September 21, 1999

Rocky Horror fans may have to learn some new lines in the near future. A sequel is in the offing, reports Richard O'Brien, the creator of the original cult musical that became the ultimate cult film.

The British actor, composer, and scriptwriter -- who has just released his latest album, "Absolute O'Brien", in the United States -- says he's in the midst of writing the "Rocky" sequel, which so far has no title. "'The Second Coming' has been mooted, but that sounds kind of smutty to me," O'Brien says with a laugh.

The sequel will be set nine months after the end of the original "Rocky", with heroine Janet pregnant by either Dr. Frankenfurter or his creation, Rocky -- both of whom she had nocturnal dalliances with in the film. This, of course, wreaks havoc on her marriage to the nerdy Brad, who's faced with the prospect of raising another man (or creature's) baby. "It's gotta be Frank's baby, I think," O'Brien says. "It would be foolish not to make it his baby. That would allow us to look at things like possession and ownership and what makes a functional or dysfunctional family work -- and hopefully throw the baby around the stage quite a bit."

O'Brien expects most of the original "Rocky Horror" characters to appear in the sequel. He says his first draft of the musical is expected to be finished by about March, and it will likely be produced first by a friend's theater company before being taken on tour. This will actually mark the *second* sequel to the cult classic -- the film "Shock Treatment", which O'Brien co-wrote and also appeared in, was released in 1981.

After that, O'Brien hopes to get to a "very full back--burner," which includes another play called "Alive on Arrival" as well as some possible live dates to support "Absolute O'Brien".

--Gary Graff

*Taken from the Wall of Sound website