Every year during the fall season at Moscow’s Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre, things get a little rocky, with the showing of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
The Kenworthy is known for its eclectic and wide variety of film and entertainment, but its annual showing of the “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” takes the cake for the most interesting and peculiar film of the year.
Carly Scott | Argonaut
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” “virgins” stand up and cheer before the film Saturday at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre.
Based on the 1973 musical production, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in its musical film format pays tribute to various horror and science fiction productions as well as sexual liberation, in a satirical, yet well acted pursuit.
The plot line revolves around a newly engaged couple whose car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. The couple, Brad and Janet, find their way to a haunted looking castle, hoping to use a phone, but what they find is much more interesting.
After meeting several bizarre characters, the couple meets the head of the castle, Dr. Frank N. Furter, an apparent deranged scientist and self-declared transvestite from alien Transylvania. The scientist spends his time creating living muscle men in his laboratory from scratch, and after the frightened couple arrives, he unveils his newest muscled creation, Rocky. From there, a plethora of creepy and seductive musical numbers ensue.
The entire show holds twists and turns that one wouldn’t expect to find in each musical scene.
After its release, the film quickly became a “midnight movie” where audiences found more fun in interacting with the screen than simply watching it.
This film isn’t just a quiet hour and 40 minutes of screen time. Noise making, throwing and audience interjection are all pieced together into the experience.
It has become a tradition during the month of October to show the 1975 cult classic, and the theater takes it one step further by adding in some tradition of its own.
Along with the price of the ticket, film viewers also receive a bag of props to use during the showing. This bag is filled with all the necessary pieces to fully engage in the spectacle of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Some of the props include a glow stick to wave around during one of the first musical numbers and pieces of old toast to throw in the air when Dr. Frank N. Furter proposes a toast in the film. Playing cards and rice are also thrown around during several of the film’s scenes. Party noisemakers and the snapping of a rubber glove also add to the experience.
However, it is not just the props that make noise and cause a ruckus during the movie. Avid fans of the film add to the atmosphere by yelling at the screen and bringing in their own dialogue with the very quotable characters.
There really is a science to it all, but for most “Rocky Horror Picture Show” goers at the Kenworthy, it is their first time experiencing the whole production. These first timers are coined as “virgins” by the costumed staff at the Kenworthy, and wear a single “V” written in red lipstick on their foreheads for the duration of the movie. This fun aspect provides even more strangeness to the whole experience.
To put it simply, the Halloween season just wouldn’t be right without a trip to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Hailey Stewart
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