The Rocky Ramsay St Picture Show
By MATT CUNNINGHAM
Sunday Herald Sun, October 24, 2004

PRIME-TIME television favourites -- the cast of Neighbours -- are about to be seen in a new light.
In what amounts to more than just a jump to the left, Ramsay St's leading lights will trade their suburban attire for gothic garb as they play The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The cast will perform two shows of the 1975 Richard O'Brien spectacular at Melbourne's Regent Theatre on Saturday, November 20.
The actors are donating their time to perform in the musical to raise money for the Variety Club and Taralye school for deaf children in Blackburn.
The performance is the brainchild  of cast member Natalie Bassingthwaighte. She came up with the idea during a discussion with Variety Club chief executive Norm Hutton.
"I said to him, 'Imagine if the Neighbours cast did Neighbours the Musical'," Bassingthwaighte said.
But rather than stick to the daily Ramsay St routine, Bassingthwaighte expanded the idea to present the Neighbours cast as they have never been seen.
Alan Fletcher, who is helping Bassingthwaighte produce the show, will trade in Dr Karl Kennedy's stethoscope for the Coke-bottle glasses of Brad Majors.
Marcella Russo will appear as Magneta, Brett Swain as Riff Raff, Terence Donovan as Dr Everett Von Scott, Marisa Warrington as Columbia, Natalie Blair as the usherette and Bassingthwaighte as Janet Weiss. Blair McDonough will play Rocky.
And the production will have Maria Mercedes, soon to be a Neighbours cast member, as Dr Frank-N-Furter -- the first time a female has played the role.
"We had to get permission from Richard O'Brien to do that," Bassingthwaighte said.
While most people are used to seeing the Neighbours stars on the small screen, Bassingthwaighte said most had stage or musical experience.
"I think people will be surprised," she said. "I wasn't surprised because people are always talking about what music they are doing or where their band is playing."
Bassingthwaighte said being involved in   the production had given the cast a buzz during its daily Neighbours filming.   "There's nothing like live performance."