By Trent Scherer
Though I was unable to make it to Toronto Youth Theatre’s production of Urinetown, I was very pleased to be able to make it to their production of The Rocky Horror Show last night.
I’ve never had the pleasure of being in the Lower Ossington Theatre and found it to be the cutest little space. It was interesting to see such a huge production like The Rocky Horror Show be put-up in an intimate venue. Every person has a close-up seat and it truly does make an audience member feel part of the production. A warning: wear a tank top because you are going to be as hot as those dancing actors in the stage – that’s how close you are to the action!
Now, I’ve seen a few productions of The Rocky Horror Show over the past few years including the CanStage production and the Hart House production (of which Andrew Moyes played Frank N’ Furter as well) and, to be honest, I am not about to compare them. As much as they are the same show, they are very much created for different audiences in mind. TYT’s production is dirtier than CanStage’s production but not as raunchy as Hart House’s production. Being a production of youths, the director Jeremy Hutton with assistant Tim Walker came up with a few hilarious ways around the overtly sexualized scenes between Janet, Frank N’ Furter, and Brad. But not to worry, there is still enough word play and suggestiveness to still do The Rocky Horror Show the justice it deserves.
My buddy Erin loved seeing Andrew Moyes again reprising his role as Dr Frank N’ Furter. Over all she felt as I did, it was a great show with so much to try and take in at once. It’s a whirlwind production and with live music it really moves the show into an extravaganza and not just a small production of youth people.
For all of those Rocky Horror virgins, you will be a bit off-put at the start with all of us veterans who know what to shout and when to shout it. Don’t be afraid to get into this great production and be part of the action.
As with most youth companies, they have an abundance of actors. To deal with this, they have them sharing some roles; so depending on the night, you could have a different Narrator or Columbia for example. This makes it possible to go on two nights and see two different performances – for veterans, it probably would be worth going back that second time.
PS. Bring $2 for the popcorn handed out in the theatre – you can’t throw it but it’s worth the eating!
Details
–The Rocky Horror Show is playing at the Lower Ossington Theatre (100A Ossington Avenue).
– Show runs from July 30th – August 1st and August 5th – 8th at 7:30pm with additional shows on Friday, August 1st at MIDNIGHT and Saturday, August 8th at 2pm.
-Tickets for adults are $25(General Admission) or $35 (Reserved seating) and for students $18(General Admission) or $28(Reserved seating).
-To reserve tickets, contact info@torontoyouththeatre.org or call 416-915-6747 ext 221.
Photo of Constantine Harmantas (Janet), Andrew Moyes (Frank N Furter), and Max Shkvorets (Brad) provided by Toronto Youth Theatre