Richard O'Brien's 'The Rocky Horror Show': Tiny Desk Concert

Mitra I. Arthur | October 30, 2026
If you happened to be in the NoMa area of Washington, D.C., on the right evening in October, you may have seen some interesting characters entering the NPR offices: people dressed in fishnets and corsets, perhaps a few maid costumes; maybe a '50s-style greaser or a bespectacled super-nerd. When you welcome the Broadway revival of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show, it's only fitting to fill the audience with Frank-N-Furters, Magentas, Eddies, Riff Raffs, Brads, Janets, and various other creatures of the night.

For over 50 years, The Rocky Horror Show (and its film adaptation, The Rocky Horror Picture Show), with its catchy songs and off-kilter camp storytelling, has provided both passionate fans and the uninitiated with a space to find community, to be seen, and to feel free. To match the spirit of the show, we transformed the Tiny Desk into our own version of the Frankenstein Place.

Our strange journey into Rocky Horror begins with "Science Fiction Double Feature," as Anania's effervescent vocals welcome us to the sci-fi B-movie world. "Over at the Frankenstein Place" features Lorna Courtney and Kevin McHale perfectly inhabiting the naive sweetness of young lovers Brad and Janet, while Andres Quintero's vocal timbre provides a harbinger of what thrills await the pair. The electric, '50s-tinged rocker "Hot Patootie" is performed to thrilling effect by George Salazar, punctuated by Lynn Ligammari's grooving saxophone. Jake Shears' performance of Frank-N-Furter's ballad "I'm Going Home" is captivating and heartbreaking.

I confess one of my not-so-secret goals for this show was to see an audience full of NPR staff and guests jumping to the left, stepping to the right … you know the rest. After all, what would a Rocky Horror Tiny Desk be without a performance of the show's most fun and infectious tune? Lucky for us, we'll never know. So limber up, put your hands on your hips, knees tight, and join the in-room audience in doing "The Time Warp."

SET LIST
"Science Fiction Double Feature"
"Over at the Frankenstein Place"
"Hot Patootie"
"I'm Going Home"
"The Time Warp"

MUSICIANS
Lorna Courtney: vocals
Kevin McHale: vocals
George Salazar: vocals
Jake Shears: vocals
Anania: vocals
Andres Quintero: vocals
Jane Cardona: keys, music director
Nate Brown: guitar
Winston Roye: bass
Lynn Ligammari: saxophone
Shannon Ford: drums
Jimin Moon: background vocals
Renée Albulario: background vocals
Boy Radio: background vocals
Preston Perez: background vocals
Star Quezon: background vocals
Larkin Reilly: background vocals
Paul Soileau: background vocals

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Mitra I. Arthur
Director/Editor: Maia Stern
Audio Director/Mix: Josh Newell
Creative Director: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Alanté Serene
Audio Engineer: Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez
Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez
Animator: Jackie Lay
Copy Editor: Daoud Tyler-Ameen
Tiny Desk Team: Dora Levite, Dhanika Pineda
Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

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