Rocky Horror Cast Brings Time Warp To NPR

Audience members arriving at NPR's Washington offices in October traded normal work attire for fishnets, corsets, and maid costumes. Some showed up as 1950s greasers or bespectacled nerds. The crowd was there to see the Broadway revival of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show perform inside the building's NoMa headquarters.

The production staged a Tiny Desk set built around five songs from the show. Anania opened the performance with "Science Fiction Double Feature." Lorna Courtney and Kevin McHale then took the parts of Brad and Janet for "Over at the Frankenstein Place," with Andres Quintero singing alongside them.

George Salazar performed "Hot Patootie," a 1950s-style rocker, with Lynn Ligammari on saxophone. Jake Shears followed with "I'm Going Home," the ballad sung by the character Frank-N-Furter. The set closed with "The Time Warp." The assembled staff and guests in the room did the dance steps along with the performers.

The Rocky Horror Show has run for more than 50 years, and it spawned the film adaptation The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The material draws a fan base that includes both longtime followers and newcomers.

The performer roster for the Washington session listed vocals by Lorna Courtney, Kevin McHale, George Salazar, Jake Shears, Anania, and Andres Quintero. Jane Cardona handled keyboards and served as music director, with Nate Brown on guitar, Winston Roye on bass, Lynn Ligammari on saxophone, and Shannon Ford on drums. Jimin Moon, Renée Albulario, Boy Radio, Preston Perez, Star Quezon, Larkin Reilly, and Paul Soileau provided background vocals.

Mitra I. Arthur produced the segment and Maia Stern directed and edited it. Josh Newell served as audio director and mixer, Bobby Carter as creative director, and Suraya Mohamed as executive producer. The segment's copyright is held by NPR for 2026.