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‘Rocky’ Road: a chat with Richard O’Brien

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

By Eileen Murphy

To anyone who was a teenager in the 1970s or ’80s, going to see "The Rocky Horror Show" was a deliciously naughty rite of passage. The sexy, twisted, rock and roll retelling of the Frankenstein story was first staged in London in 1973, and was made into a movie with an unknown cast including Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick, all of whom later went on to major movie stardom.

The film flopped after its initial release in 1975, but became a cult favorite through midnight screenings on Friday and Saturday nights. "Rocky" became an interactive experience, with fans yelling out responses to the movie dialogue, bringing props like rice and water pistols and, of course, dancing to "The Time Warp."

The man behind all the madness is "Rocky Horror" author and lyricist Richard O’Brien, who starred as the evil butler, Ruff Raff, in the movie. We caught up with him at his hotel in New York as his beautiful creature (and creation) gets set to make its Broadway stage debut. "The Rocky Horror Show Live" opens at the Circle in the Square Theater tonight.

So, I’ve been wanting to ask you this for years: Do you remember doing the time warp?

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