I had a great time at Thursday night's performance of The Rocky Horror Show at the Harrison Hilltop Theatre. I laughed, quite hard at times, and sang along (in my head, so as not to annoy those around me), and almost jumped to my feet to do "The Time Warp." The group of 50- and 60-year-old men and women in the crowd did dance along, as well as throw rice, toilet paper, and other items at the appropriate times, all of which upped the fun ante. Still, Harrison Hilltop's show could use a bit more of something to take it over the top and make it more memorable. Actually, it's more accurate to say it needs to lose something: inhibition.
Every good writer needs an editor. Composer/accompanist Derek Childs certainly needs one for his rock musical Tired American Dream, which debuted at the Harrison Hilltop Theatre last week. The opening-night performance, which lasted two hours with an intermission, had a few talented singers to boost Dream's simple plot, Childs' script has potential, and some of the songs have peppy melodies with sweet and memorable (if word-heavy) lyrics. But as a complete production, Dream felt too much like an early draft in need of revisions.
Attending the theatre is typically a form of escapism, a chance to get lost in the magic of the staging and performances. And then there's Moon Over Buffalo, one of those shows that doesn't just let you escape into it, but lets you in on the antics of what's going on off stage. It's a show about actors and their messed up, dramatic lives.
Maybe it's because co-founders Tristan Tapscott and Chris Walljasper are finally appearing in one of their venue's shows, or maybe because it's tough not to have fun when watching a dozen people in heavy eyeliner singing and dancing "The Time Warp." But whatever the reason, the Harrison Hilltop Theatre's joyous and fearless production of The Rocky Horror Show feels, to me, like the very first production that's truly the Harrison Hilltop's. Not the author's, not the performers', but the company's as a whole. And it's an inspiring sight to see.Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts
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