Interview: (The Kids of Albany) The Rocky Horror X-Mas Show w/s/g Barry Bostwick at The Palace Theatre 12/12/2023

Interview: Brett Glasser (The Kids of Albany) 

By: Rob Smittix

RRX: It seems pretty exciting. So it’s not just a Halloween time celebration anymore. It looks like we got a Rocky Horror Christmas show coming up as well. So I figured, hey,let’s chat about it a little bit. This is to be held December 12th at the Palace Theatre.

BG: Yeah, we’re pretty stoked about that because we always look for an excuse to do a Rocky show any time of year. It just kind of makes sense when it’s the holidays. We can revamp our show to bring in that holiday cheer and everything, but at the end of the day it’s just yet another excuse to throw toilet paper and get rowdy. We’ve been doing it at the Cohoes Music Hall and even the Madison Theater, we’ve done a few Christmas shows back in the day, but this is the shift over to The Palace to see if we can make it work over there.

RRX: That’s pretty cool. There’s a little treat that you have during this particular Rocky Horror Christmas Show. You’ve got Brad Majors, right?

BG: Yeah, Barry (Bostwick) is a friend of the cast. We met him a long time ago when we used to perform at the convention circuits. He’s become a really good friend and we love bringing him out. He’s always down for a good time with Rocky Horror, which is awesome. I mean, you know, most of these cast members are really getting up there in age. He’s in his late seventies and he’s still always down for Rocky Horrors. We couldn’t thank him enough for supporting all these casts across the country who are still doing Rocky Horror coming up for almost 50 years now, which is just unheard of.

RRX: That’s really exciting and to be embraced by one of the original big cast members from the movie. That’s just insane. I know a few people that are in Kiss tribute bands but I don’t see Paul Stanley or Ace Frehley showing up at their gigs, you know?

BG: Exactly. And that’s kind of a testament to Albany and the Capital Region. Every city in the country just about has their home Rocky cast that performs somewhere. Some perform weekly, monthly or a couple times a year. So when we started bringing Rocky back to all in 2010, we didn’t really know how people were gonna respond. You know, back in the eighties and early nineties, there were some theaters doing it, but the Rocky scene in Albany was really dead for a long time. Not only did people come out but talking with other casts and talking with Barry, the turnout we usually get at a Rocky show… specifically, even in October, we’re packing a 2000 plus theater, which is pretty unheard of. A lot of other casts would absolutely kill to have half of that turnout. There’s a real passionate love for Rocky, which we just cannot thank everybody enough who keeps coming out year after year. Gosh, so it’ll be 13 years now we’ve been doing it and the crowds just get bigger and bigger. It’s kind of like a little testament to how awesome the folks in the Capital District are.

RRX: For real. No, this is great. As a kid, my dad and his girlfriend at the time would go to these events that they had back in the eighties and I was like, wow, man. Then, you know, when I got a little older, they didn’t exist. So thank you for coming back!

BG: Oh, yeah, we appreciate it. We really wanted to make it as authentic as possible in terms of the gags and the stuff in the prop kit. We really wanted to make sure we kept that tradition of what the folks were used to back in the late seventies. So yeah, we get some old timers that come out to the show and they are just taken right back to their teenage years of doing Rocky Horror over in Colonie. There was a theater there doing it a long time ago. So you do get a lot of people who would reach out and they just say that really did make me feel like it was 1980 all over again.

RRX: Now I book events here and there, you know, little things and I remember one that was pretty recent and all we did was shoot a little bit of confetti out, like just a broom sweep’s worth. No big deal and the venue got all pissed off at us. So, I imagine when you have toilet paper flying and things like that, you’ve probably got to have a pretty good team that sticks around afterwards to help them pick up. Or do you just bounce?

BG: Yeah. Actually, that’s how awesome the Palace Theatre is. I mean, when we got together, our founder of the cast, Mike Baker, who passed away in 2020… he’s the one who initially brought this idea to the Palace. It was just such a long shot that this historic theater is gonna let us throw toast. Right? Squirt guns, bird seed, you name it! It gets really, really, messy but they took it and they embraced it. They realized what it could turn into. So yes, we do have a whole team at the Palace who get in there. Sometimes it takes about 24 to 36 hours around the clock to get the place back in a tip top shape.

RRX: I would imagine.

BG: And the fact they still let us do it. Coming up on 13 years, they still let us make that mess year after year. They’ve become old pros now on how to handle that mess. I don’t think the last person’s out of the door before the toilet paper is coming down. The leaf blowers are getting pulled out to start blowing the stuff towards the front. They have it down to a science. 

RRX: Yeah, for sure. I would imagine after all of this time. So… Brett, you play Eddie in the show?

BG: Yeah. The character who comes on stage for about three minutes and then gets (spoiler alert) killed. So it’s kind of a brief appearance. But, yeah, the part originally played by the late great Meatloaf.

RRX: That’s right. I keep forgetting that Meatloaf passed away. I can’t keep up. I mean, there’s so many celebrities and people in the music industry that die, I forget, you know? I think about that Mandela effect too. I’m pretty sure Meatloaf will be back soon.

BG: Oh, for sure. It’s funny you say that…there was somebody recently who just passed away and I was convinced that had happened three or four years ago. I just don’t remember who it was but it definitely was somewhat recent. I think the Mandela effect was maybe a little bit more valid in that case.

RRX: They’re messing with us. They definitely are. Just briefly anything different that someone would expect from The Kids of Albany Rocky Horror Christmas Show opposed to, a show that they’d see during the regular season? 

BG: If you enjoy the show during the regular season, you’re gonna love the Christmas show. We try to incorporate some new bags, and we overhaul all the costumes. So everything is very fitting, lots of decorations and stuff like that. And of course, you can come out and say hello to Barry. He’ll be at his table at the end of the night selling autographs, photo ops, all of that stuff. 

There’s also VIP tickets for folks who wanna do a one on one photo op  and meet and greets before the show.

RRX: That’s so cool, man. Well, excellent. I appreciate your time

BG: We’re looking forward to it. We hope to push some tickets and get people there to experience the magic of the Christmas show. We hope people come out to the Palace like they did at the music hall. It should be a good time.

The Kids of Albany present The Rocky Horror X-Mas Show w/s/g Barry Bostwick at The Palace Theatre in Albany December 12th, 2023  -7pm

Get your tickets HERE!