Audience did Wolverhampton proud for Rocky Horror's Show return
The Rocky Horror Show is the only musical where the audience are more outrageously dressed than the cast, writes Adam Smith.
And the cast are mostly half naked or transvestites.
There is always the air of an event when Rocky Horror comes to town and the good people of Wolverhampton did not let The Grand down last night (Tuesday).
A Black Country accent somehow really suits a grown bearded man dressed in stockings and suspenders and it was wonderful seeing the effort people had made to watch Richard O'Brien's cult classic rock n roll musical, again.
And I say again, because this was not the first dance for most the audience. The show has been touring for decades and by now it is an audience participation show, with so many in jokes and innuendos being shouted from the stalls it can be hard to keep up.
But seeing the different generations enjoying the show, parents brought their teenagers, and some their own parents.
This is the world tour, but it was nice to hear localised gags from the start.
The narrator, whose comic timing has to be brilliant due to the constant shouting back of the audience was peerless.
Phillip Franks had the naughty authority to keep the crowd in check, without being a party pooper. His voice is so Thespian, it is no surprise his dulcet tones appear on Radio 4 so often.
Nods to "bouncing through Wolverhampton on a space hopper" and even giving Physic Sally from Staffordshire was a nice nod to the venue.
Suzie McAdam shone as the Usherette and Magenta, she has electric stage presence and set the tone perfectly for the rest of the cast to hit the high notes.
Stephen Webb's Frank n Furter was big enough to fill the shoes of all those great actors before him, in a role which is like the camp Lear in musicals.
The Time Warp ramped up the atmosphere and then the rest of the show fell into place, as it always does.
The corruption of the innocents Brad and Janet, is always fun to see, and by the time Sweet Transvestite was performed the Grand was rocking.
I'm guessing, everyone will be back for its next world tour.
The Rocky Horror Show is at the Wolverhampton Grand until Saturday.
