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The Rocky Horror Show By Richard O Brien

1437 Words6 Pages

The Rocky Horror Show is a 1973 horror-comedy rock musical by Richard O’Brien. It is a parody and humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror movies from the 1930s up to the 1970s, and was a forerunner to the trend for musical horror, combining the genre of horror with comedy. Comedy horror hybrid productions deliberately provoke an emotional shift from fear and horror, to fun and comedy, with the classification of this subgenre as “Horror Musical”.
Richard O’Brien wrote The Rocky Horror Show “set against the backdrop of the glam era that had manifested itself throughout British popular culture in the early 1970s” This allowed O'Brien to be himself and his concept to come into being.” (Auslander, 2006)
Directed by Jim Sharman, musical …show more content…

This dark comedy with a strong rock score has lasting appeal. It is surprising and weird but enjoyable. The memorable musical score and songs make this a musical of its time. The incredible costumes, mirrored by a large percentage of the audience, produce an amazing atmosphere and elevate this musical to the realms of a true cult classic. For many The Rocky Horror Show is a masterpiece that defines the horror musical genre but there are certain flaws to this claim.
Despite featuring a sort of Frankenstein-style monster, Rocky is a man-made tanned, physically perfect, blond-haired, muscle man, not a character whose aura is monstrous. As already stated the show is a humorous tribute to the B movies, and due to this, threats reflecting the fears experienced by society at the time, are lacking. The musical does contain scenes relating to death and murder, however the horror elements are incidental to the shock humour, rather than an integral part of the …show more content…

This was the perfect time for Andrew Lloyd Webber to write his long-anticipated major romantic story The Phantom of the Opera. Webber contacted Cameron Mackintosh and proposed this new musical.
“Widely considered one of the most beautiful and spectacular productions in history, playing to over 145 million people in 41 countries, 183 cities in 17 languages” (Really Useful Group Ltd, 2022). This world-renowned musical is considered Cameron Mackintosh’s most successful work as well as being the longest-running show in Broadway history.
It is the tale of a disfigured musical genius living beneath the Paris Opera House, who becomes obsessed with a beautiful soprano. It is a sung-through musical with very little spoken dialogue. Despite the score being somewhat operatic in style, the structure and form remain that of a musical throughout. The show has one of the best scores. The songs are memorable and each adds another dimension to the

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