By Patricia Morris Buckley | SDUN Theater Critic

In “The Rocky Horror Show,” Dr. Frank ’N’ Furter pieces together his creation from other human bits and eventually comes up with something quite muscular and gorgeous. The story of the Old Globe Theatre’s production of this show is basically the same.

This musical’s rehearsals began with a different lead actor and director. The actor left, citing personal issues, then the Globe replaced director Oanh Nguygen at the last minute with James Vasquez (who also directs the theater’s annual “How Grinch Stole Christmas”).

The result is a show that still feels a bit fractured and cobbled together. There are places where it’s quite tame and others times it goes for the no-holds-barred sexual energy of the movie. But like Frank ’N’ Furter’s creature, this production has the potential to grow into something quite fun.

Anyone who has seen a midnight showing of the “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” knows that the story isn’t the point of the experience. We follow straight-laced and newly engaged Brad and Janet as a flat tire waylays them in a rainstorm-filled night. They find shelter in a castle full of creatures from transsexual Transylvania who try acting human but are really not from this world. Inside, they involuntarily (at first) join an orgy like they’ve never imagined and are changed forever.

The real fun of this campy show is two-fold. The music is totally infectious, with songs like “Damn It, Janet,” “The Time Warp,” “ Science Fiction Double Feature” and “Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch Me.” The interactive quality of the film has kept it a midnight-showing cult favorite for years, with the audience shouting out lines or throwing objects at the screen.

The first act of this Frankenstein’s monster of a production is quite different from the second. It’s so tame sexually that I had to keep reminding myself this is the theater that premiered “The Full Monty,” which included bare male rears.

Thank goodness in the second act we get some interaction, but like the song “Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch Me” says, we need “more, more, more” of that and in the first act. However, the second act supplies elevated sexual content and innuendos. Here’s a thought—is the tamer first act like a litmus test to see which audience members can handle the wilder, R-rated second act?

Matt McGrath seems to be still settling into the scenery-chewing role of Frank ’N’ Furter, but he’s wickedly funny, delightfully sexy and can sing the part beautifully. I loved David Andrew Macdonald as the Narrator and Dr. Scott. He is equal parts swarmy and cool and then succumbs hysterically to the mansion’s passionate hijinks. Jeanna de Waal shows off an impressive singing voice as Janet, as did Jason Wooten as the off-kilter Riff Raff, who has his own agenda.

Several production elements work to make the stage version quite film-like. Projected lips sing the opening song, just like in the movie, and moving projections create a highly visual cinematic flow. Both elements are quite impressive. Donyale Werle’s set has moments that work (such as the aged, breaking proscenium), and others that don’t (I missed Frank’s elevator). Emily Rebholz’s bizarre costumes are creepy and sexy at the same time.

On opening night, audience members dressed as the characters got up in the aisles to dance and use the prop bag for sale in the lobby to recreate the film experience. As the show simmers and gets fully cooked, that kind of interactive experience should be felt by the whole audience. In the end, Frank ’N’ Furter’s Creature is indeed a beautiful thing and this show has the potential to follow suit.