The Rocky Horror Show. Image supplied.
Few will have missed the allegations of sexual harassment and assault against actor Craig McLachlan that exploded in the early hours of Monday, 8th of January. At the time, McLachlan was playing the lead role of Frank-N-Furter in the production of The Rocky Horror Show, which was then in Adelaide. He was quickly replaced by WAAPA trained rising star, Adam Rennie. The running of the show has also passed from GFO to the American producers of the hit musical The Book of Mormon.
Last Thursday’s media-call for the show in Brisbane was unusual. Generally, these events begin with an introduction to the show by one the producers, director, or PR person. They welcome the media and give us a run-down of what to expect. This time, Cameron Daddo (who plays the Narrator) came out and gave an energetic but brief intro (I swear he had written notes on his hand- so if the task was thrust upon him at the last moment, he did a good job!). Then it was straight into musical numbers to give a taste of the production.
After the songs, there is generally an opportunity for media to request one-on-one interviews with members of the cast or creative team. This time we all had the opportunity to ask questions in a group interview with Cameron Daddo, Adam Rennie, and Amanda Harrison (who plays Magenta). It was understandable that they allowed the three of them to be interviewed together for support, and they did an excellent job of fielding what could have been difficult questions, but it was disappointing that no-one from management stepped in to tackle what had happened up front. It remained the elephant in the room and made for an odd atmosphere.
Rennie is first asked what it is like to play the lead role. “This has been a dream role of mine since I saw the movie when I was a kid. To be standing here right now, in fishnets and with the Frank tattoo on my arm, is a dream come true and I’m loving every second of it.”
The next question was perhaps a little provocative, “You didn’t expect to get the call?”
“No - that’s the interesting thing about covering, you have to be ready to step in at any point in time, but you’re also aware you can do all that work to create a full person and maybe it will stay in your imagination. Maybe no one will ever see it. I’m just thrilled that I get to share the Frank of my imagination with people now”.
When describing what it was like on night one, when the curtain went up, Rennie paused before his response, “I don’t think I can put into words how that night felt. It was overwhelming to feel the support of everyone who was putting the show on, and then the full-house who came to support the show was a truly special moment for me and something that I will never forget. It’s a wild ride to be on.”
Here Amanda Harrison interjects, “And you heard the crowd roar. There was no booing. I open the show as another character and I was behind the curtain thinking ‘What’s tonight going to be for us?’ and when they announced Adam, the crowd roared and everybody relaxed and gave the best performance of the week. It was really something special. It was really wonderful to have that support of Adelaide, and hopefully now Brisbane.”
Rennie explains, “Craig has never taken a show off in other seasons. It’s an understudy role I really wasn’t expecting a chance to get into the full get-up. To get an opportunity to do that is incredible.” Harrison says proudly, with perhaps a touch of awe, “He did his first tech run in front of 2,000 people.” Rennie laughs, “It’s a hell of a way to rehearse.”
Before his sudden promotion, Rennie previously was in the show as Eddie/Dr Scott. “It’s safe to say this is the biggest role that I’ve had. Frank is possibly the biggest role for music theatre men. It’s a dream for all of us. This is about as big as it gets.”
And it certainly was a sudden promotion. “I got the call on Monday afternoon (the 8th) and I went home and spent Monday night going over the whole show in my imagination and had people come over and run lines with me so I felt comfortable… Very quickly it was opening night and I was there. I was as prepared as I possibly could have been. In this show in particular, the audience is another member of the cast, you feel them up here with us. There was no amount of preparation I could do to feel that. When those doors swung open, I was ready to go on a ride with the audience. I was calm.”
“He’s very zen”, helps Harrison. “I am very zen”, he agrees. “I do a lot of yoga.” He laughs and becomes quickly serious again. “I was as calm as I was because I had done the work and I felt so supported by everyone. I wish everyone could experience the support I had from every single person on stage that night. Every time I made eye contact with someone, they were there with me, egging me on to success and that energy was palpable.”
Harrison echoes this insight into a warm, supportive environment when asked what it has been like backstage for cast and crew in this difficult period. It’s a question she expected and it’s the closest we come to addressing that giant elephant. “Everyone has been really supportive, and it’s been an important time for that. It was quite stressful at the beginning of last week as you can imagine. We all banded together and were supportive of one another and got on with it. It’s that old adage of ‘The show must go on’ and it does. And it will. And now we’re here in Brisbane and we’re ready to do it again.”
The Rocky Horror Show plays at QPAC’s Concert Hall until February 11. For more information, visit the QPAC website.
Author: Jemma Lanyon
