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-broadway","tag-entertainment","tag-luke-evans","tag-theater","tag-theater-reviews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/The-Rocky-Horror-Show-review-Broadway-shows-got-killer-performances.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2386768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2386768"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2386768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2386770,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2386768\/revisions\/2386770"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2386769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2386768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2386768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2386768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}