ADAM Strong had massive stilettoes to fill as he recently replaced Stephen Webb as Frank in Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show who I had seen perform in the role quite a lot.
And those shoes fitted like a bloodstained pink rubber glove.
A bit of an in-joke there and for those of you who have not seen the film or the stage show, it is based around wholesome sweethearts Brad and Janet, who set off to visit their former teacher Dr Scott.
On the way they get a flat (how about that) and seek help at a castle where they stumble across ‘one of the master’s affairs’. Cue the TimeWarp.
Frank N Furter has built a man, with blonde hair and a tan, Rocky (Morgan Jackson) who is brought to life that night – and thanks to perfectly ripped Jackson is certainly full of beans as he performs a full workout on stage.
Frank, his servants Riff-Raff and Magenta(Natasha Hoeberigs) are from a place called Transexual on the planet of Transylvania and will Brad and Janet escape before they are transported there?
Adam was the prettiest, most elegantly clunky Frank I have seen with hilarious facial expressions reminiscent of Tim Curry – the original Frank – and a powerful voice.
With quite a still fresh cast including Job Greuter who has made Riff Raff quite vulnerable and funny the show was high energy and one of the most polished I have seen while keeping the nuance and room for audience bants.
The shout-outs are integral to the show and the energetic participation, even on a Monday night, is testament to all of the cast and Director Christopher Luscombe for continually refreshing and updating a show which has been running for half a century and which continues to attract new crowds and satisfy the core group of followers.
Narrator Jackie Clune (Smack The Pony, Motherland) caught the bants and threw them back effortlessly and added a few quips of her own. Jayme-Lee Zanoncelli for me is stand-out as Columbia and even when she is not centre stage, still has a presence and never stops performing.
The show is running at the wonderful Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham until Saturday.
Billed as a Rock’n’Roll musical it is so much more than that so if you fancy donning your fishnets and feather boa (not mandatory) and doing the TimeWarp in the aisles, grab your tickets at ATGTICKETS.com/Birmingham
