www.thestar.com/entertainment/2016/10/16/on-set-in-toronto-with-the-cast-of-rocky-horror.htmlVictoria Justice and Ryan McCartan as Brad and Janet in the Fox remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show — a millennial-friendly version of the camp classic
Victoria Justice and Ryan McCartan as Brad and Janet in the Fox remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show — a millennial-friendly version of the camp classic (STEVE WILKIE/FOX)
By RYAN PORTEREntertainment Reporter
Sun., Oct. 16, 2016
Eddie is riding laps on a motorcycle inside the grand foyer of Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s castle when Adam Lambert appears dressed in an identical Eddie costume. “I’m right here,” he says. “Surprise!”
A stunt double is handling the hog on the Toronto set of The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do The Time Warp Again while the American Idol alum, who plays the role made famous by Meat Loaf in the rock musical’s TV remake, has been getting primped in grimy biker gear: mud-caked boots, a ripped grey T-shirt and a strappy leather sleeve crowned by a glorious mullet. He compares the look to a leather daddy.
“This isn’t fully out of the realm of something that I would own,” he says. “But not as muddy.”
Toronto’s Pinewood Studios and Casa Loma played host to the citizens of Transsexual, Transylvania in March and April for a millennial-friendly version of the camp classic that aims to update the original as much as evoke it. It debuts Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. on City and Fox.
“There are some adjustments to this version that I think make it potentially more palatable to a wider audience,” muses Reeve Carney, the Penny Dreadful star who brings indie-rock glam to the role of Frank-N-Furter henchman Rif Raf. “Which is crazy to say considering the audience it’s generated over the past 40 years.”
Reeve Carney as Riff Raff, Annaleigh Ashford as Columbia, Victoria Justice as Janet, Ryan McCartan as Brad and Christina Milian as Magenta. The new version of the musical has taken pains to recreate favourite scenes note for note.
Reeve Carney as Riff Raff, Annaleigh Ashford as Columbia, Victoria Justice as Janet, Ryan McCartan as Brad and Christina Milian as Magenta. The new version of the musical has taken pains to recreate favourite scenes note for note. (STEVE WILKIE/FOX)
The new version of the musical that inspired the 1975 film, the longest-running theatrical release in history thanks to its enduring midnight screenings, has taken pains not to mess with pop-art perfection, recreating favourite scenes note for note. One obvious update is casting Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox as Frank-N-Furter, a role originated by Tim Curry.
Cox, who is transgender, says Frank-N-Furter’s line “Don’t dream it, be it” was a personal mantra for her growing up.
On set during “lunch” (which, appropriately for Rocky Horror, takes place at 10 p.m.), Cox sits at the cafeteria’s centre table with director Kenny Ortega, the 66-year-old who choreographed Dirty Dancing and directed Newsies, Hocus Pocus and High School Musical. Cox is crowned with a crimson wig, bangs swept back and hairsprayed into a helmet fit for intergalactic tourism. They’re both staring stone-faced into a laptop screen.
Asked what was most challenging about the role, Cox demurely whispers, “All of it.” She goes on to explain, “Frank-N-Furter is just a high energy character.
“She never slinks in the corner. She makes an entrance. Summoning the energy to play her was physically draining.”
Laverne Cox says Frank-N-Furter’s line “Don’t dream it, be it” was a personal mantra for her growing up.
Laverne Cox says Frank-N-Furter’s line “Don’t dream it, be it” was a personal mantra for her growing up. (RYAN ENN HUGHES/NYT)
Beyond the constantly looming presence of Curry’s beloved portrayal, there was the pressure to sing and dance at Ortega levels. Rehearsing the background dancers during the “Sweet Transvestite” number, Ortega urges them to channel musical icons such as Shirley MacLaine and Liza Minnelli. “Fall like champagne,” he coaxes.
“We kept going back to new divas that Frank-N-Furter might have been influenced by,” Cox says. “When I think about ’50s rock ’n’ roll, I think about Chuck Berry and Little Richard and Tina Turner. We allowed those black artists who were the architects of rock ’n’ roll to enter our consciousness as we were recording.”
Cox wasn’t alone in creating a fully realized universe for Rocky Horror’s inhabitants. Carney and singer/actress Christina Milian, who plays the mysterious maid Magenta, have accepted that they play brother and sister even though Carney is white and Milian is black.
“It’s almost like they were born together but obviously don’t look alike,” Milian muses. “But maybe in their world they’re twins.”
The young cast has bonded in a way that you can only when your work uniform has more frills than a Victoria’s Secret fantasy bra and covers less. “From the first day that we literally met each other in the studio dancing, we did this whole little practice thing where we all looked into each other’s eyes with a sense of longing and a sense of I know you already,” says Milian. “And from then on, it was like, well, we know each other now!”
Playing the erotically unravelling bride-to-be Janet, Victoria Justice finds herself a planet away from her Nickelodeon sitcom Victorious, counting a love scene with Cox among her eyebrow-raising career firsts. Ryan McCartan, who plays her geeky onscreen fiancé Brad, also gets the privilege of getting frisky with Frank-N-Furter, as well as with the Frankenstein’s monsterlike dumb hunk Rocky, played by Game of Thrones’ Staz Nair.
McCartan hails the original Rocky as a trailblazer, paving the way for the kind of openness he doesn’t even blink at on set today. “I think it was an important landmark in the conversation and the development of, not just sexuality, but about being free to be who you are,” he says. “And I think that theme is still current today.” Except now it’s taken a jump from the midnight screening and a step into prime time.