Copyright law is a growing source of angst and outrage in the artistic world, prompting everything from sensational lawsuits, like the one between the members of The Police, to fears about the existential threat of artificial intelligence, per the recent report from the US Copyright Office.
But not all copyright news is bad: a misunderstanding about the music of “The Rocky Horror Show” has resulted in an unexpected boon for Richmond Symphony.
Since he took over as vice president of artistic planning and orchestra operations three years ago, Matt Wilshire has expanded Richmond Symphony’s performance palette to include playing scores to movies like “Jurassic Park” or “Batman” and partnerships with popular local acts like Butcher Brown.
Wilshire started pursuing the idea of producing a symphonic version of the campy musical “The Rocky Horror Show” when he noticed that the 50th anniversary of the movie adaptation was approaching. “I look at a lot of anniversaries to help me conceptualize programming,” he says.
He thought that orchestrations for the show’s catchy pop/rock score existed but when he approached Concord Theatricals, the company that licenses “Rocky Horror,” they said no such orchestrations existed. They conceded, though, that it sure would be nice to have some.
Wilshire recognized an opportunity. He turned to the symphony’s arranger, Trey Pollard, and now, after months of work by Pollard and with Concord’s blessing, the Richmond Symphony will be performing the world premiere of the first full symphonic performance of “The Rocky Horror Show” on Halloween night.
“As of right now, we are the only ones that are allowed to play it,” says Wilshire. “But I know that Concord is going to want to work something out with us so more orchestras across the country will have the opportunity to present this.”
Though it started as a stage musical, “Rocky Horror” became a cult classic when the 1975 movie adaptation transitioned from a box office bomb to a favorite at midnight screenings. The story of alien transvestite Frank N. Furter and the naive couple ensnared by his coven of pansexual accomplices has prompted interactional frenzy from viewers ever since.
From the beginning, Wilshire thought Richmond Triangle Players (RTP) would be the perfect partner to handle the theatrical aspects of the production. “I know they have done [‘Rocky Horror’] before and I thought it’d be exciting to put one of their shows up in front of a big house,” he says.
While RTP has partnered with other theater companies in town, working with the symphony has presented a wide range of opportunities and challenges.
“It’s unprecedented,” says Kendall Walker, RTP’s co-director for the production. “It’s as new for us as it is for them to collaborate in this way.”
Lucian Restivo, RTP’s artistic director and the other co-director for this production, says that the symphony working under union rules creates some logistical hurdles: “We’re designing the set and the sound and everything you would think of in a theatrical production,” he says. “But none of us can press those buttons on the night of the performance.”
Both Walker and Restivo were involved in RTP productions of “Rocky Horror” in 2019 and 2022 but are thinking expansively with this version. ”The biggest shift is putting the show on such a big scale,” says Walker. “It’s coming out in our choreography, in our direction of the actors, working on making things read from the back of a 1,700-person house.”
At midnight movie showings, patrons traditionally bring items like squirt guns to augment the experience. Symphony audiences have been asked to keep the props at home and instead embrace the Halloween of it all.
“From the audience to the staff at the Dominion Center to the orchestra, everyone is being encouraged to dress up and dress out,” says Walker.
“Most everyone is already familiar with the material,” says Walker. “So we want to give the symphony audience the true traditional ‘Rocky Horror’ experience that they know and love but with an RTP flare.”
Restivo expands on what that flare will entail: “Everything will be rhinestoned and sequined, there will be butt cheeks and a thong for Rocky, there will be dildos,” he says. “We really want to create those iconic moments that people remember from the movie.”
Richmond Symphony’s “The Rocky Horror Show with Richmond Triangle Players” will have a single performance at 7 p.m. on Oct. 31 on the Dominion Energy Center’s Carpenter Center stage. Tickets and more information available at https://www.richmondsymphony.com/event/the-rocky-horror-show/.
