The Inland Stage Company presents the cult classic The Rocky Horror Show Feb. 12 through 27 at the Esplanade Art Center. The show is directed by Inland Stage Artistic Director Jim Marbury and features many returning Inland Stage artists.

The Inland Stage Company’s Rocky Horror Show runs Feb. 12, 13, 19, 20, 26 and 27 at the Esplanade Art Center in San Jacinto.

Tickets are $15, without dinner. Dinner reservations are available for groups of 10 or more. To reserve tickets call (951) 600 – 7273 or visit www.inlandstage.org.

The Esplanade Art Center is located at 2181W. Esplanade Avenue in San Jacinto, in the shopping mall on the corner of Sanderson and Esplanade.

Winston Peacock (Riff Raff) is known for his roles as Freddy in My Fair Lady, Captain Hook in Peter Pan, and Gaston in Beauty and the Beast at the Ramona Bowl. But Peacock performed his first non-musical role with Murrieta Repertory Theatre (now ISC), playing John in A Lion in Winter.

“I wanted to do Rocky Horror because it’s very different from my usual stuff and I love the music,” Peacock said. “People should see this show because it’s somethng Hemet/San Jacinto has never seen before. It will have special effects and we have some of the best known actors in the Inland Empire. It is a show of legends and soon to be legends. Plus we are making this show completely our own doing.”

Aside from playing Riff Raff, Peacock is the vocal coach and the special effects designer.  “The director, Jim Marbury, has put a lot of faith in me for this show and I feel very honored to not be underestimated.”

Paola Cifuentes (Janet Weiss) was last seen on the Inland Stage as Audrey in As You Like It.

“Ever since I was little I have enjoyed singing and acting. I was always in local theatre groups that my mom would enroll me in,” Cifuentes said.

“Once I entered middle school I continued performing musicals. The experience of acting, singing, and dancing onstage is like no other. The last musical I was in was a production of Guys and Dolls.”

Cifuentes has not been in a musical in a while and did not want to miss the opportunity to participate in this cult classic.

“I definitely had to audition,” Cifuentes said. “This is not your typical musical. The rock music is amazing, and aside from the amazing dances in the show, it is also made up of a wonderful cast both onstage and off.”

Cifuentes has also been a ballet dancer since she was 7, and has participated in several ballet shows.

“If it weren’t for the support of my parents and brother, I would have a hard time doing what I love,” she said.

Leia Redmond is playing Magenta as well as acting as the production’s choreographer.  Redmond started doing musical theatre in high school, where she choreographed Little Shop of Horrors, Grease, and Hansel and Gretel.

“I then started doing community theatre at the Ramona Bowl where I was Liat in South Pacific, a lead dancer in Oklahoma! and in Joseph and the Amazing Techicolored Dreamcoat, and choreographer for My Fair Lady.”

Redmond attended CSUSB where she majored in theatre.

“While there I was a daughter/dancer in Pirates of Penzance,” she said.
Redmond has always had a special place in her heart for Rocky Horror.

“I saw the movie when I was young and loved the uniqueness of it as well as the awesome music. I love the blunt sexuality of it that is instantly recognized and accepted. It is not a show where the audience just sits by and lets the show happen to them, they interact so much with the show that they feel as though they are part of the show and the experience,” Redmond said.

The cast also includes Coley O’Brien McAvoy as Frankenferter, and Jared Moore as Brad Majors.

Sean Longstreet is the production’s musical director. He has written original music for the Inland Stage Company productions of As You Like It and A Christmas Carol.

“I’m drawn to music in the theatre partly because of it’s transformative abilities, and the live interaction between actors/musicians and the audience,” Longstreet said. “We seem to be continuing down a path of canned music and synthesisers which lack the human emotion that makes live performances so impactive and meaningful.”

Longstreet will perform live on the electric and acoustic guitar, along with Wes Houdyshell on bass and Sean Daniel on drums.

“I’m looking forward to Rocky because the music is so fun. I’m primarily a jazz musician, but I love all styles of music and this is a great opportunity to play some classic rock ‘n roll,” he said.

Longstreet said the traditional instrumentation of the show has been scaled down for this production, but the classic sound will still be there.

“Typically a live band for Rocky Horror will have drums, bass, one or two guitars, keyboard, and a saxophone. But I’m drawing from the classic guitar trio in the style of Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. I’ll be using a looper to add texture and to lay down rhythm guitar parts while soloing over these loops.”