Sunday, November 1, 2009

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Every Halloween the Broadway Theatre in Saskatoon shows "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick. Having never gone to experience theshow but wanting to each year, I jumped at the chance to go when the company I went with had never seen it either.

Arriving at the theatre I was in for a shock as I had no clue what the movie was about and wasexpecting the normal Halloween scary costumes. Instead I found myself surrounded by male cross dressers scantily clad like the main character of the movie along with young females wearing nothing but bustiers, skimpy panties and fishnet stockings, again like the main character of the movie. It was crazy to see, especially the guys, how far they went to look like the main character (shudder).

We sat down and I highly enjoyed people watching as people meandered in, wearing various costumes mimicking characters from the show. The company with me had a little bit more background of the show and brought the necessary items to throw at the appropriate times during the movie - toast, toilet paper and newspapers. I had no idea what I was in for.

The director of the theatre came on stage and said we were fairly tame versus the crowd the night before as no one was able to hear what he was saying due to the noise level. He then started off the movie with a quick contest for the best costume. Naturally there were the few that were dressed up as something other than the characters of the movie and it was apparent they were not in the running. Once the winners were chosen, the director got off stage and the movie started.

It must be made known this movie was produced in 1975 and you can definitely tell with the opening scene. Without spoiling what the movie is about, it is definitely not a thriller but a musical with Meatloaf making an appearance in it. The audience participation, however is what made the movie. From the opening lines, "Asshole" was yelled out whenever the character Brad spoke and "Slut" was yelled out when the character Janet spoke. It wasn't apparent at first why the audience was saying this but it became obvious near the middle of the film. Other highlights of the experience included the audience interaction - taking out newspapers and covering their heads as water pistols were brought out to re-enact the storm scene. Toast was thrown in the theatre naturally during a supper scene and toilet paper was tossed with the character Dr. Scott came on screen. Either way, I thought it was a good and entertaining experience for the $15 that I paid to get in but I probably won't go to see it again. It is just one of those things you should experience once in a lifetime.