Month: August 2007

The ultimate guide to Rocky Horror pre-show ideas for super duper director Jane Skinner.

The purpose of the RHS pre-show, in O’Brien’s own words: “There was a pre-show party used by the cast to break down any distance between performer and spectator.”

The ideas

1. Toss your Cookies!
2. Regular Regulars …
3. Spin the Tranny!
4. Copulators!
5. One liners (develop away!)
6. “The Olympic Toothbrush Competition”
7. “The Brownie Devirginization”
8. Rocky Pledges
9. Bump’N’Grind
10. The Great Virgin Licking Race
11. Pollywaffle Panache
12. The Whole Theater Sacrifice
13. Trixie!
14. Fluffy Bunny Feet
15. Crotch Racing
16. Ride the Hershey Highway
17. Bobbing For My Wiener
18. Suck and Blow
19. Chain Gang
20. Rocky Wrap Race
21. Sexual Limbo
22. Bust & Bulge
23. Suck Me Dry
24. Chair Fucking
25. Eat Me Out
26. It’s Just a Pelvic Thrust
27. Describe Your Favorite Sexual Position
28. French Twissler
29. Bra-B-Gone
30. Rocky Sex-Ed
31. Sex Toys
32. Beat the Cheat

About this List

This list was originally developed by the Fun in the Dark cast of Syndey, Australia. Stickyman (formally of The Denton Affair) found it while I was in the process of developing a pre-show idea list to add to the Denton Affair site. Later he was voted out of the cast and he asked me to take it over.
Now the list is maintained by myself (Cosmo) and Matthew Hall of Sydney.

Feel free to use any of these in your shows, all we ask is that you share with us any routines that are not already listed here to make this resource more useful to Rocky fans everywhere.

You will notice there is a wide range of preparation needed for these. A ratings system is provided so you can easily see which ones need preparation and which could be done at a moment’s notice.
# bullet One Star : Ready for instant use, just add a show!

# bullet bullet Two Stars : Needs some preparation, typically a couple of simple props.

# bullet bullet bullet Three Stars : Requires much preparation, not for the faint-hearted, batteries not included etc….

If you read this and have another idea you would like to share, just email Matthew the idea you have and we’ll include it here.

Pre-Show Structure

Here’s the basic format that’s used in Sydney. It is flexible, so when something goes better than expected or wrong they are always happy to change. It may be of some use to you too:

* Welcome to Rocky

* Rules of the theater

* Virgin selection

* Virgin Sacrifice (go crazy!)

* Pledge(s)

* Rocky Callbacks

* on with the show…

In Cincinnati things are similar, but a little different.

* Welcome to Rocky

* Teach a few callbacks

* Get everyone out into the aisles, teach them the Timewarp

* Have all virgins move to the front of the theater

* Sacrifice.

* Announce next show dates

* Start the show

Your best research will be to see as many other pre-shows as possible… just remember to **HAVE FUN**!

Good luck!
Toss your Cookies!

bullet bullet Some Preparation.

By Matthew Hall
Virgins are competing to throw 10 cookies (possibly wrapped in condoms to save on mess) into a bucket across the stage.
Their score is checked against a scoreboard with the scores listed from 10 at the top to zero at the base. An arrow is moved up this board one step for each cookie that the virgin gets in the bucket.
The numbers are assigned a range of activities from 10 – ‘Let them free’ down to zero – something really bad (depending on how outrageous your cast can be). Possible activities are : perform an orgasm as the audience’s animal of choice, get handcuffed to another virgin for the show and so on.
If appropriate you may award prizes, certificates or both to the virgins involved. Or perhaps only to the winners if you can handle that many virgins tossing their cookies in front of you 🙂
Regular Regulars …

bullet bullet bullet Much Preparation.

By Matthew Hall
This one is to help you build up and or get to know your groupies and regulars.
The groupies and regulars may (ask for | donate for | whatever) a frequent watcher card (like Popcorn Palace do) that has 10/15/20… spaces on it and possibly also a time limit (valid for 3/4/6 months – make sure there are enough shows though!). You’ll need a reasonably unique stamp (or get one made up at a local stamp shop) and have your Trixie (Usherette) stamp the cards at the beginning of the show.
Once a card is full the holder is eligible for special treatment. This will vary fairly widely from cast to cast, but possible ideas are : they’re treated like they’re a virgin again, get to play a role that night, get attached to a character as a helper (and given a set of things to do (on paper?) – help with props, be a prop, help with costuming, learn show specific stuff like screen gags or callbacks, help out backstage, get a free ticket to the theatre …)
Spin the Tranny!

bullet bullet bullet Much Preparation.

By Matthew Hall
and chris@ivanova.punk.net (Christopher J. Ambler)

From Chris:
A”Wheel of Doom” for the virgins. Essentially like a wheel-of-fortune, but with embarrasing acts written upon it. Virgins spin the wheel and perform the act, and then win a prize.

The easy ones are obvious – fake an orgasm, etc…

How about some suggestions for others?

From Matthew:
This one requires a little construction first, but can make your preshow like a gameshow (you’ll need to find your own Vanna White though 🙂

This is a chocolate wheel type machine made from whatever your props people can come up with 🙂 We use a cardboard wheel with velcro backing to stick on the carpetted wall under our screen. The center piece is a picture of a Tranny in a pose from The Time Warp with their hand pointing up (which is the pointer to show what has been selected by the wheel.) The results can be numbers or characters from the movie which themselves refer to an envelope (“The envelope please!”) which contains the actual result. This way you get to have a set of prizes, another set of punishments and whatever else.

The Tranny wheel is spun around by the choice virgin of the night, regular regular (see above) or other (as you like it). If a virgin has spun the wheel you will most likely have their result be one of the favourite virgin rites of your cast. On the other hand if it was a regular, you may have some rewards in mind.
Copulators!

bullet bullet Some Preparation.

By Jessica (of Friday Insanity)
“You’ve heard of the TV show Gladiators, tell us what you think of it?”
I don’t know what your audiences are like, but here in Sydney we got a great response to this question ;^)
“So, we’ve decided to do our own show here at Rocky, it’s called ‘Copulators!'” This should get the audience at least a little lively, so now proceed with the show.
So far Jessica has used events like these, usually three is enough for a race :

* Break out from being wrapped heavily in toilet paper

* Burst as many ballons as possible

* Eat a cream pie hands tied behind back

One liners

bullet bullet Some Preparation.

These have been gleaned from USENET, they may need some developing but all have great potential! I have attributed credit where possible, but I may be wrong, just email me if you know different, huh?

* A pair of virgins “eating a Twizzler as erotically…as possible” just the one Twizzler, of course! Unknown

* Suck the creamy filling out of a twinkie. Unknown

* Compelling a mixed virgin couple to open a condom wrapper…. with their teeth. From The Houston cast

* Duct-tape a particularly rambunctious fellow to the floor for the duration of the show. Much tape. From Indecent Exposure

* Make a human maze…blindfold the virgin…then the human maze goes and sits down while the virgin flails aimlessly…big laffs… From the Houston cast

* Take very sexy female virgin [hard to find!] who pulls her dress down and then up to have joy jelly licked off of her stomach by another virgin. From the Houston cast

* For reluctant virgins [and brave casts!] – I usually put a leash around one of ’em and use them as a universal prop all night as Riff – eg:cranks, levers, buttons, ladders, mike stands, chairs, Rocky’s horse, the table… Unknown

* “Demonstrate your favorite sexual position”…It worked rather interestingly seeing one timid male have two females on him at once. We did require a bit of coaching since at first one of the girls was humping his leg (?). stickyman@cosmosfactory.org (Stickyman)

* Use your imagination! Just remember to do it safe & use a groundsheet if appropriate!

“The Olympic Toothbrush Competition”

bullet bullet Some Preparation.

Here’s a much fuller description (and older!) from Trog, who says he’s seen this one performed at the Nuart!

From: Trog.Martian@f856.n102.z1.fidonet.org (Trog Martian)
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 1993 13:26:18 -0800

After the person MC’ing the preshow hypes up the crowd, introducing the nth occurrance of the rare and celebrated Olympic Toothbrushing event, once again back to beat the previous time and set a new world record…

Six of us come bounding down the aisle and onto the stage, al la boxers into the ring. As the MC continues a patter and we continue bounding/limbering/warming up, a toothbrush and plastic cup of water is presented to the first of the six people in line on stage.

With an application of toothpaste and a 3-count from the MC, the first person dips the toothbrush into the water and QUICKLY begins brushing their teeth. The rest of the cast and regulars enthusiastically chant and rally-on the contestants and are quickly joined by the rest of the audience.

The first person now takes a mouthful of water from the cup, swishes, gargles, spits it all back into the cup and passes both toothbrush and cup on to the next team member in line. Who, amid cheers and cries of disgust, repeats the process.

This continues on until the still relatively full cup and toothbrush are passed to the last person in line, the venerable ‘Anchor’. The crowd is wild as the clock continues to count. The tension is high. Can the previous record be broken? The Anchor grabs the toothbrush and feverishly brushes their teeth, gargles, spits back into the cup and as the crowd explodes, DRINKS THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF THE CUP!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Needless to say, the audience loses it at that point. And I’m pretty sure a few have even lost their lunches.

First given to me by : keightp@aol.com (Kate); “A Jump to the Left”; Tucson, AZ
Kate:”I saw it and was duly impressed by it at the 16th in Las Vegas.”
Shawn McHorse tells us that this is an old summer camp ritual!
“The Brownie Devirginization”

bullet bullet Some Preparation.

From: zenin@best.com (Zenin) Date: 28 Jun 1995 04:19:48 GMT
Ingredients

* 2 Female virgins

* 2 Male virgins

* 2 Brownies

* 1 MC (can add more to liking)

* 1 audence (use the largest you can find)

* 1 stage

Procedure

Take the virgins and separate them into to groups of one male and one female. Next lay the females head to head across the front of the stage. Lay one Brownie on the croch of each female virgin. Position the male virgins on their knees(sp), one between each female and have them hold their hands behind their back.
Explain that this is a contest and the the first one to finish their brownie wins. They are not alowed to use their hands and will be disqualified if the brownie falls off.
Enjoy! 🙂
Rocky Pledges

bullet Instant Use.

From: RHPS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
General Audience Pledge:

I, State Your Name,
Pledge allegiance to the lips
Of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
And to the decadance for which it stands,
One movie, under Richard O’Brien,
With Sensuous Daydreams, Erotic Nightmares, and Sins of the Flesh for All!
And I promise to be creative and not repeat anything anyone else says.
(this makes a bit more sense for Rocky fans in the US)
Richard O’Brien’s Transylvanian Pledge:

We swear, often and loudly,
to strike a blow for glamour and frivolty,
for rock-n-roll, for six-inch heels,
for interplanetary intercourse, and for the Transylvanian Way.
Virgin Pledge from Toronto, Canada

From: gentile@passport.ca
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 96 22:18 EST
I am in the “Hey that’s not my finger!” RHPS cast in Toronto, Canada.
Here is our virgin pledge…

I virgin scum,
do here-by admit,
infront of all these people (wave),
that I am a Rocky Horror Virgin.
I wish to lose all my morals
and accept decadence into my heart.
In the name of the Frankie,
and the Rocky,
and the (swivel your hips!) hooooly Riff Raff!
(pelvic thrust)–>FUCK YOU! (audience)
Bump’N’Grind

bullet Instant Use.

From: Shawn McHorse – smchorse@ringer.cs.utsa.edu
Line up all the virgins paired off, guy with guy and girl with girl. One virgin in back the other in front. The virgin in front bends over and grabs their ankles. The virgin in back grabs their hips. They then do a bump and grind routine while the audience and cast sings the Oscar Meyer weiner song.
The Great Virgin Licking Race

bullet Instant Use.

By Matthew Hall
You will need:
A number of virgins (more than 5!), an equal number of Transylvanians/Cast, brief your cast before the show! [important]

Having selected the virgins, lead them through the Virgin Pledge [optional] and then line them up across stage, shoulder to shoulder. Also line up your Transylvanians/Cast in another similar line. The arrangement of the lines will depend on your available space, it is preferable to have both lines in full view of the audience.

Explain the rules :

* The leftmost person is the ‘starter’

* The ‘starter’ licks the face of the person to their right

* Once your face is licked, you lick the face on your right

* All licks are to be as sensual as possible

* The audience may give encouragement via a slow clap 🙂

* The first team to lick to the end of the line is the winning team

The race begins, Virgins Vs. Transylvanians/Cast. Optional embellishments are placing someone/thing in between the teams and have them lick towards the center.
Pollywaffle Panache

bullet bullet Some Preparation.

By Jessica (of Friday Insanity)
You’ll need:
2 Virgins [1 male & 1 female], 2 cast, 2 pollywaffles (can you see where this is going?)

This is a battle of the sexes – who can suck the best?
Select your virgins and gain some team spirit by asking first the males, then the females in the audience to give a cheer “Suck suck suck!” for their ‘champion’ [heh heh].

Now choose one team to go first. The cast member now holds an unwrapped Pollywaffle [or other tube-shaped chocolate bar!] level with their groin and sticking out 😉 With the virgin’s team cheering them on, they are asked to suck [“Biting is Not Good”] the chocolate away.

You can decide the victor based on style, speed, audience approval etc…
The Whole Theater Sacrifice

bullet Instant Use.

From: keightp@aol.com (Kate)
“A Jump to the Left”; Loft Cinema; Tucson, Arizona
To sacrifice a whole theatre full of virgins (wow…it’s mind boggling…), simply have the group make that stick-your-finger-in-your-mouth-and-pull-it-out, champagne-cork-popping noise. It’s a marvelous simulation of all their tender little cherries popping…and truly a great effect if you can get them to all do it at the same time.
Trixie!

bullet bullet Some Preparation.

From: laramary@eden.rutgers.edu (The Sub-genius)
and holly.wisniewski@the-boss.com (Holly Wisniewski)

From The Sub-Genius:
“Trixie” is from the play. She sings “SciFi Double Feature” and the reprise. She is costumed as a cigarette girl, and has a cigarette tray.

A lot of RHPS theatres have a “Trixie” that does “Scifi” before the show.
Stripping is fine. Handing out condoms is fine. There is no set rule on what should be done. There are no correct lines, and there is no one way of doing things.

From Holly:
In my theatre (Cinema 35, Paramus, of course!) we have 2 girls “do lips” during Sci Fi/Dbl Ftr. They basically do a different strip-tease every weekend, and on special occasions, our Columbia does a Trixie bit. She throws candy and condoms, she doesen’t strip; she walks around singing and seducing people in the audience.
Fluffy Bunny Feet

bullet bullet Some Preparation.

From: Simon@athome.ftech.co.uk at Date: Wed, 07 Jun 95 12:48:39 PST

(We’ve made some changes here in Sydney, but the core of it is Simon’s)

1. Get the virgin to say “Fluffy Bunny Feet”.

2. Insert Marshmallow into their mouth (they’re not allowed to chew or swallow )

3. Repeat above procedure until they either:

1. Spray marshmallow everywhere

2. Can’t say “Fluffy Bunny Feet” any more

3. You run out of marshmallows

This is a fun game to play anytime!
Crotch Racing

Instant Use

From: Stickyman (stickyman@cosmosfactory.org)

A great way to get rid of a large number of virgins in a short period of time. Split your virgins up into two groups. I try to make sure that there’s a mix of males and females in the groups, but that’s not neccesary. Now have the groups move to two different areas of the theather (The aisles work well) standing in a straigt line facing forward. The virgins must now spread their legs and the virgin in the front of the line get’s on their back. When the race starts, the virgins on their back scuttles under all the other virgins until they get to the end of the line, they stand up forming the new end and the person in front drops down and scuttles under. Repeat until everyone’s gone under once!
Ride the Hersey Highway

Some Preperation

From: Stickyman (stickyman@cosmosfactory.org)

Virgins all lay on their stomachs in a row with their faces hovering over the ass of the virgin in front of them (Front most virgin either has a regular in front of them or get’s sacrificed again). Place a peice of chocolate, fudge, or other soft brown edible on each person’s ass. Virgins must eat the food off the other virgin without using their (or anyone elses) hands. Deal out new sacrifices or some other punishment for anyone who knocks the food off onto the floor.
Bobbing for my Weiner

Some Preperation

From: Stickyman (stickyman@cosmosfactory.org)

You’ll need a hotdog, a large tray, and lots of whipped cream for this one. A sheet of plastic will help if you don’t want the whipped cream on your floor and a towel or two is nice for the virgins to clean up with.

Put the hotdog somewhere on the tray and then cover the entire tray with a good deal of whipped cream. Virgins must now try to find the hotdog with their mouth.
Suck and Blow

Instant Use

From: cptfubar@whoever.com
Variations from: stickyman@cosmosfactory.org

Find something small and flat (ie. Playing card, small piece of paper, etc.). Have all your vigins line up facing the audience. Have the virgins pass the object from person to person using just their mouth. An interesting variation that requires more setup is getting a vibrator or other similar object to be passed. Overall, this is a great way to sacrifice a good number of people quickly.
Chain Gang

Instant Use

From: Stickyman (stickyman@cosmosfactory.org)

Line up all your vigins in a row, facing the person in front of them’s back. Now have everyone grab the hips of the person in front of them. Take one virgin and place them at the front of the line on their knees, holding the waist of the person in front of them, who in turn places their hands on this person’s head. Now the virgins must thrust towards one another to the beat of a song. Here in Cincinnati it’s typically the song “Chain Gang” (Note: I havne’t a clue if the cast made this up or not, it’s been around longer than I’ve been a cast member).

Rocky Wrap Race

Instant Use

From: Stickyman (stickyman@cosmosfactory.org)

You’ll need two virgins for this one, plus your Rocky’s wrap. Give each virgin an end of the wrap and when “GO” is yelled have them spin in towards each other, wrapping themselves up as they go. As soon as they hit have them spin back out. Works best if you have an extra wrap and two more virgins so you can have a clear winner to give something to (if only a nice cheer from the audience).

Sexual Limbo

From: cptfubar@whoever.com

Little twist to your Fav position game: Sexual Limbo!!!!! Get couples, mixed or same sex, to do the limbo while in a sexual position. Best one I’ve seen was a 69 position when the guy was actually able to limbo while carrying his partner. Quite a trip!

Bust & Bulge

From: cptfubar@whoever.com

Another good one (works best on college crowds) is “Bust Or Bulge” Only use this one if the crowd is in a good mood. Virgins “flash” their undergarments at the crowd, and voting takes place as to what female has the best “Bust” and what guy has the best “Bulge”

Note: We’ve found that this one actually got our crowd in a better mood in Cincinnati!

Suck Me Dry

Some preperation

From: alt.cult-movies.rocky-horror

Get a regular for each virgin. Now give each regular a twinkie which they hold in a strategic position on their body (ie. Crotch). The virgins must now suck the cream filling out.

Chair Fucking

Some Preperation

From: brap@brokenhalo.com

Chair fucks: you get a person and sit them down. then you get a person from the cast to hump them. depending on the person getting humped, you can have physical contact, or not. most of the time we don’t actually touch them, except for their shoulders. we usually perfer male on male or female on female. and depending on the responce of the person getting humped, several members from the cast will take turns on the person. When we start the chair fucking, we make a “Uh uh” sound untill we reach a mock orgasm, then take it from there…

Eat me Out

Some Preperation

From: alt.cult-movies.rocky-horror

Lot’s of casts seem to use this or a variation of it. Have a virgin set something on their lap, such as a brownie, cherry pie, hot dog, etc. and have another virgin eat it away using just their mouth.

It’s Just a Pelvic Thrust

Instant Use

From: Stickyman (stickyman@cosmosfactory.org)

Get a regular for each virgin. Now, have the virgins bend over and grab their ankles while each regular gives them 10 (or whatever number you like) thrusts. We often have the virgins switch with the regulars after they’ve been taught what to do, although sometimes we let the virgins go first so we can teach them what they should have done.

Describe Your Favorite Sexual Position

Instant Use

From: Stickyman (stickyman@cosmosfactory.org)

Have a couple virgins show us their favorite sexual position via the use of other virgins, cast, regulars, blowup doll, etc.

French Twissler (“Makes Mouths Happy!”)

Some Preparation

From: alt.cult-movies.rocky-horror

Get two virgins and a Twissler, make them eat it in the most sensual manner possible.

Bra-B-Gone

Instant Use

From: alt.cult-movies.rocky-horror

The cast at Mundelion had a good one for the women. Get two or more women and have a contest to see who can take off their bra faster without removing any clothes. Then make them chase someone to get them back! It was funny.

Rocky Sex Ed

Some Preperation

From: The Columbus, Ohio Cast

All you need for this one is a condom, some phalic item, and two virigins. Give one virgin the phalic object (Eds. note: Hot Metts work great) and the other the condom. The virgin must properly apply the condom to the phalic object. Of course we all know the proper way to do so is using just your mouth.

Sex Toys

Lots of Preperation

From: The Columbus, Ohio Cast

Bring along a big box of sex toys. Randomly pull one out of the box and give it to a virgin (or virgins depending on the sex toy) and have them show the audience how one would use it.

Beat the Cheat

Some Preperation

From: Stickyman (stickyman@cosmosfactory.org)

Ever have one of those people who loves being sacrificed so much that they show up every show during every sacrifice? Ever get a virgin who found some way of cheating to make the sacrifice easier on themselves? I’ve found a solution. All you need are a couple Fun Noodles (Pool Toy, 5 and a half feet of foam fun). I prefer having two, one for me and one for the largest most indimidating person I can find in the audience that I know. Simply bend said cheater over and beat away. Fun Noodles don’t hurt at all and they make a nice loud smack noise. Audience loves it and no one gets hurt (Well, physically at least).

****************************

RHS Pre-Show Song Ideas

• YMCA
• Dude Looks Like a Lady
• It’s Raining Men

Prior to the start of the show, the cast interacts with the audience in pre-show banter. Members of the audience who have not attended a show before are recognized and made to feel welcome. There may be a skit performed on the stage, and the rules of the show are presented.

*******************

Live productions can really vary….usually, the shout-outs are not as audience-driven as at the movie, and the audience interaction is more controlled. Any good production will prep the audience somehow beforehand…a printed list of what to yell, or a pre-show warm-up where they give you instructions. Sometimes extra cast act as audience members and do pre-planned shout-outs that the audience can catch on to and join in with as they are repeated. Many of the movie ones are prop-driven (the rice, for example) and won’t work in the live theatre. I googled and couldn’t find a list, but there should be something out there. And suddenly this old brain couldn’t remember any. I’ll sleep on it….

Funniest one I ever heard, at a live production in northern Virginia:

Frank ‘n’ Furter: Come on Brad! There’s no law against giving yourself over to absolute pleasure!
Audience member: There is in Virginia!!

************************

Ultimate Virgin Sacrifice

The ultimate virgin
sacrifice: two rows of virgins, guys in one aisle and girls in the
other, with their legs spread while a selected guy and girl virgin had
to crawl on their backs all the way up the aisle and then come back to
the front of the theatre on their stomachs, between the legs of the
other virgins (opposite sexes, of course 🙂

For RHS music directors, vocal coaches, conductors and band leaders.

First off, let’s be politically correct: The movie is the Rocky Horror Picture Show – the stage version is simply called the “Rocky Horror Show”, or RHS.

So you’ve heard the rumor that the Rocky Horror Show scores from Samuel French do not include the original orchestrations from the movie (Rocky Horror Picture Show) and do not contain the choir background vocal parts.

Yes, this is mostly true. But before you freak out like I did – let me fill you in on how to navigate around this. It’s not that big of a deal as was presented to me. I had been told what a major orchestration job it was going to be. It’s not bad.

ROCKY HORROR SHOW MUSIC ORCHESTRATION

The scores are written by hand but very legible. They are basically chord charts with basic bass lines and chord patterns written out – with the vocal lines above the piano part. It’s about what you would expect from a jazz lead sheet. If you’ve played in cover bands and are even a little bit seasoned – you’ll be able to fill in the parts easy with a couple (or one) listens through the CD. There is nothing musically in the show that I wouldn’t have played during a typical gig at a country bar, if that helps you out a bit.

Don’t know how to play old skool rock ‘n roll piano? If you are comfortable playing “Old Time Rock ‘n Roll” then you’re fine.

If you want to really get into it, I suggest getting these three recordings for different approaches and flavors to the songs:

1. Original Motion Picture Sounddtrack (Tim Curry)
2. Original London Soundtrack
3. 2000 Broadway Revival (CD cover FF has shock white hair)

I also suggest getting the RHS Audience Participation CD – It’s a two CD set that has all the audience lines. Great practice for the cast, and for directors to make sure no audience lines are being missed. All CD’s are available on Amazon.com at the time of this posting.

There are elements I like from all three versions. From the Rocky Broadway Revival you will pick up a little more zing in the instrumental parts, grooves and tempos. The characters in the remake are a little more tongue ‘n cheek – for character development I personally prefer the original motion picture soundtrack for most characters (Dr. Scott is pretty cool on the remake).

STRING PARTS: The movie has string parts. I prefer to just cover them by ear on a synth. If you add real string players you’ll need a section and your budget just went way up. If you were to chart out Violin parts I would estimate for the whole show it might take 4-5 hours (that’s including 2 hours for whining and saying “Why do I have to do this?”).

TRANSPOSITION: Because of the lead sheet format of the scores, it’s VERY easy to transpose songs. Rocky is the tough one – his part goes up to a high A. The score key for Rocky’s song “Sword of Damocles” is D – one of my recordings has lowered to the key of B. That’s a good key for most Rocky’s.

ROCKY HORROR SHOW VOCAL PARTS

It’s true, very few of the chorus parts are written in the score. BUT, the good news is because the score is basically in lead sheet style, there’s plenty of room to write in the vocal parts. It was not that much work. It took me less than three hours to score all the vocal parts for the entire show. Vocal parts are 2 and 3 part harmonies. The background vocal parts are not difficult and borderline obvious. I’m pretty fast with a pencil but c’mon, it’s not that much work.

My approach is to take all three renditions and use my favorite interpretation from each CD recording. For myself, I do not add parts that are not part of authorized productions out of respect for the writers. It’s not my job to re-write things, I’m just the MD (musical director). I learned that from conducting – don’t rewrite the scores.

Less Is More – Chart out your two and three part vocal arrangements but give individual ensemble vocalists the flexibility to choose the harmonies they want. This worked well for our ensemble. If people are in the RHS cast, they are probably very creative people. Let them use that in their part singing as well. If you need to hear a certain harmony more, ask someone to jump over. It’s a much more fun and effective approach for this show.

(For our production I would not give ensemble music, had them learn it by ear. It works well for this style of music and keeps individual voices free with the music. Highly recommended approach for this particular musical.)

TOTAL PROJECT TIME:
Writing Choir Parts – 3 hours
Chorus Learning All Parts – 3 hours.