The Rocky Horror Show (2000 Broadway Revival Cast) [CAST RECORDING]

Alice Ripley (Artist), Tom Hewitt (Artist), Kristen Lee Kelly (Composer), Raul Esparza (Artist), Sebastian Lacause (Artist), Jarrod Emick (Artist), Lea Delaria (Artist), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Artist), Richard O'Brien (Artist)

Product Details

• Composer: Kristen Lee Kelly
• Audio CD (May 15, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: RCA Victor Broadway
• ASIN: B00005B605
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #73,646 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Broadway & Vocalists > Musicals > Revivals

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 2001
The movie version of The Rocky Horror Show has turned into such an enduring cult success that it has pretty much obliterated the fact that it all started with a stage show. And now Richard O'Brien's musical is back on stage, where some say it truly belongs (it was nominated for the category Best Revival of a Musical in the 2001 Tony Awards). With a great cast that includes Dick Cavett, Alice Ripley (Janet), Tom Hewitt (Frank 'N' Furter), and Daphne Rubin-Vega (Magenta), the revival fires on all cylinders. Note that while Joan Jett was in the cast as Columbia, she's not on the CD (Kristen Lee Kelly is). But Lea DeLaria, last seen stealing the show in On the Town, more than compensates by playing both Eddie (Meat Loaf in the movie!) and Dr. Scott--and doing great by both. As a bonus, the song "Once in a While" is back after being cut from the movie. Bursting with energy, this recording brings the rock back in Rocky. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cleaned Up For The Disc, But Still Bursting With Fun, May 16, 2001

By	Dave (Bethel Park, Pa) - See all my reviews

It is next to impossible to hate "The Rocky Horror Show", especially when it is performed by such an amazing and charismatic ensamble cast as this. The 2000 revival of Richard O'Brien's tale of sexual discovery and moral deconstruction was indeed a breath of fresh air in Times Square, however the actual performance isn't represented on this disc. When sitting in Circle in The Square, you'll hear a much more hardcore rock sound, which has been softened on the disc, most notably on Science Fiction Double Feature, which is still perfectly fine seeing as nothing is lost.

Alice Ripley and Jerrod Emick are too enjoyable as the square Brad and Janet. Both have clean and pleasant voices that are vets of a whole slew of musical, which perfectly contrast with the wild and rockin voices of the other players. Though Joan Jett is not on the CD, she still brought a rock'n'roll essence to Columbia that Kristen Lee Kelly doesn't lose on the album. Raúl Esparza is the definition of incredible as Riff-Raff. It's a shame that the recording was released two days after he left the cast (best of luck to him in tick tick... BOOM though). Though Lea DeLaria is often frowned upon, she really kicks as Eddie/Dr. Scott. Both characters are played for the laughs, as they should be. Sebastian LeClause is vocally a great Rocky, but his being shorter than Frank made it a tad awkward, but that affects nothing. Speaking of Frank, has there ever been a greater than Tom Hewitt. He perhaps even bests Tim Curry, if that's possible. His crazy and absolutely perfect voice etch Sweet Transvestite and I'm Going Home, et cetera into your ears — from where they'll never escape. Of course, the real treat is Daphne Rubin-Vega as Magenta. After her hiatus after RENT and her botched CD deal ... she's back in the habit, and she's perfect. The only draw back is that she has to share Science Fiction Double Feature with Columbia, but it's a small price to pay for her incredible talent.

Overall, this is possibly the best Rocky Horror album out there, even besting the Roxy cast, which so many hold near and dear. Buy this and you won't be sorry, and you'll be able to do the Time Warp over and over again.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars LOST IN THE TIME WARP!, June 5, 2001

By	Robert Edler "Master Of Mystery" (Saint Louis, Missouri USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Prologue: I am a BMM Rocky Horror fan. That means Before Midnight Madness! I bought and enjoyed either the English Cast or pre-Broadway Cast LP album (I don't remember which since I gave all my LPs to charity when my turntable called it quits.) I rushed to get tickets to see the show when it finally arrived on Broadway. (I got to New York on June 12 to discover the Belasco was already dark. So I either saw EQUUS or THE RITZ instead.) When the movie finally opened my friends and I went to the first show on opening night. It was only playing at one theatre in town; a great old neighborhood theater located near the Washington University campus. We were the only six people in the audience. (The theater has since served as failed drugstore and later a used record store.) Finally, when the movie was released on video I quickly snatched up my copy. In all that time (26 plus years) I have never witnessed one of the audience participation versions of the show/movie. With that said, I'll get on with the review of the new Broadway original cast recording.

With one major and one minor exception, the new cast gives an outstanding vocal interpretation of the score. The major exception is Lea DeLaria in the dual role of Eddie/Dr. Scott. She may have the beef, but she's no Meatloaf. I found her vocal style to be extremely annoying on HOT PATOOIE and her Dr. Scott persona carries camp to new amateurish extremes. The minor exception is Tom Hewitt as Frank `N' Furter. He probably gives an outstanding performance on stage, but as recorded his interpretation suffers from the influences of 27 years of Tim Curry's characterization. As I noted at the start, I'm caught in a Rocky Horror Time Warp, and the new recording does not live of to my memories of the original. Director, Christopher Ashley, states in the liner notes that it was impossible to capture "the audience dynamics" of the live performance. Which is correct since in order to do that, he would have had to record the show in a life performance. Besides, the original recording survived without "audience dynamics" - the HAIR recording survived without "audience dynamics" - hundreds of successful original cast recordings survived without "audience dynamics." As the director says in the liner notes, "It is a rock album!" Just not a good one in my opinion

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Stick to the original Roxy cast and soundtrack!, June 7, 2005

By	S. Wetzel "music /movie fan" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is absolute crap! The singers are horrible and the new orchestrations/arrangements are so schmaltzy, "new-Broadway" that I wanted to rip the CD out of my stereo and hurl it against the wall. There is no sense of innovation for a revival of a great show. The original cast albums should be sought out and listened to. Perhaps they're not good technically, but what they lack in technical expertise, they more than make up for in artistic expression. To me, this is an exercise of theater impressarios saying "Let's revive Rocky Horror but take the dangerous stuff out." Yes, it's hard to imagine someone other than Tim Curry begin Frank N. Furter (although I understand Anthony Stewart Head of "Buffy" fame comes a close second with the London production),but Tom Hewitt still doesn't cut it. I haven't listened to this current cast album for a long time but one other thing that I vividly recall how almost all the performers seemed to not even hit the proper notes of the melody, or their timing or phrasing was completely off. This may be acceptable on American Idol and other "modern" ("Recent") musicals, but when one is used to hearing the songs sung with the proper phrasing and each melody note being given its proper length and pitch, this becomes tedious and unpalatable. What appeals to me from the original is the sense of outrageousness and earnestness. This production, although very slickly produced, is missing the fun and excitement of it.