THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW at the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre

“Let’s do the Time Warp again!” In this cult classic, sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named “Rocky”.

Complete with sass from the audience and an array of other audience participation props, this deliberately kitschy rock ‘n’ roll sci-fi gothic musical is great fun for adults and a perfect way to kick off the Halloween season!

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Richard O’Brien

The Rocky Horror Show is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. www.concordtheatricals.com

Presented at Foellinger Outdoor Theatre

Musical Rated R Adult Language and Content

Box Office Contact Information

Foellinger Outdoor Theatre Box Office

Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Office

705 E. State Blvd. Fort Wayne, IN 46805

Hours - Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM

Questions - (260) 427-6000

Ticket orders cannot be purchased over the phone

NO EXTERNAL PROPS ARE ALLOWED ON-SITE!

Prop bags will be available for purchase.

Director, AJ Lorenzini, gives some insight to the production -

The Rocky Horror Show premiered on the West End in 1973, almost 51 years ago to the exact day that I’m writing these notes. I have to admit that number really shocked me when I did the math. The original London and Los Angeles productions were successful, but the musical did not find success on Broadway. Even the now iconic film version was not an immediate success, only through years of midnight showings and audience participation has it become one of the most well-known musicals in the musical theatre canon. Its popularity makes it a natural choice for the Civic, as audiences from all around will be familiar with its iconic moments. But I didn’t want it to be that simple…

The Rocky Horror Show was very subversive for its time, and still is in many ways over fifty years later. When presented with the immense opportunity to direct this show, one questions immediately came to my mind: “How can we bring this show that has been entertaining and shocking audiences for half a century to 2024?”

At its core, The Rocky Horror Show is a story about a traditional young couple that gets thrown into a world they don’t understand and are inherently uncomfortable with. I immediately wanted to take Brad and Janet, the nuclear ideal of a 1950s American couple, and put them in the most uncomfortable situation they could be: a 1980s underground punk gay club. This is the environment that the creators of The Rocky Horror Show were very familiar with, so why not place the story there? Exciting ideas immediately came to mind: “Frank-N-Furter is the drag headliner of the club!”, “Riff is the bouncer!” “The Phantoms are the patrons!” It all began to click. Fortunately, the entire Civic staff immediately gravitated to these ideas and ran full-speed ahead with this vision.

Two of the biggest people I need to thank are my assistant director Brandon Porter, and my “creative consultant” Michael Bartkiewicz, who both listened to my wild ideas and kept me in check at all times in preparation for this show. It also helps that we have an absolute dream of a creative team (Olivia, Rollie, Bobbi Jo, Brittany) along for the ride. Thank you to Phillip for this amazing opportunity, and of course to “THIS. CAST.” for bringing this story to life with charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent! I constantly think of myself as one of the luckiest guys around, and that is no joke!

No more antici…..pation! On with the show!

AJ Lorenzini (Director) is making his community directing debut with The Rocky Horror Show! He is no stranger to Fort Wayne theatre, having appeared as an actor and technician with Civic, Arena Dinner Theatre, First Pres, TRMT, SCMT, and IMTF. He received Anthony Awards for his roles as The Cat in the Hat in Seussical, the ensemble of Sweeney Todd, and the one-man-play Buyer & Cellar, as well as Arena Awards for his performances as Aldolpho in The Drowsy Chaperone and the Headwaiter in She Loves Me. Other favorite roles at the Civic include Cinderella’s Stepmother in Into the Woods, Frederick in Young Frankenstein, Harry in Mamma Mia!, and Mandy Patinkin in Forbidden Broadway. AJ is currently in his 9th year as a high school theatre director, where he has directed over 15 productions including Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors, Clue, and The Wizard of Oz. He thanks the entire Civic board and staff for this amazing opportunity, his amazing cast and dream production team, and Quyen for being the best supporter in the whole world!