Lost in Time and Lost in Space and Meaning

Most people think of Rocky Horror as silly, sexy nonsense. I thought about it that way in high school when I saw the movie more than eighty times at the Varsity Theatre (now Vintage Vinyl).

But then when I worked on it for the first time in 2002, my mind was blown by how smart and subtle and sophisticated the show really is. It follows the classic Hero Myth structure, and it explores the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s and Americans' ridiculous reaction to it. Along the way, it gives us a subliminal history lesson in American Sex, from the often shirtless, short-shorts clad Flash Gordon in the 1930s to the barely disguised "physique magazines" of the 1950s, to the Free Love movement of the 1960s, and the mainstream backlash in the 1970s.

I have argued for years that Rocky Horror should never be removed from its time and place. "Re-imagining" the show in other contexts diminishes the truth behind this story. This is a story about a relatively unique cultural moment, and its detailed specificity is exactly what makes it timeless and universal.

It's a truism of storytelling -- the more specific the story, the more universal its impact. The success of Fiddler on the Roof around the world is proof.

I finally understood years ago that my job as director is never to be fresh and original. My job is to help the actors tell this story as clearly as possible. That's my only job. It's not to dazzle or impress; it's just to tell a story. The only reason to come up with "a new vision" or a new approach is that it will tell that particular story more clearly. But new visions almost never tell the story more clearly. Directors and actors are interpretive artists, not writers.

The last time I directed the show, I was very focused on being faithful to the original stage show in 1973 London. This time in 2025, I wanted to strike a balance between being faithful to the original but not being bound by it. This time, we strayed quite a bit from the stage show and the movie, but tried to be true still to the intentions of Richard O'Brien and the original team.

I think we succeeded in that. The hardcore Rocky fans love our production and that balance we struck, enjoying the references and call-outs to the film and delighted at the many differences.

In 2002, it wasn't as clear as it is now. We need Rocky Horror. In 2025, as the MAGA world stokes hatred of those of us who are Other, this show is a ferocious Fuck-You to Trump and his MAGA followers. This show is a celebration of difference and a morality tale about refusing to evolve even as the world around us evolves. Janet embraces the Sexual Revolution (i.e., Frank) while Brad runs from it. Janet embraces purely physical love (with Rocky), while Brad is still stuck in the emotional entanglements of love ("Once in a While"). The two of them begin our story in the same place, but end up in very different places.

During the run, it's been surprising to me how many people thank me for this show and tell me how much they needed it right now, how much it is genuinely healing for many of us. Our next show Rent will be the same.

Sometimes I wonder if what we do really matters in a world this ugly, this mean, this upside-down, but our audiences are telling me, even with a show as silly on the surface as Rocky Horror, what we do does matter. I have to hold on to that.

It's been such a hard few years for most of us. For those of us who are Other -- essentially everyone who isn't a straight white married man -- we live in fear of what's still to come from Trump and his followers. Every day it gets worse and more destructive. Every day is gets scarier.

But at least we get to come together in a darkened theatre and share what is most human about us all, and we feel that profound human connection that we all need and that seems more important today than ever before.

As Next to Normal reminds us, "We need some light."

I hope we provide that.

Long Live the Musical!
Scott

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