Dawn Miller
of the New York City RHPS Cast
Dawn, 25, first saw the RHPS in 1988. She began performing, with the NYC cast, two years later after the unfortunate closing of the 8th St. Playhouse, She got her first big break, when an aspiring Magenta about to make her debut needed someone to do Janet (2 hrs before show time) and that someone was Dawn. After a 4 year stint performing as Janet, whom she holds dear in her heart, she finally got the opportunity to perform as her favorite character, Columbia. Columbia's impish ways, happy tappin' feet and obnoxious glittery costumes are what attracted her to the character. She has performed as almost all the characters with the exception of Eddie / Dr. Scott, Frank and The Criminologist. "It's always a blast to perform as a character other than your usual character."
There are those wonderful live shows we did at the Limelight and Lion's Den, one of her favorite numbers was "You're the One That I Want", from "Grease". Not to mention the two summers a bunch of us drove out to Fire Island and did a live show for the guests and residents, it was like Rocky Horror goes tropical. She says "One truly memorable moment was when she got the opportunity to be part of a Halloween special hosted by VH-1, I got to enjoy some good food, act crazy and have my 15 minutes of fame. She has also been known to perform as Trixie/Lips in the opening number, wearing any number of the costumes, ranging from sexy & sultry, to wild & wicked, she has acquired during her years with the NYC cast. And as the construction worker during the "Girl's Version" of "YMCA".
Which brings us to our next topic why she loves this place... "I met my soulmate here one night when I was performing as Trixie, so those skimpy outfits actually do work, the good thing is that he was able to see past the costumes and see me for who I am. Another big reason is that these are my friends, my extended family, I have been through thick and thin with some of them and have partied to the wee hours of the morning with others and if I were in trouble they would be there, you don't just turn your back on those kind of people. It also a bit of a kick to be able to run around in your underwear and not get flack for it, especially for someone like myself who wears suits to the office Mon-Fri, 9-5 to be able to kick back and be a freaky Creature of the Night."
One fond memory I have was when I attended the 20th Anniversary in Los Angeles, and was asked to be in the costume contest, which led me to get up close and personal (on stage of course) with Barry Bostwick. He's just as good looking now as he was when he first performed in 1975. I've also met Tim Curry after a performance of "My Favorite Year". Let's not forget my trek uptown one day in Sept. 1994 to go and meet Meatloaf and get tickets to see his sold out show for that evening and the time Nell stopped by Movieland, she's always a treat.
In my normal everyday life I work as an Executive Assistant/Sales Assistant for a publishing company, I'm also an Avon lady on the side. I worked with Sal, doing fan club work for a short while, which was really great as I got the chance to meet a few people and make a few new friends, through our letter writing.
NOTE FROM BILL BRENNAN (the guy who does the fan profiles): Dawn has quite a history with Rocky Horror in New York, and she is at times modest. I think it's worth noting that Dawn has spent countless hours doing playbills, gluing up fliers and handing them out, worked countless saturdays with the other fan club helpers licking stamps and folding newsletters, she has recruited cast members and even brought a few to NY from other parts of the country, has attended conventions and performed in live shows, been on VH-1 and marched in all manner of parades as Columbia, and more. She's worked her butt off for the scene, and gets an official "attagirl, Dawn-ski!" from everyone here in the NY cast.
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