Director Chelsea Burke summarizes her upcoming production of “The Rocky Horror Show” with a culinary analogy.
“It will feel like you’re going to a new restaurant and ordering your favorite meal,” she says of the show opening on Oct. 5th at Richmond Triangle Players (RTP). “It is totally recognizable, but there are different flavors and different textures and some surprising new things that you will love.”
It’s been nearly 50 years since “Rocky Horror” entered the cultural zeitgeist, first with a London stage show in 1973, then the cult classic film in 1975. The salacious story shattered all sorts of barriers decades ago, but there has been a certain calcification of the material over time. Rambunctious interactive midnight showings of the film trained audiences to expect performances identical to those preserved in amber by the movie, particularly when it comes to Tim Curry’s iconic portrayal of the show’s central character, bisexual transvestite, Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
Burke’s production joins some recent adaptations, like Fox’s 2016 TV remake starring transsexual actor Laverne Cox, that look to shake things up. “We are honoring the origins,” she says. “But not making a carbon copy of the original.”
One specific change: a scenic design inspired by the steam-punk film, “Metropolis.” “We are leaning into the science fiction,” Burke explains. Her cast also includes actors spanning a broad variety of races, sexual orientations and gender expressions. “We wanted to hear from some different voices and allow for different takes on these iconic roles,” she says.
Shouldering much of the responsibility for realizing Burke’s vision will be Durron Tyre, who says the role of Frank “has been on my bucket list forever. Every actor knows this is the kind of character you can really sink your teeth into.” Even so, he’s well aware of the specific challenges that come with “Rocky Horror.”
“When the cult fans come in, they have a specific idea of who Frank is,” he says. “You want to give them what they want but you want to put your stamp on it. So you worry: Am I giving enough? Am I doing too much?”
Tyre has been knocking around Richmond for over 15 years since graduating from University of Richmond and has delivered numerous iconic performances of his own in local productions from Firehouse’s “Rent” in 2010 to “Sugar in Our Wounds” earlier this year at RTP. But after years of working constantly, a serious injury to his knee in 2016 kept him off the stage for most of a year. It made him reevaluate his trajectory.
“I had been driven to do everything that was offered me even if I wasn’t passionate about the part,” he remembers. “I was overextended and I think 2016 was the universe being like, ‘You need to stop and think about what you’re doing. You’re not artistically fulfilled and you’re exhausted.’”
Since then, Tyre has shifted from just doing musical theater to doing more dramatic roles. “It really has been a time of doing things that scare me,” he says.
As rehearsals for “Rocky Horror” started, Tyre got assistance from an unexpected source: actor Jim Morgan, who was electrifying as Frank more than 20 years ago in a production at Barksdale Theatre, and then again just three years ago at RTP. For this production, Morgan will portray The Narrator, who fills in many key gaps as the shaggy story unfolds.
Tyre says Morgan was quick to alleviate any potential awkwardness: “The first thing [Jim] said to me was: ‘Baby, this is your role. I want you to put your stamp on it. Anything I can do to support you, I am in your corner.’”
While it seems likely that theater fans across Richmond would have celebrated a revival starring Morgan, Burke says the actor demurred. “We talked about it and he said he loved the character but his chapter with Frank closed in 2019,” she recalls. “He said it was time to pass the torch.”
As the actor receiving that torch, Tyre promises a Frank to remember. “I’m excited to get into the mind of this really kooky, love-starved character,” he says. “He’s controlling and manipulative but, in the end, my Frank is the embodiment of someone who desperately wants love and acceptance.”
“The Rocky Horror Show” will run from Oct. 5 to Oct 22 at Richmond Triangle Players. Tickets available at rtriangle.org.
