A jet-black poster donning luscious crimson lips being bitten ever so promiscuously by a set of pearly white teeth curls in the wind. You have most likely seen this poster before. In fact, as a child, your parents probably told you to stay clear. Nonetheless, for the past 33 years, these iconic lips have been drawing people from all over the world to movie theaters for a chance to watch midnight screenings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Last Friday, for the first time since 2002, this cult classic returned to the Majestic Theatre.
Having never been pulled by Twentieth Century Fox from its original 1975 release, this musical comedy that parodies science fiction and horror films has had the longest running theatrical release in film history. But it is not just the movie itself that keeps crowds coming; it is the show that takes place within the show that gives film screenings their unique flavor. While the film is showing, a “shadow cast” of fans dressed like the actors in the movie act out the entire film below.
“Honestly, I will be the first to admit that it is not really that great of a movie. I have recommended that people come to the show, and they rent the movie beforehand and tell me that it sucks. It is the live floorshow experience that makes it great,” said Scott Torres, who played Dr. Scott in Friday’s screening.
What is truly exceptional, though, is the role the audience takes on during these screenings. While the film is showing, audience members respond to statements made by the onscreen characters with vulgar sex jokes, puns and pop culture references. Other methods of audience participation include dressing up, dancing the Time Warp along with the film and using various props such as toast, rice and squirt guns during selected scenes.
On Friday, audience participation was overwhelming. People hung over the balcony screaming obscenities provoking the crowd below. Musical numbers were drowned out by the audience’s sing-a-longs involving creative, new lyrics, typically hilariously offensive. There were responses to every line, much like the school-yard versions of “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.” And just like “Rudolph,” everyone knew these unwritten lyrics. If you came to watch the movie, you would not be able to hear a single line. But it is all done in good fun.
“It is essentially bad movie etiquette taken to an extreme art form,” said Lantry, the executive organizer for last Friday’s event who goes by his first name. “Rocky is an audience participation film. You are not required to participate, but you will not have any fun unless you do. We get up, run around, make noise and are generally rude and offensive for about an hour and a half.”
Although the chaotic atmosphere may be overwhelming for a newcomer, it is also thrilling. “The first time I actually went to a performance, it was fantastic. So many people gathering in one place for this movie, just hanging out, having a good time — it was indescribable,” Torres said.
But it has not always been all fun and games for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in Madison. The film ran for the first time at the Majestic Theatre in 1978, but the show had a difficult time gaining a solid footing as the venue frequently changed hands. After the Majestic closed in 1999 and again in 2002, the current shadow cast left for the Orpheum where they eventually changed their name to Velvet Darkness. Last Friday, Velvet Darkness took center stage once again for a 30th anniversary party in celebration of the film’s first Madison screening at the Majestic.
“It is just the right time really,” Lantry said, “It has been over a year since Rocky went on at the Orpheum with no signs of a comeback. All the other theaters in the downtown have been torn down or converted to something else. So where else was left but home?”
Although Friday’s screening was a one-time engagement, Velvet Darkness cast members hope to make the Majestic Theatre a permanent home for future shows. That said, they pulled out all the stops. The evening’s events included a pre-party with a cash bar and live performance from the Madison-based band Null Device and a Rocky Horror-themed costume contest that, thanks to the Majestic Theatre owners, allowed the use of some props, which have lately been banned at many national venues due to the destructive nature these events have had in the past.
While the show’s highly provocative content and nonsensical plotline may keep some audience members from attending potential future screenings, fans like Lantry believe if you look a little deeper you may find something you did not expect.
“Sometimes, I think it might be the political undertones that draw me to the film. ‘Just a jump to the left, and then a step to the right’ [lyrics to the Time Warp] has always impressed me with an idea of progressive ideals taking over and changing society through history. We make some amazing leap toward more radical free thought and then some people try to drag us back a step or three. Then again, I might just be drawn to all the naked people.”
Regardless of what draws people to the show, there is no denying the fact that if a raunchy, absurd film such as this one is culturally significant enough to have been selected for preservation by the Library of Congress, it is truly something extraordinary, even if you do not quite understand its cult status.”I am still trying to work that one out,” Lantry said. “I always thought the ‘Sesame Street’ classic ‘Big Bird Goes to China’ was a more worthy choice. But you work with what you got.”
In the end, some things you just have to experience yourself to make sense of it all.
“It is all about having a good time, being allowed to actually shout in a movie theater, the camaraderie and the fact that the whole situation is ridiculous,” Torres said. “It is really just a chance to let loose and have a bit of fun.”
