Plano resident Aaron Green has played Dr. Frank N. Furter before.
But the aspiring professional actor said he slipped into the good (and bad) doctor’s stilettos to get reacquainted with the iconic, lonely alien at the center of The Rocky Horror Show for Denton Community Theatre.
He literally spent a week in sky-high heels.
“It kind of evolved over time,” Green said. “I first saw the show at 16, I went to Halloween … with giant platform heels. Then last summer, I spent a week doing nothing but walking around in heels.” The 22-year-old played Frank N. Furter in Lakeside Community Theatre’s production last year in The Colony.
But, he said, “I took a step farther this time. I bought stilettos.” Green said it was kind of like riding a bicycle. And then there’s the discomfort.
“It’s terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. They make you feel different, they honestly do. You put them on and about five minutes you get used to the pain,” he said.
Rocky Horror premiered on the London stage in 1973, and led to the cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show in 1975. It’s a simple story: a fish-out-of-water tale of a young couple, Brad and Janet, who are both chaste and newly engaged. They get stranded by a flat tire and a rainstorm. The pair hurries to an old castle for help, and once they cross the threshold, they’re whipped into the world of a mad scientist-alien who looks like a man who dresses like a woman — Dr. Frank N. Furter.
Over the course of the night, the doctor initiates the young couple into the ways of seduction, and tries to breathe life into his hunky creation — Rocky Horror. The sculpted bit of beefcake has only half a brain, and how he got even that much is a macabre mish-mash of Frank N. Furter’s dark arts.
Rocky Horror generated a number of fist-pumping and strut-track gems — “Time Warp,” “Sweet Transvestite,” “Rose Tint My World (Floor Show)” and “Touch-a-Touch-a-Touch-a-Touch Me.” The company’s staging is the design of tried-and-true theater folk: Brad Speck steers the ship, and Ray Staniszewski is driving the rock band. Choreographer Amanda Guerrero has coached the performers to choose sensual over raunchy, and Philip Lamb’s projections appear to be among the most exhaustive he’s ever created for the Campus Theatre.
Green said he came to the Campus Theatre to support his girlfriend at auditions. He’d had his run with Rocky Horror, he said. But then he watched the performers take their turns and went back to his car to find some sheet music. He returned to the auditorium, filled out a form and belted out “Sugar Daddy” from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. He read for several roles and landed Frank.
The actor said he knows most people are coming to see the show with the film in mind, and it’s a fact he’s not fighting.
“Tim Curry [the original Frank N. Furter] is the standard to 99 percent of Rocky fans, and I think you have to go into that knowing that,” Green said. “I’m personally not intimidated by Tim Curry. I kind of want to honor him. I like to draw a lot from him, and if one or two people compare me to Tim Curry, I’m more than honored.”
Curry managed to project a determination and self-absorption often associated with romantic, driven heroes. But Curry also basked in a self-satisfied sensuality as Frank. His moves are work-it-girl flashy and come-hither. The music is written for a man’s voice, and Curry’s growling ornamentation is a weird whisk of riot girl bravado and rock ’n’ roll ferocity.
Rocky Horror is on the daring side for Denton Community Theatre. The cast wiggles around in lingerie and sings about sexual fever. Green sports everything from scrubs to a teeny-weeny pair of black underpants, fishnet stockings and garter belts. At times, Green shows an awful lot of skin (and Jaime Rodriguez, as Rocky, shows off a chiseled torso in a pair of skin-tight gold lame short-shorts).
“You know what? I enjoy the skin-baring part of the show, and I think I incorporated more skin than the costumer really wanted,” Green said.
The costumes, which are a clever mix of hard and soft, look luxe. Green said the garments in the show help the cast get into character.
“They feel incredible,” he said. “Putting them on makes you feel really good. As soon as you put it on, you feel wonderful. It makes it that much easier to get across what you’re doing and thinking.”
The Rocky Horror Show is 42 years old, and shows no signs of slowing down. Laverne Cox, a transwoman famous for her performance in the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black, will play Frank in the upcoming televised version scheduled to air next fall. Green said the message of the show probably keeps fans coming back to see the show on stage and screen.
“I think it’s about honesty,” Green said. “When I think about this show, the first word that comes to mind is acceptance. … Brad and Janet are this conservative, traditional couple, and they come into this world that’s about being open-minded and allowing yourself to be open to more experience.”
read more: QueenieAustralia semi formal dresses
