is the grass any bluer...

is the grass any bluer...
...in Cincinnati!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Rocky Horror's Pete Sears is The Voice of Unreason

Rehearsal photos courtesy of Tom Eisenhauer
BCTC and AGL's Rocky Horror Show returns to the Downtown Arts Center again tonight.  With only a few performances left, there are any number of elements to the show that can vary from night to night, but one thing is certain: the wisecracking fellow in the corner, the ominous voiced Pete Sears, will make sure you know that everything said and done is eerily funny and gravely hilarious.  


In the film, the Narrator is known as The Criminologist, but Sears tells me he prefers "to think of him as a callous and blasé God...but that's because it makes the role more fun for me."

"I'm a fan of the movie. When I was in college, we'd go nearly every Friday night and watch it at the Skyvue cinema in downtown Cincy. It was always a party. When Tim told me he was doing it, my attitude was essentially, 'Barring paying work. I am SO there.' "


Sears' first show with the Bluegrass Community & Technical College cast and crew was Much Ado About Nothing, but not his first show with Theater and Film Coordinator Tim X Davis.  "I've worked with Tim on a number of things. I trust his comic aesthetic and he's always open to experimentation.  If you're the kind of actor who always comes in the door with something new, Tim Davis is your kind of director. He'll let you run with things until they proven themselves or proven that they don't work. Plus he's a funny guy himself and has been onstage a number of times, so you know he's not just blueskying or picking something he read out of a book. He's been there."

Pete Sears has been a fixture in Lexington theater for over 20 years since attending Northern Kentucky University.  In addition to his theatrical work, he is also the Author of  1000 Things A New Actor Should Know, Out in the Night Air, Under the Table and Bleeding and The Ebon Shelf.



Jim Gleason & wife Missy Johnston:
Lexington's uber-musical power couple


Sears' role in Rocky Horror lends an oh-so-nonchalant air of maturity to this college production that appears to be anything but a college production.  The cast is mostly made up of students, but the quality of the set, the staging, the direction, the choreography - everything is top notch...and the music?  Why, it's only the best in town - musical director Jim Gleason and his fellow Johnson Brothers (well, almost all of them, anyway) provide the supporting score that grabs your ear and never lets you forget you're in the presence of some of Lexington's rock legends.
Gleason is obviously having a good time, and delighted to be part of this staging of Rocky Horror as well as the SummerFest production that is sure to have folks dancing in the Arboretum aisles.  

♀♪♂♫♀♪♂♫♀♪♂♫♀♪♂♫♀♪♂♫♀♪♂♫

Now for the answer to the question burning on all of our Frank-N-Furter glossed lips:  Does Pete Sears have a secret talent?  "The only secret talent that I have (that won't get me arrested) is that I am quite skilled with archaic weapons of many types. Come the zombie uprising, my house is going to be the safest on the block," he snickers in his best Boris Karloff-esque bellow. 





Rocky Horror 
Book, Music and Lyrics by: Richard O' Brien
March 30 - April 2
8pm
Friday April 1 has an 8pm and a Midnight Show

 AGL and BCTC team up to bring this cult classic to the Downtown Arts Center.  After becoming engaged, Brad Majors and Janet Weiss get stranded at the strange castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter after their car breaks down. They are then initiated into the strange world of the "Transsexual Transylvanians" and their customs.   

**This production is not for the faint of heart. It is intended for mature audiences only**
Tickets
$15 for Adults
$12 for Students
www.lexarts.org for tickets 



After I make it to tonight's AGL production of Broken, I just might find enough energy to make it back downtown to catch the midnight show...however I highly recommend you treat yourself to this collage of sexy, sultry and sassy scenes brought to you by the horrifically phantastic folks at BCTC and AGL.  Zach Dearing as Rocky and Michael Baird as Riff Raff are absolutely shockingly gorgeous; and newcomer Suraya Shalash is delish as Columbia.  EVERYONE in this show is unbelievable....if you love this cult classic, you will want to get your Rocky Horror fix and then stay tuned for more about SummerFest's production coming up in July!
see you at the castle...er, at the arboretum...
uh...what the heck, let me just say,
I'll see you soon...
peace,
Kimmy



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