Broadway
Even amid Broadway’s queer renaissance, Richard O’Brien’s “The Rocky Horror Show” stands out as a transgressive blast. Luke Evans is a gloriously seductive Frank-N-Furter; Josh Rivera an adorable Rocky; Amber Gray a sharp Riff-Raff; Michaela Jaé Rodriguez a sweet Columbia; and Stephanie Hsu a spicy standout as Janet, wriggling with horndog virtuosity through “Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a Me.” Rachel Dratch is perfectly arch as the smoking-jacketed narrator, riffing effortlessly with the audience. (No one threw toast, but we yelled “asshole” and “slut.”) There’s no ironing out the kinky plot, thank the Lord—Frank tricks the couple into sex; gender identities remain queenily chaotic. The director Sam Pinkleton (“Oh, Mary!”) uses simple, clever devices such as tiny, neon-green castles and wacky placards, lending the show a shaggy pro-am energy. Give yourself over to ultimate pleasure.—Emily Nussbaum (Studio 54; through July 19.)
Television
Dan Levy and Taylor Ortega.Photograph by Spencer Pazer / Courtesy Netflix
“Big Mistakes,” on Netflix, co-created by Dan Levy and Rachel Sennott, has a manic, overheated energy: Nicky (Levy), a quasi-closeted pastor, and his sister Morgan (Taylor Ortega), an elementary-school teacher, are unhappy in their jobs; when Morgan steals a necklace, they’re kidnapped by a Turkish gangster named Yusuf, who forces them to perform odd jobs. Nicky and Morgan’s narcissistic mom, Linda, is played by a wonderfully typecast Laurie Metcalf. The gangland drama is deeper and darker than the domestic one, strengthened by the unexpected portrayal of the Russian toughs as bumbling in their own way. The show comes close to making a point about criminal and family hierarchies—but it, like its characters, has a policy of shooting first, asking questions later.—Inkoo Kang
Movies
“Michael,” the story of Michael Jackson’s rise to fame, presents a surprisingly detailed view of the behind-the-scenes dealings on which his career depended. As a child performing with his brothers at the family home in Gary, Indiana, young Michael (Juliano Krue Valdi) is beaten by his father, Joe (Colman Domingo), who demands obedience along with musical discipline. The Jackson Five find success; then, in the late seventies, the adult Michael (played, with extraordinary flair, by Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s real-life nephew) seeks a solo career—and confronts Joe’s domineering maneuvers. The director, Antoine Fuqua, working with a script by John Logan, portrays Michael as an emotionally stunted and grievously wounded artist of historic greatness. The movie omits allegations that the singer sexually assaulted children (which he denied).—Richard Brody (In wide release.)
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