'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' comes to Redwood City

Saturday’s showing of the unedited version of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” will mark one of the first major events held at the Fox Theatre since the pandemic forced entertainment spaces to shutter more than two years ago.

Following a tradition born organically from enthusiastic audiences, the event will feature a hybrid version of the show with a live shadow cast from the Bay Area’s Barely Legal Rocky Horror group performing along with the screening and encouraging audience participation.

Reflecting on her first time seeing the film during a midnight showing at a southern California theater, Mayer-Lochtefeld said the audience was a “motley crew of folks” in elaborate costumes, many of whom knew exactly when to shout back at the screen as others jumped on stage to narrate.

“It was an absolute hoot. People got into it unbelievably,” she said. “This is a chance for a different generation to experience it.”

A memorabilia display with original props will also be available to moviegoers and VIP ticket holders will get the chance to meet starring cast member, Barry Bostwick, who portrayed the nerdy and prudish Brad Major and got his start in acting as a cast member of “Little Mary Sunshine” at Foster City’s Hillbarn Theatre.

Bostwick starred alongside Susan Sarandon who played his fiancée Janet, the similarly nerdy but far more curious companion to Brad, and Tim Curry who played Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a mad scientist and an intergalactic self-described Transylvanian transvestite.

The movie was an adaptation of a hit underground London musical similarly titled “The Rocky Horror Show,” written by Richard O’Brian who took inspiration from science fiction and horror B films popularized during the 1930s to 1960s.

Having seen the musical during a yearlong run in California, also starring Curry, Bostwick said he was blown away by the show and didn’t hesitate when asked if he’d like to play Brad who, after getting caught in a rainstorm, finds himself with Janet at the doors of Frank-N-Furter’s magically eerie mansion.

A series of unfortunate, or tantalizing depending on who’s asked, events follow. There’s dancing, chaos, a Frankenstein-like monster creation, sex, spying and big musical numbers. Love is put to the test and boundaries, both in the fictional world and real one, are pushed to their limits.

As Bostwick put it, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is all about sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll. At the time of its release, the film was met with less favorable reviews. But once it found its way to midnight showings, Bostwick said society’s outsiders were drawn to the production and its social commentary about purity, sexuality, gender and the loss of innocence.

Nearly 50 years later, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is the longest running movie in film history, being featured in theaters in small towns and big cities all over the nation and parts of the world.

“Because it’s so unique, it’s stood the test of time. It pushes boundaries, it makes them brilliantly acceptable,” Mayer-Lochtefeld said, praising the musical for normalizing artistic expressions like drag, a performance style featuring hyper feminine, masculine and nonbinary gender bending. “It’s pretty cool. I think it’s fabulous.”

Some aspects of the show have become less taboo in parts of the world since debuting in the ’70s, Bostwick said, but the film is still finding social outsiders who find a community in its audiences. Whether it be social progress or a continued sense of open-mindedness, Bostwick said families have also found common ground through their appreciation of the film.

“They have been entrusted in a way with this secret and what it all means. They might not have a lot in common, these three generations, but if they have ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ it’s glorious, it’s something that will go on for generations,” Bostwick said.

Watching the cultural significance of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” continue to reverberate through the decades has been a joy for Bostwick and others involved in the project, he said. As for Saturday night, Bostwick said his hope is the same one he has for his career at this point, for people to be able to enjoy themselves after spending much of the past two years in isolation.

“I just want them to be entertained,” Bostwick said. “I want them to have a good time and finally get out of the house and be a part of a community again and to laugh.”

Visit foxrwc.showare.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=268 for more information about Saturday’s showing of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” at the Fox Theatre.

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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