Jordan Roth's revival of the cult musical, The Rocky Horror Show, will feature an eclectic cast, including Dick Cavett, Lea DeLaria (On the Town), Joan Jett, Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent), Alice Ripley (Side Show) and Tom Hewitt.

Today's Daily Variety (Aug. 22) reports that the revival of Richard O Brien's 1975 musical will feature comedienne-actress-singer DeLaria as Eddie/Dr. Scott, rocker Jett as Columbia, author-actor-talk show host Cavett as the Narrator, Hewitt as Frank 'n' Furter, Rubin-Vega as Magenta, Ripley as Janet, Jarrod Emick as Brad and Raul Esparza as Riff Raff.

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As reported earlier, producer Jordan Roth has made clear choices for the revival. "It's a going to be very non-traditional Broadway show," Roth told Playbill On-Line in July. Roth plans a Halloween opening this season. "Rocky Horror will come straight to a Broadway house," Roth added, with no out-of-town tryout.

Director Christopher Ashley (Drama Dept.'s Communicating Doors, As Thousands Cheer and Claudia Shear's Blown Sideways Through Life at the New York Theatre Workshop) will helm the show, Roth said. Roth is the son of producer Daryl Roth (Wit, Three Tall Women and The Bomb-itty of Errors) and himself the producer of the Off Broadway hit, The Donkey Show. Roth also said the show will be "absolutely as interactive" as audiences would expect The Rocky Horror Show to be. Over the years, the stage and film versions of the show have engendered a strong fan base, which, despite its size, has been described as a cult following. "People can expect the show to be done in the same way that audiences have always responded to Rocky Horror," Roth said, "meaning the way that the music and characters inspire people to sing and dance and interact with each other. That's the experience of the Rocky Horror show live." The stage version of the show ran on Broadway for about one month in 1975. The film version, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," was also released in 1975 and was directed by Jim Sharman. The film featured many members of the Broadway cast and starred Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O'Brien, Jonathan Adams, Meatloaf, Little Nell (Campbell), Charles Gray and Patricia Quinn.

Though Roth's current Off-Broadway show, The Donkey Show was adapted from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and his mother's recent hit, The Bomb-itty of Errors was based on the Bard's Comedy of Errors, there is no adaptation planned for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. "This is not going to be an adaptation," Roth insists. "The movie was actually based on the original stage show, which it followed quite faithfully. This is the stage show and it's not adapted, reworked or reconcepted.' But, it is certainly going to be a 'Rocky Horror' experience unlike any other."

-- By Murdoch McBride