As we begin to (knock on wood) slowly emerge from this pandemic, I’ve found myself inexplicably and almost desperately wanting to attend a midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in all its glory.
Not just the film, of course. The fully pantomimed, acted out, audience participation, dance-in-the-aisles blend of movie and live performance that I love so much.
Weird. Right?
Of all the things to crave at the end of the pandemic, why this?
There was a time in my life when The Rocky Horror Picture Show was a big part of my life. I would routinely attend midnight showings – first in theaters scattered around in Connecticut, then in Harvard Square, New York, and Washington DC. Though I never performed as a cast member in front of the screen as the movie played, I’d bring rice, a newspaper, flashlight, toilet paper, spray bottle, and all the other necessities to the show. I’d dance in the aisles to The Time Warp, terrorize the Rocky Horror virgins, and shout the call-and-response lines with great enthusiasm.
I’d listen to audience recordings of Rocky Horror shows on cassette and later on CD, learning every possible call-and-response to the movie.
When Rocky Horror became a Broadway show, I ran to New York and saw it multiple times.
I owned the movie on VHS then DVD.
I’ve read oral histories on the making of the film and the musical upon which its based.
I’m a card carrying member of The Rocky Horror Picture Show fan club.
I haven’t attended a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show for almost two decades. As my friends grew less and less willing to see a midnight showing of a movie in Boston or New York or even locally, I found myself going less frequently and then not at all. But I suddenly find myself desperately wanting to see it again. Perhaps it was the recent death of Meatloaf that spurred my interest or the fear that the pandemic might kill theaters forever or maybe I just miss all that fun after all these years.
Happily, the movie still plays in theaters regularly. In fact, it’s the longest running film in history. In the next couple months, it’s showing in a theater in Mystic, CT next month, and there’s a theater in Manchester, CT that shows it from time to time. And there are theaters in New York City and Boston that still host shows, of course.
I have not seen a film in a movie theater since the pandemic began, but (knock on wood again) we may be reaching the point when I find theater-going safe enough to return to.
When I do, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is on the docket. Elysha has never been to a showing, so perhaps I can convince her to stay up late and join me.
But if necessary, I’ll go it alone, because you’re never really alone at The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
