Tonight Playhouse on the Square will have its pay what you can night for the iconic rock musical “The Rocky Horror Show.”
Playhouse on the Square has been providing entertainment for Memphians since 1969 and providing a pay what you can night for every production since 1991 in all three of its theaters. Circuit Playhouse Inc. consists of Playhouse on the Square, Circuit Playhouse, and TheaterWorks.
“Pay what you can nights always draws better that regular price ticket nights,” Jessica Graham, marketing director for Circuit Playhouse Inc., said. “We like doing pay what you can nights because we want as many people to see the production as possible.”
For pay what you can nights a person can pay anything he or she wishes to gives. A person can choose to pay as little as one cent for a ticket but the average amount an audience member pays is 10 to 15 dollars.
Rocky Horror Show sold out in matter of hours when tickets became available for pay what you can night.
Rocky Horror Picture Show was originally released as a play in England but the most popular version is the movie, which was released in the United States in 1975 and has created a huge cult following over the years. Rocky Horror has many great musical numbers such as: “Time Warp,” “Touch-a Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me” and “Sweet Transvestite.” The movie featured such stars as Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Meat Loaf, and Richard O' Brien, who played Riff Raff and wrote Rocky Horror.
Playing Riff Raff in the Playhouse on the Square production of Rocky Horror is Devin Altizer, a contract actor for Playhouse. Altizer has already preformed in Mary Poppins and Peter Pan and will preform in both “Assassins” and “Tribes” after Rocky Horror.
“Rocky Horror has been a blast to be a part of,” Altizer said. “Its like being in a no holds barred rock concert every night.”
Altizer's favorite song in Rocky Horror is “Time Warp.”
“Time Warp is a blast to sing and perform,” he said. “It really gets the audience settled into the performance and is always a crowd favorite.”
The Rocky Horror Show has already shown at Playhouse on the Square four times and will finish with a total of 20 shows but Altizer is excited for pay what you can night. “Pay what you can night have the best audiences and they give you the best interaction between the actors and the audience,” Altizer said. “Pay what you can nights are normally the nights were we as actor have our best performances because of the great audiences.”
There are not very many differences between the play and the movie. The main difference is how the scenes are set and performed in a theater setting instead of for a movie. The set is more theatrical and helps give the audience a feeling of being a part of the show.
Rocky Horror Picture Show will be playing at Playhouse on the Square every Thursday through Sunday until February 15. For more information on Rock Horror and other plays that will be performed at all three theaters including tickets, show schedule, and pay what you can dates visit playhouseonthesquare.com.
