Broadway Cast Brings Rocky Horror to NPR Studio

The Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show performed at NPR's studio in Washington, D.C. this month.

The cast and band gathered in the NoMa neighborhood for a recording session that highlighted the musical's recent return to the stage.

Audience members attending the event wore costumes ranging from fishnets and corsets to 1950s greaser styles and nerd attire.

The performance featured a full musical ensemble alongside the principal cast members.

Vocalists included Lorna Courtney, Kevin McHale, George Salazar, Jake Shears, Anania, and Andres Quintero.

Jane Cardona served as the keyboardist and music director for the session.

Nate Brown played guitar, Winston Roye played bass, and Shannon Ford handled the drums.

Lynn Ligammari provided saxophone support for the recording.

A group of background vocalists added depth to the tracks.

The set list opened with the song Science Fiction Double Feature.

Anania delivered the lead vocals for that opening number.

The cast then performed Over at the Frankenstein Place, a duet between the characters Brad and Janet played by Courtney and McHale, respectively, with Quintero providing additional vocals on the track, which was followed by the rock number Hot Patootie, sung by Salazar with saxophone accompaniment from Ligammari, then the ballad I'm Going Home performed by Shears, and concluded with The Time Warp, the show's signature dance tune, which the in-room audience joined in performing along with the cast, who moved to the left and stepped to the right in time with the music, a sequence that had been a personal goal for the production team to capture in a live studio setting, though the final video edit left the audience's participation to the viewer's imagination as they watched the in-room participants, the session was produced by Mitra I. Arthur, directed and edited by Maia Stern, with audio mixing handled by Josh Newell, creative direction by Bobby Carter, and executive production by Suraya Mohamed, while Sonali Mehta served as the executive director for the series, which was created by Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, and Robin Hilton, and the copyright for the recording remains with NPR for the year 2026.