Two Lesbians (One Butch, One Fem) Evaluate the Rocky Horror Show
by Nysia Ford
Immediately University of New Haven’s wonderful performance of Rocky Horror Show makes the audience grin and giggle mercilessly like children as multicolored lights flash and performers run through the audience causing an implied joy of seeing a musical performed by overly sexualized circus entertainers. Most of the giggles derived from watching the entertaining and committed performance of Zach Fontanez as Dr. Frank N. Furter, a highly sexual transvestite scientist who creates himself a human boy toy named Rocky Horror (Joshua M. Dill) then finds enjoyment in harassing an entrapping a young couple, Janet (Shannon Whitaker) and Brad (David Ransbottom), who came to his home for help. Although there are numerous amounts of actors on stage, it is extremely difficult to overlook Fontanez who remains in-character and committed during the entire duration of the musical. His thick puffy hair bursts out of his head like rays of sunshine and swayed with every step he took as his fabulous high heels supported his long legs; his voice was the perfect blend of masculinity and femininity to contribute towards his drag queen appearance. Fontanez strains the power and confidence motivating Dr. Frank N. Furter, our drag queen protagonist, through the scandalous events that occur as we support him with enjoyment from every decision he made.
University of New Haven’s 2014 funny-as-fuck-musical has scenes of humorous promiscuity—mainly Dr. Frank N. Furter’s bisexual interest in all three characters: Janet, Brad and Rocky, when he displays and explores his sexual desires on all three characters despite their gender and sexual interest. As you get deeper into the musical, Dr. Frank N Furter’s actions become cruder as he engages in sexual activities blatantly with both Janet and Brad after being married to Rocky. University of New Haven’s setting----a huge castle like home with a big stairway--- sets a typically isolated mad scientist’s 1970s environment. These strange sexual people go through unpredictable events in this mansion home that we relish with anticipation in our souls. Morgan Meres
University of New Haven’s 2014 funny-as-fuck-musical has scenes of humorous promiscuity—mainly Dr. Frank N. Furter’s bisexual interest in all three characters: Janet, Brad and Rocky, when he displays and explores his sexual desires on all three characters despite their gender and sexual interest. As you get deeper into the musical, Dr. Frank N Furter’s actions become cruder as he engages in sexual activities blatantly with both Janet and Brad after being married to Rocky. University of New Haven’s setting----a huge castle like home with a big stairway--- sets a typically isolated mad scientist’s 1970s environment. These strange sexual people go through unpredictable events in this mansion home that we relish with anticipation in our souls. Morgan Meres
Four to five days ago, University of New Haven recreated, on this campus, a 1970s musical, fueled by power, and notated around the idea of how unconventional sexualities in the world can bring joy to others…
Rocky Horror Show is about a unique circumstance when you may be driving through an isolated area and suddenly your car breaks down which causes you gain enough confidence to enter someone’s home and ask to use their telephone but instead you are warped into an unconventional world of different sexualities, which I have personally never experienced. (My current obsession is Vampire Diaries, a series about teenage vampires who quarrel over the affection of a teenage doppelganger while they battle other enemies. Family feuding over a female is common and surprisingly accepted, but to the degree of staking and burying each other into tombs makes it less romantic and more menacing.)
Watching this musical is like being the stairs in the hallway of a Massachusetts’ mental institution in the 1930s. Zach Fontanez is Dr. Frank N. Furter, a transvestite scientist, who in the mist of creating a homosexual partner named Rocky (Joshua M. Dill) finds joy in playfully tormenting and seducing his two unexpected and needy houseguest with his body and mental manipulation while the houseguests encounters strange events in this outlandish home. Janet (Shannon Whitaker) first has sex with Dr. Frank N. Furter after a while of being trapped in the home. Immediately after Dr. Frank N. Furter seduces Janet and he goes on to seducing her fiancé Brad (David Ransbottom), Janet and Rocky becomes intimate in secrecy.
Overheard Young Man: “The scientist’s penis looks great in his shiny underwear!” Wtf! College Students! Eww! Men Genitals!
The play actually confused me a lot because every time I would think it was over something new would happen to carry the ending out longer but I did enjoy the ending when it happened. This seems closely related to life because times when a person thinks life can’t get worse or better it usually does get better or worse. A week later and I still get extremely happy whenever I happen to see Fontanez roaming the campus’s hallways and I remember that I’m not friends with him even though I desire to be. I’m still hopeful though. Nadia Moore
Rocky Horror Show is about a unique circumstance when you may be driving through an isolated area and suddenly your car breaks down which causes you gain enough confidence to enter someone’s home and ask to use their telephone but instead you are warped into an unconventional world of different sexualities, which I have personally never experienced. (My current obsession is Vampire Diaries, a series about teenage vampires who quarrel over the affection of a teenage doppelganger while they battle other enemies. Family feuding over a female is common and surprisingly accepted, but to the degree of staking and burying each other into tombs makes it less romantic and more menacing.)
Watching this musical is like being the stairs in the hallway of a Massachusetts’ mental institution in the 1930s. Zach Fontanez is Dr. Frank N. Furter, a transvestite scientist, who in the mist of creating a homosexual partner named Rocky (Joshua M. Dill) finds joy in playfully tormenting and seducing his two unexpected and needy houseguest with his body and mental manipulation while the houseguests encounters strange events in this outlandish home. Janet (Shannon Whitaker) first has sex with Dr. Frank N. Furter after a while of being trapped in the home. Immediately after Dr. Frank N. Furter seduces Janet and he goes on to seducing her fiancé Brad (David Ransbottom), Janet and Rocky becomes intimate in secrecy.
Overheard Young Man: “The scientist’s penis looks great in his shiny underwear!” Wtf! College Students! Eww! Men Genitals!
The play actually confused me a lot because every time I would think it was over something new would happen to carry the ending out longer but I did enjoy the ending when it happened. This seems closely related to life because times when a person thinks life can’t get worse or better it usually does get better or worse. A week later and I still get extremely happy whenever I happen to see Fontanez roaming the campus’s hallways and I remember that I’m not friends with him even though I desire to be. I’m still hopeful though. Nadia Moore