"THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW" COMES TO MILFORD

It is a dark and stormy night, a veritable storm, and an unfortunate time for a car to break down. Where is AAA when you need it? Brad (Jack Saleeby) and his sweetheart Janet (Elise Sullivan) are mere innocents when they stumble upon a mansion that conjures up nightmares of Halloween in its wildest and most wicked state. They naively knock on the uninviting door, merely seeking a telephone to get mechanical help. Unhappily for the hapless pair, the mansion is the home of Dr. Frank ’N’ Furter, a commanding and flamboyant Jimmy Johansmeyer, a mad scientist and a transvestite, not necessarily in that order of importance. The unusual home is already occupied by a bevy of creative customers, who range from the colorful house servants Riff Raff (Justin Rugg) and his sister Magenta (Shelley Marsh Poggio), a cute flower child with rainbow hair Columbia (Mary Mannix), a narrator who tries to make sense of the goings on (Don Poggio), a doctor who has more questions than answers (Steve Autore), a trio of phantoms who assist the action (Sherri Alfonso, Maria Berta and Michael Cavone) and the good doctor’s latest creation, a muscle man named Rocky, a spectacular specimen (Everton Ricketts). It’s clearly too late for Brad and Janet to escape the mad house so just start praying for their survival. Batten down the hatches as Pantochino Productions of Milford unleashes “The Rocky Horror Show” as a Halloween happening until Friday, October 29. This cult favorite from 1975 is a musical stuffed with songs and dances, such as “The Time Warp," “Over at the Frankenstein Place,” “I Can Make You a Man,” "Hot Patootie,” "Science Fiction,” and “Superheroes.” Audiences frequently dress in costumes and shout out dialogue with the performers. Credit for the play goes to Jim Sharman and Richard O’Brien, with clever direction by Bert Bernardi and costumes extraordinaire by Jimmy Johansmeyer. For tickets ($30), go online to pantochino.com. Performances are Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., and Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Milford Arts Council, 40 Railroad Avenue, Milford. Please bring your fully vaccinated card and a mask. No food is allowed and there is no intermission. Get on your black leather jackets and fish net stockings and be prepared for the unique form of hospitality waiting for you when the playmates at the asylum invite you in to party. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.