One year after directing “Fairytale Lives of Russian Women” as the Interim Pulp Theatre play, Hailie Gold ‘23 brings “Rocky Horror Show” to the Wofford campus.
The comedy-horror story centers on a young couple, Brad and Janet, whose car breaks down near a castle. When they stop in the castle to find a telephone, they find many people in costumes at a quirky convention, headed by Dr. Frank N. Furter, who is both a mad scientist and alien.
Released originally in 1975, the show was considered to majorly increase LGBTQ+ community visibility due to Frank N. Furter’s androgyny and costumes sharing similarities with drag queen attire.
The main role of Frank N. Furter will be played by Ryan Poole ‘24, who recently played a prominent role in Wofford’s fall production of “AGAMEMNON.”
Kimi Crouch ‘26 will play the role of Janet, one of the two people whose car breaks down outside the castle.
“I was an assistant stage manager at a play at Wofford, but this is my first time acting here,” Crouch said. “Janet is also a character that is unlike any other character I have played. Putting on a production in only a couple of weeks is something I have never done before, but it will be such a fun and amazing challenge!”
Rachel “RJ” Johnson ‘24 will be the music director for the show, and is excited to begin work on the Interim show over the winter break.
Johnson has previously been involved with the South Carolina Children’s Theatre’s productions of “The Missing Moon” and “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.”
“A few of the leads and I will begin to prepare music before Christmas break,” Johnson said. “It’s a lot of information, and some roles are fairly demanding, so we’re going to try to hop on it as soon as possible!”
Johnson implied that creative liberties would be taken during this production to make it both true to the original story and unique, but kept mum about what those liberties would be.
Gold described the unique theme as “dark circus,” stating that the ensemble would be playing sword-swallowers, fire-breathers, etc.
“Hailie Gold is a mastermind, as well as the rest of our team,” Johnson said. “Combining the heads of this particular production team will no doubt make a visually appealing and incredibly entertaining production.”
The play’s cast will consist of Kimi Crouch ‘26, Chris Green ‘24, Alex Malvern ‘23, Molly McMahon ‘26, Cole Mueller ‘26, Mary-Michael O’hara ‘25, Ryan Poole ‘24 and John Henry Tennant ‘25.
The crew will include Hailie Gold ‘23, Jack Tope ‘26, RJ Johnson ‘24, Zari Mackey ‘24, Michaela Peeples ‘24, Jessica Branham ‘25, Cassie Cohen ‘26, Jay Martin ‘24, Emmy Monteverde ‘24 and alumna Joanna Burgess ‘22.
The ensemble of “circus people” will consist of Erin Adams ‘26, Audrey Beaton ‘25, Anneka Brannon ‘26, Audrey Buffington ‘24, Mary Cousineau ‘25, Mac Gavin ‘24, Cole Geyer ‘26, Jasmine Grant ‘26, Matyah Jackson ‘23, Brittany Moore ‘26, Annie Puckett ‘24, Emma Rose Radcliff ‘26, Noah Ravan ‘23, Emily Schwendemann ‘24, Bailey Shaw ‘26, Makiya Smith ‘26, Lydia Thomas ‘25 and Paulina Veremchuk ‘24.
The play will run in the Black Box Theater in the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts from Jan. 26-28 after an Interim full of practice, design and rehearsals
