The Panther Newspaper: 'Rocky Horror' is an absolute pleasure
Halloween came early this year with The Players’ Society’s 15th annual production of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” which opened Oct. 23 and will continue with two more shows Oct. 30 and 31.
The show is unlike anything I’ve seen before, as it features a shadow cast that performs in front of a projection of the film. The main characters lip sync the lines and songs on stage, while Transylvanians dressed in lingerie sit in the audience and yell witty call backs at the screen.
The casting for this show was phenomenal — the actors are perfectly suited for their roles, from their physical appearances to their mannerisms. The Transylvanians in the audience are just the right amount of sassy and sultry that kept the audience enraptured throughout the performance.
Be warned: if you’ve never experienced “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in a theater with a live cast and audience, you’ll be dubbed a “virgin” and have the opportunity to play in the Virgin Games (the activities in which vary each night). But there’s no shame, as there were numerous “virgins” at both performances over the weekend and only participants who are willing to get a bit raunchy play the games.
I would highly encourage those who haven’t even seen the movie to watch it before attending this performance. Since cast members are continuously shouting out hilarious lines throughout the show, the original words can often get lost amid the sometimes-overwhelming chatter — which could make it difficult to follow the storyline without having prior knowledge of it.
The only downside of the shadow cast were the moments when I couldn’t decide whether to look at the actors on stage or the screen above them; it’s hard to keep track of so much visual stimuli going on at once. But because I’ve seen the film a couple times, I typically opted to watch the students since that’s what I had paid for — to see the amazing talent that our university has to offer.
The best aspect of the show is how many people seemed uncertain about what they had gotten themselves into when they first arrived, but then everyone was laughing and dancing by the end of it.
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” allows audience members to break out of their comfort zones and learn to be accepting of the cast’s eccentric behaviors, including the use of dirty language, sexy strip teases and a fair amount of consensual boob-grabbing. It certainly was a desirable way to spend my Saturday night.
4.5/5 Panther paws.
Photo courtesy Intergalactic Robot.
