Research

The Start and Development of Rocky Horror

The Creation and Creator:
In 1972 an actor named Richard O'Brien, recently fired from a production of Jesus Christ Superstar, was asked to perform a set at a Christmas party. He wrote a song about all the characters he loved from the genre of Science Fiction and some comedic dialogue, this was to be the beginning stage of a musical that would become a cult phenomenon. O'Brien  began work in a play at The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs and showed some of this new material to the director who felt it could really go somewhere due to how original and outlandish it was. O'Brien was asked to do another play and accepted on the condition he would be able to perform "The Rocky Horror Show" for 3 weeks before the play began. He was allowed to do this and wrote 2 songs and 20 pages of dialogue in a week, he pulled together a small cast and thus The Rocky Horror Show was first performed on June 16th 1973 at The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs. O'Brien was shocked to find that people actually loved Rocky Horror, believing it was too mad  and brash for most people. Rocky Horror became successful enough for it to continue- moving to the Classic Cinema then to The Kings Road Theatre.

Timeline:
1973 
June 16th-The Rocky Horror Show has its first preview at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs. It plays later that year at the Classic Cinema then the Kings Road Theatre.

1974
19th March-The Rocky Horror Show has its first US preview showing at The Roxy Theatre in LA where it has a moderately successful 9 month long run.
23rd October-Filming of the film version of Rocky titled: "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" begins in Windsor, England.

1975
10th March- TRHS starts its Broadway run at the Belasco Theatre but bombs and closes on the 5th April after only 3 previews and 45 shows.
August- The Rocky Horror Picture Show airs in London
29th September- TRHPS is released in the US.

1985
10th Anniversary of the release of The Rocky Horror Picture Show

1990
18th October- The City of L.A declared it "Rocky Horror Picture Show Day"
20th October- TRHPS celebrates it's 15th anniversary in Century City, California

1995
20-21 October- TRHPS celebrates its 20th anniversary in Los Angeles, California

2000
13th-14th October- TRHPS celebrates its 25th anniversary in Las Vegas, Nevada
19th October- The 2nd Broadway run of The Rocky Horror Show starts previews at the "Circle in the Square" Theatre. The production runs for 2 years, has 437 performances and is nominated for 4 performances

2005
October- TRHPS celebrates its 30th anniversary.
27th December- The US Library of Congress' National Film Presentation Board adds The Rocky Horror Picyure Show to its National Film Registry 

2006
March- TRHS begins a new UK tour

2010
26th October- The Glee tribute: The Rocky Horror Glee Show is aired on the FOX Network
TRHPS celebrates its 35th anniversary

2013
TRHS begins a hugely successful UK tour- with special views in cinemas

The Cast:
Original London Cast (1973):
Usherette/Magenta- Patricia Quinn
Narrator- Jonathon Adams
Brad Majors- Christopher Malcolm 
Janet Weiss- Julie Covington 
Riff Raff- Richard O'Brien
Columbia- Nell Campbell
Dr Frank'n'Furter- Tim Curry
Rocky Horror- Rayner Bourton
Eddie/Dr Scott- Patty O'Hagen

Original Los Angeles Cast (1974):
Usherette/Magenta-Jamie Donnelly 
Narrator- Graham Jarvis
Brad Majors- Bill Miller
Janet Weiss- Abigaile Haness
Riff Raff- Bruce Scott
Columbia- Boni Enten
Dr Frank'n'Furter- Tim Curry
Rocky Horror- Kim Milford
Eddie/Dr Scott- Meatloaf

Film Cast (1975):
Usherette/Magenta- Patricia Quinn
Criminologist- Charles Gray
Brad Majors- Barry Bostwick
Janet Weiss- Susan Sarandon 
Riff Raff- Richard O'Brien
Columbia- Nell Campbell
Dr Frank'n'Furter- Tim Curry
Rocky Horror- Peter Hinwood
Eddie- Meatloaf
Dr Scott- Jonathon Adams

INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH:

I re-watched The Rocky Horror Show Live and made notes which I then compiled into a mind-map, ensuring to make specific notes on my character and the creative choices of the actress who played her as well as general notes about the different elements of the production that we could use. 

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Background:

The film version of The Rocky Horror Show entitled "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" premiered in 1975. It is a horror comedy musical which is now viewed as a cult classic. It stars Tim Curry in the role of "Dr Frank'n'Furter" and featured the show's creator Richard O'Brien in the role of Rif-Raf. It was directed by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The show and subsequently the film is a parody tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s. It is very true to the show with only a few noticeable changes such as casting decisions e.g. not having the same actor play both Eddie and Dr Scott in the film. There are also some song differences: The song "Wise Up Janet Weiss" doesn't tend to feature in the stage version while Brad's balled "Once In A While" is missed out in the film. Although it was very controversial and criticised upon its release it soon became known as a "midnight movie" and it began to become a tradition to dress up as the characters in the film during these midnight screenings. It was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2005 and is currently the longest running theatre release in film history. 

Cast Interviews:

Susan Sarandon - Janet Weiss (Film)

Sarandon's father was in a band however she believed she had no musical ability and had been told frequently that she couldn't sing. She subsequently had a fear of singing in front of people. She was filming a new movie in a film studio when she decided to go and say hello to Tim Curry, a friend. At the time they were casting Rocky Horror. The other actresses they'd auditioned could sing well but didn't play Janet in the over-the-top / parody way the way the imagined her to be. Sarandon agreed to audition and sing in the movie even though she was scared to do so.

FOX didn't release Rocky due to it being too controversial so it wasn't well known in the US

She's proud to have been a part of Rocky Horror. An interesting fact to note was that Rocky Horror was meant to be in black and white up to the moment just before Sweet Transvestite where Frank'n'Furters red lipstick comes into shot however, this was above their editing budget so could not be made a reality.

Patricia Quinn- Magenta (Original London Cast, Film)

Quinn almost turned down the film as she learned she would not be singing the opening song "Science Fiction / Double Feature" as she had done during the London run of the show. However. the director invited her over so she would be able to look at the set and costume design for the film. As soon as she saw these she accepted the role of Magenta as she felt the new additions were "fabulously original".

TRHPS was filmed at Bray Studios, where Hammer House Horror was filmed. On the way to the studio she was in the car with Curry and O'Brien when O'Brien told them that he would be singing Science Fiction / Double Feature she was still annoyed by this however O'Brien asked if she'd ever seen Monray's Lips- This was the inspiration for the opening imagery of just the red lips singing. These are Quinn's lips dubbed with O'Brien's voice.

Mick Jagger was originally rumoured to be playing Frank'n'Furter. Prince Charles told her he enjoyed Rocky and would have loved to dress up as Frank and go to a showing.

Meatloaf- Dr. Scott & Eddie (Original L.A Cast), Eddie (Film)

Meatloaf's journey with The Rocky Horror (Picture) Show was, ironically, rocky. He agreed to play Eddie and Dr Scott in the original LA cast of The Rocky Horror Show in 1974. In an interview he spoke about how Richard O'Brien was present in the rehearsal the cast did in New York, these were sing-through rehearsals only and lasted for around 2 weeks before the company flew out to LA, where they would meet Tim Curry and begin staging the show. At the beginning of these sing-throughs which lasted around 2 weeks O'Brien pulled Meatloaf to one side and told him that he shouldn't try to actually sing every word of Hot Patootie as in O'Briens words: "I have tried this song with many actors in England and not a single one of them can do it, hell I can't even do it and I wrote the song." Meatloaf simply replied "I can do it." He then moved on to talk about the first time he met Tim Curry. They'd begun rehearsal in  The Roxy Theatre, Los Angeles and were singing through all the songs they'd rehearsed in New York. When they got to Sweet Transvestite, much to everyone's surprise, Tim Curry came strutting through the door of the auditorium in platform heels and fishnets and precisely on beat, began singing as Frank. After seeing this, Meatloaf was so shocked and taken aback he walked out the theatre and decided he wasn't gong to be part of the show anymore. However, after much persuasion from the director he agreed to stay as he thought it was a funny and original show. He was horrified however, to discover the scene where Dr Scott reveals the fishnets he's been hiding under his wheelchair and it took even more convincing from the director to get him to do it. However, during opening night when it came to that scene the audience laughed harder than Meatloaf had ever experienced before and in his words "I always go for the laugh". Even the cast started laughing, including Tim Curry who Meatloaf describes as "the professional actor you'll ever meet, who'll never break character." He noted that people would go and see the show repeatedly including: Carole King (who would dress up as Magenta), Keith Moon (who would leave a bottle of champagne on stage for each cast member every time he came to see the show), Elvis and Raquel Welch. 

After finishing the show in LA Meatloaf had a newfound love for  Rocky Horror and jumped at the chance to appear in the film as Eddie. He adds however that he was upset not to be playing Dr Scott too, and he still holds the belief that this makes the film seem a little lacking compared to the stage show. Despite this, his is still immensely proud of the role he played in Rocky and has kept the leather jacket he wore as Eddie in the exact condition as it was when he took it from the set. 

Tim Curry- Dr. Frank'n'Furter (Original London Cast, Original L.A Cast, Film)

Tim Curry is a very successful actor, singer and comedian. Out of the Rocky cast he is the person who has done the most work. He has been in a wide variety of films, TV shows and stage shows, often playing villainous characters. He originally rose to fame because of his role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, he'd been in the role for 2 years already by this stage, performing in both the original London and LA productions as Dr. Frank'n'Furter. Curry actually met O'Brien when they had both been in the original West End cast of Hair in 1968, this was Curry's first full-time performing job. He heard about Rocky for the first time after bumping into O'Brien on the street where O'Brien told him he was trying to find a muscle man who could sing. When Curry asked why this was O'Brien said he was putting on this own musical and to ask Tim Sharman for the script. Curry's first thought was "Boy if this works, it's going to be a smash."

He originally rehearsed Frank with a German accent and bleach blond hair before trying an American accent. He ultimately decided to play the role with heightened RP after hearing a woman on the bus say "do you have a house in town or a house in the country". He claims he said to himself "Yes, he should sound like the Queen". 

In 2016 Curry returned to the world of Rocky. This time playing the Criminologist in the TV remake of Rocky: The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do The Time-Warp Again.

Peter Hinwood- Rocky Horror (Film)

Peter Hinwood is likely the least known person in the  Rocky cast although he plays the title character. He is actually not the person who sings Sword of Damocles in the film, his voice is dubbed by Australian singer Trevor White. He had a very limited acting career with Rocky being his biggest and best role. When asked in 2000 why he gave up acting after only doing 1 job post Rocky he gave 3 reasons: "1, I can't act. 2, I cringe with embarrassment every time I see myself on film and 3, I relish a quiet, peaceful life." He is now an antique dealer in London. He actually found Rocky's gold shorts that he wore in the film and auctioned them off for almost $1000. They are now on display in the Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando, Florida USA.

Film Notes:

• Heavy emphasis of black/red imagery throughout opening credits. 
• Defines everyone as a stock character: "Janet Weiss, heroine" in opening credits
• Seductive/ provocative mood set from the beginning with lips singing Sci-Fi DF
• Small Easter eggs which foreshadow Frank and the Frankenstein Place e.g Frank's tattoo on the "Home to Happiness: Denton" sign and having the actors who play the Frankenstein Pace staff in the church singing/speaking the backing vocals in Dammit Janet. 
• The role of the narrator is a Criminologist instead- not telling the story but rather treating it as an investigation
• Elements of typical B-Movie horror films e.g sign with "enter at your own risk"
• Rif-Raf has very specific body language- his thumb twitches and his moves are slight and controlled.
• Magenta contrasts Rif-Raf, her moves are big, outlandish and free
• Frank breaks the fourth wall during Sweet Transvestite- looks straight down the camera, acknowledging the viewer
• The chorus is used much more than in the stage show
• Some scenes have been added like Rif-Raf tormenting Rocky, The Dinner Party/ Rocky's Birthday Party and Wise Up Janet Weiss
• Rif-Raf and Magenta have a more intimate relationship than in the stage version
• The editing is reminiscent of B-Movies e.g inconsistent jump cuts.
• As a general it is more seductive and suggestive rather than outright explicitly sexual.
• Frank is more physically violent in the film. 
• Magenta's outfits get more sexual and outlandish as the film goes on. 
• Dr. Scott also breaks the fourth wall 
• The film is more violent overall than the show- e.g seeing Eddie's cut up body 
• Janet loosing more and more clothes as the film symbolises the sexual awakening/ her libido getting more powerful 
• Rif-Raf & Magenta break the fourth wall before Floorshow/ Rose Tint My World/ Wild and Untamed Thing, looking directing down the camera.
• Columbia doesn't attempt to rescue Frank as she does in the stage show.
• The laser affects are very reminiscent of B-movies. 

LGBT Rights and Rocky

LGBT Rights in the UK- 1966-present

1966- The Beaumont Society was set up to provide information and education to the general public as well as medical professionals on "transvestitism". This organisation is now the UK's longest running and largest support group for transgender people and their families

After the "Stonewall Riots in New York in June 1969 the GLF- "Gay Liberation Front" was founded in 1970. They organised the first Pride march in 1972. In 1971 their manifesto spoke of all those oppressed in the LGBT and the fact they were fed up with their mistreated and angry enough to start fighting against it. GLF disbanded in late 1973 and the CHE- Campaign for Homosexual Equality led the light for equality by legal reform.

Age of consent equality came in 2001 in England, Scotland & Wales and in 2009 in Northern Ireland, meaning the age of consent (16) for sexual relationships was the same for both heterosexual and homosexual couples. However, sexual equality was still far off: in 1988 Section 28 of the "Local Government Act" banned local authorities from "promoting homosexuality" and prohibited councils from funding educational materials perceived to promote homosexuality. This stopped discussions of LGBT issues and stopped young people getting the help they needed. This was repealed in 2003 and David Cameron apologised for the legislation in 2009.

Civil partnerships were made legal in 2004 and in 2013 gay marriage was legalised in England and Wales. In 2014 it was legalised in Scotland however is still yet to be legalised in Northern Ireland.

The Gender Recognition Act (2004, in effect from April 2005) gave transgender people full legal recognition of their gender, this allowed them to get a new birth certificate and passport gender.

  

Glam Rock(y)

Glam Rock, or Glitter Rock as it was known as in the USA, was a musical movement that started in Britain in the early 1970s. It was unlike any other style in its outlandish and liberal look. Glam Rock was all about male musicians taking the stage in women's clothing, very heavy makeup and using an over-the-top theatrical persona on stage, much like the character of Frank'n'Furter. Glam Rock was all about targeting a fresh, more liberal and open minded audience.The sound and look of Glam Rock had heavy influence from space-age futurism which is of course, a huge plot point in Rocky Horror. The key features of Glam Rock musicality were a heavy guitar sound shaped by hard-rock and pop influences. One of the main pioneers of this genre was David Bowie although other members of the so-called "Glitterarti" include Slade, Gary Glitter and Marc Bolan's T. Rex. One of the reasons why Glam Rock was so popular during the early 70s was because of the bleak political, economic and social state of Britain at the time. Escalating tensions with Northern Ireland as well as the dragging feeling that the nation's glory moments had faded left people hungry for more light-hearted entertainment for distraction. Glam Rock did just this and added a rare splash of colour to an otherwise increasingly monochrome environment. It was about more than just a new, thrilling genre of music, it was about the idea of being able to change and shape your own identity, be who you wanted to be, wear what you want, look how you'd like and explore the boundaries that were now breaking about the idea of sex being a taboo societal subject.

Glam Rock emerged from a maturing Rock market, where the Flower Power movement, denim wearing, long haired musicians from the 60s were no longer what the general public wanted. People didn't want to change the world anymore, they wanted to escape it and enter in a world of pushing boundaries, testing societal norms and most of all, have this without judgement. 

It is very easy to see that Rocky Horror is massively influenced by the Glam Rock movement.  This is shown of course, mostly obviously in the character of Frank'n'Furter who displays all the key features of a typical Glam Rock musician. He dresses up in women's clothes (or lingerie more appropriately for his character), heavy, exaggerated, almost drag-like makeup and has a very flamboyant, theatrical personality. This, along with his utter disregard for traditional gender roles is very reminiscent of the ideas Glam Rock pioneered. The theme of sexual liberation which is a very big part of Rocky Horror was also something explored by the Glam Rock movement, the idea that sex didn't just have to be between a husband and wife for purposes of procreation but also something to be enjoyed and talked about more openly is very evident in Rocky Horror. To put in into Rocky context: Brad and Janet represent the ideology of traditionalism and the "correct", conservative ways of the vast majority of people in the 60s and before. While Frank, although a little on the extreme side, represents the bold, brash, liberal ideas of Glam Rock. In terms of musicality Rocky Horror's songs very much fit into this genre with the heavy guitar in songs such as Hot Patootie or Make You A Man. Time Warp was actually in the charts and is so well remembered that a great deal of people who listened to chart music at this time can actually remember the iconic movements done on "Let's do the Time Warp again". 

Science Fiction & B-Movies

I carried out research on the genre of Science Fiction, specifically B-movie Science Fiction so I’d be able to really understand all the references in my solo song “Science Fiction Double Feature”. This opens the show and the research helped me get a better understanding overall of why O’Brien put so many features of old Sci-Fi B-movies into Rocky Horror. I looked online at an analysis of the lyrics and noted down a short description of everything mentioned, this included references to films such as “King Kong”, “It Came From Outer Space” and “The Invisible Man” as well as references to characters and film stars “Flash Gordon”, Fay Wray, “Claude Rains” and Jeanette Scott. This is pictured below:

REFERENCES:

Timeline:

Rockyhorrorwiki.org. (n.d.). Roxy Cast - RockyWiki. [online] Available at: http://www.rockyhorrorwiki.org/wiki2/index.php?title=Roxy_Cast [Accessed 13 May 2019].

Live Show:

YouTube. (2019). Rocky Horror Show Live. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/wgGtWJBUXX4 [Accessed 15 Jun. 2019].

Cast List and Information: 

Rocky Horror Wiki. (n.d.). The Rocky Horror Show. [online] Available at:

https://rockyhorror.fandom.com/wiki/The_Rocky_Horror_Show [Accessed 13 May 2019].

Rockyhorrorwiki.org. (n.d.). Roxy Cast - RockyWiki. [online] Available at: http://www.rockyhorrorwiki.org/wiki2/index.php?title=Roxy_Cast [Accessed 13 May 2019].Science Fiction 

Patricia Quinn interview: YouTube. (2017). Patricia Quinn Reflects On 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' | Studio 10. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/f3NdXbLZbws [Accessed 15 Jun. 2019].

Meatloaf: YouTube. (n.d.). Meat Loaf On The Rocky Horror Show - Part 1. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/VFqmLvxORzQ [Accessed 15 Jun. 2019]. YouTube. (2007). Meat Loaf On The Rocky Horror Show - Part 2. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/SYAu0w3raQE [Accessed 15 Jun. 2019].

Tim Curry: YouTube. (2008). Wheel-chair bound Tim Curry attend 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' red carpet - Daily Mail. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/RnLkcsu3GEI [Accessed 15 Jun. 2019].
En.wikipedia.org. (n.d.). Tim Curry. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Curry [Accessed 15 Jun. 2019].

Peter Hinwood:En.wikipedia.org. (n.d.). Peter Hinwood. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Hinwood [Accessed 15 Jun. 2019].

The Rocky Horror Picture Show:

En.wikipedia.org. (n.d.). The Rocky Horror Picture Show. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rocky_Horror_Picture_Show [Accessed 10 Jun. 2019].

Glam Rock Research:
Cornell J. (2008) Rocky Horror Glam Rock. In: Weinstock JA (eds) Reading Rocky Horror. Palgrave Macmillan, New York

Science Fiction Research:

McHorse, S. (n.d.). RockyMusic - Annotated Science Fiction/Double Feature. [online] Rockymusic.org. Available at: http://www.rockymusic.org/sfdf/ [Accessed 28 May 2019].

Den of Geek. (n.d.). Rocky Horror Picture Show: The Movies And References Behind Science Fiction Double Feature. [online] Available at: http://amp.denofgeek.com/us/movies/the-rocky-horror-picture-show/223858/rocky-horror-picture-show-the-movies-and-references-behind-science-fiction-double-feature [Accessed 28 May 2019].