But in fact it was anything but an ordinary one. 
During that London night,  back in 1973, under a torrential rain, in that small West End theatre  a cult was born ... but let’s start from the beginning!
Let’s go back to the time when Richard O’Brien, an unknown theatre actor from New Zealand, looking for fame and fortune, was badly fired by the theatre company he was working with. The show was “Jesus Christ Superstar” and they say his Herod was really terrible. Richard starts thinking of his own musical, perhaps carried by his wounded pride. “They came from Denton High” starts taking shape. The first songs are composed and then, slowly, some dialogues. The first idea is to compose a rock comedy which could amuse everybody, both grown ups and children. Above all it should have been a show that he himself would have loved to see.  To make both ends meet, Richard starts working under the direction of Jim Sharman in Sam Shepard comedy “The Unseen Hand” and meets, further to Jim Sharman, Richard Hartley the music arranger, and his old friend Brian Thompson. He makes them listen to some music pieces of his “creature” and.. it is done! Everyone is very impressed , Hartley starts working on some arrangements, the title is changed first in “The Rocky Hor-roar Show” and then in the definitive one, “The Rocky Horror Show”.
The actors are chosen... Tim Curry had already been working in a comedy at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs and did not even have to get his dressing room free at the end of the rehearsals. For the role of our sweet transvestite he “stole” some Liza Minnelli’s typical gestures and dyed his hair blonde (at the beginning it should have been blue).
Laura Campbell, later Little Nell, worked as a barmaid in a restaurant not far from there and she used to dance tip-tap for the customers. Christopher Malcom was recruited as Brad, Jonathan Adams played the role of the narrator, a young red-haired Irish that of the barely dressed Magenta. Her name? Patricia Quinn.
Richard O’Brien would have liked to act as Eddie the rocker but Sharman suggested he should play the role of the sneaky humpbacked house-steward  Riff Raff... and that was it

On 16th and 18th June 1973 two previews were held and on 19th the official premiere took place. Since then the world of the musical has never been the same again... The Rocky Horror was just born!

After 5 weeks of all sold out the show is taken to the Classic Cinema in Chelsea, then to the King’s Road Theatre always with a great success: critics and public are enthusiastic about the show. In December 1973 it is the most voted by theatre critics thus winning the Plays and Players Award as the best musical of the year. The new year starts well too and in January 1974 the Rocky gets the Evening Standard Drama, Opera & Ballet Award as the best musical comedy. On 21st March 1974 the Rocky Horror Show makes its debut at the Roxy Theatre on the famous Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Almost the whole cast has changed, only Tom Curry has remained, but the show is a great success in the USA too. In the double role of Eddie/Dr. Scott they recruit a guy who has acted in “Hair!” (the show where also Tim had played years before)... he chooses for himself the nickname of Meatloaf.  Magenta is played by Jamie Donnelly, the same actress who some years later will be seen brushing her teeth with pigtails and ribbons in her hair in the movie from the musical “Grease”.  The success is such that the producers decide to make a movie out of the show, the filming of which starts on 21st October 1974 at the “Bray Studios” near London.
Almost the whole casting of 1973 is recruited again, with the exception of Meatlof and of two new promising American actors: Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwich.  

Restlessly, as soon as the filming is over, the show goes back to the States and on 10th March 1975 it makes its debut  at the Belasco Theatre in New York.  While the movie “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”is a flop both at home and in the States, the theatre musical keeps on having a great success and filling theatres up.

The show goes around all Europe getting even to Australia and Japan. Because of censorship reasons hardly understandable to Europeans  Frank is played by a woman, still today. The Rocky becomes a fashion, it is translated into a lot of foreign languages, from Norwegian to Spanish. Several movies (among which “Fame”) quote the Rocky, tv abounds with parodies (there is a “Saturday Night Live” and they speak about the Rocky even at the Muppet Show) and famous show people vie with each other to play one of the leading roles.
Gary Glitter is among the first actors to put himself to the test in the role of our beloved Dr. Furter and he even records a disc. Years later other artists follow his example: Christopher Lee (playing the narrator), Brian May (Eddie), Robbie Williams (Rocky), Anthony Head (Frank), Sebastian Bach (Riff Raff), Luke Perry (Brad).. even Russel Crowe has acted on the wheelchair of Dr. Scott before playing the Gladiator!

In 1984 the Rocky Horror Show arrives in Italy for the first time.  It will come back here in 1992, at the Teatro Lirico in Milan with an innovating scenography with lights and 
laser show. 
Meanwhile almost everywhere several productions appear, both amateurish and professional:

  •  At the beginning of the 90s Luciana Littizzetto takes to the stage the “Tony Horrow Show” in Turin.
  • In 1991 the “Puccini Horror Comic Show” with Vito and I Gemelli Ruggeri is staged with success in Bologna. It is performed again the following year.
  • On Tv Susy Blady sings “Touch-a Touch-a Touch me” dressed like Little Red Riding Hood in one of the episodes of the highly discussed “Araba Fenice”.
  • The Trio Group (Lopez-Solenghi-Marchesini) uses the scene of the arrival at the castle, and even the ballet of the Time Warp, for their “Promessi Sposi”.
  • Elio e Le Storie Tese use the music of the Rocky for their theme song  of “Mai Dire Goal”.
  • In one of her LPs Mina records a version of “Sweet Transvestite”.
  • In a Tv spot even Lines baby’s napkins show their famous blue hippopotamus dancing the Time Wharp.
In 1996 the Official Tour comes back, with Bob Simon acting as Frank and joined by its creator himself and by Sal Piro. The Smeraldo Theatre hosts the Tour and since then the meeting with the show has become annual.

The year 2003 welcomes the 30th anniversary of the “small musical” created by Richard O’Brien. Who knows if 30 years ago, in that small London Theatre, he may have imagined that his creature would have been so long-living!


 
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