Rocky Horror
Reveling in fishnets and heels
By Michelle Gallagher
Contributing Writer
After missing the event for the past three years, I finally lost my “Rocky Horror” virginity at the Campus Theatre on Friday, along with dozens of others.
The show lived up to its hype. There were plenty of wild costumes and make-up, fishnets and high-heels and of course, yelling and throwing things. If this doesn’t sound like a normal movie-going experience, that’s because it isn’t.
While the film itself rivals (perhaps even surpasses) 1986 fantasy film “Labyrinth” with its provocative eccentricity, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is much more about the experience than the movie.
A musical parody of sci-fi and horror films, “Rocky Horror” has become a cult-classic since its 1975 release.
The story centers on a newly-engaged couple finding themselves in the castle of Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a mischievous and flamboyant transsexual scientist whose experiments resemble those of Victor Frankenstein.
Throughout the film, veteran audience members shout perfectly-timed phrases and questions and throw rice, toilet paper, toast and even greeting cards. For many fans, these are the best parts of the film.
Attending the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” is an “opportunity to do things that are the complete opposite of normalcy. I mean, you yell at the movie,” Stacey Toothman ’09 said.
What attracts people to “Rocky Horror” every year extends beyond yelling and throwing things. Jessica Vooris ’09 attributes its popularity partly to the “craziness of it all” but also stressed the significance of its ability to draw such a wide variety of audience members.
“It has a community feel. The whole town comes out along with students from Bucknell,” she said.
Audience members came from all over the area, from Milton to Williamsport. They varied in age as well, from high school students to college students to the married couple from Selinsgrove sitting next to me. They had both seen the movie in college in the 1980s and remembered having a great time. Since they hadn’t seen it in years, they said they thought it would be fun to come to Lewisburg to relive the experience.
For the past five years, the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Awareness on campus has collaborated with the Campus Theatre to show “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Every year they have filled the theater. This past weekend, 377 tickets were sold, attesting to its success.
Fran McDaniel, director of the Office of LGBT Awareness, recalled how it all started from an idea of a group of University students in 2003.
“They requested that we bring ‘Rocky Horror’ to campus, and they wanted a big venue. So we pursued collaborating with Campus Theatre and have had a long-standing collaboration since then,” McDaniel said.
Mary Bannon, executive director of the Campus Theatre, said that the event was successful.
“The Campus Theatre is thrilled to host this film every year,” Bannon said. “Everyone at some point in their life should experience ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ and we look forward to next year’s showing.”
