Barry Bostwick is set to come home

Regardless of issues with its plot, script, characters, costumes, sets and direction, the film has remained popular as a quirky, niche presentation for nearly 50 years.

In fact, it has become a cult classic in some quarters, so much so that it is continues to be shown in various parts of the world in selected theaters, especially on Halloween.

Lately, “Rocky Horror” has spawned what is described as an anniversary tour that features one of the original stars, Barry Bostwick.

The San Mateo native had a key starring role as the nerdish, naive Brad Majors, alongside his fictional fiancé, the innocent Janet Weiss, played by none other than Susan Sarandon.

The plot, such as it is, involves this unsuspecting duo’s rain-splattered, late-night arrival at a strange mansion inhabited by a truly outrageous gaggle of oddballs and freaks. Barely controlled insanity ensues.

Some of these folks are somehow involved with the impending “creation” of a blond body-builder in a laboratory within the creepy castle.

He’s the invention and possible love interest for a quasi-Dr. Frankenstein, in this case a manic transvestite quaintly named Dr. Frank N. Furter, played with great and off-putting gusto by a lewd, lanky, skanky Tim Curry attired in silk stockings, a pearl necklace and other female accessories.

Let’s leave it at that. “The Sound of Music” it isn’t. Any further rehashing of this attempt to mock the horror/sci-fi films of the 1930s through the 1950s would be pointless and a waste of valuable space.

But an out-of-the-blue appearance by the Meat Loaf (the late Mr. Loaf is poised on a motorcycle for no particular reason) does add some unexpected zest to the confusing goings-on.

In any event, a “Rocky Horror” tour stop, complete with anticipated audience participation and other hijinks, is scheduled for 8 p.m. this Saturday at the Fox Theatre in Redwood City. Tickets are available at foxrwc.com.

Bostwick, who has a long list of Broadway and TV credits on his resume since his “Rocky Horror” debut, is scheduled to be there in the flesh.

Once again, the comedy’s signature song, “The Time Warp,” looms on the horizon. Brace yourself, Redwood City. Leave impressionable young children at home.

GIVE US A BREAK IN THERE: Still in robust Redwood City, the Police Department’s published blotter is always delightful fodder for an in-depth examination into our follies and foibles. This time, it was a report about a guy who refused to leave a portable toilet when asked. He seemed to be camped out inside the upscale Peninsula privy. But why? Was he engrossed in “War and Peace”? Was he involved in an important cellphone conversation?” Was he catching 40 winks? Hey, maybe he was in his own time warp.

WHAT ABOUT THE BRISBANE RACES? Leave it to the San Francisco Chronicle to provide another excellent example of its increasingly insular perspective. This week, its website described a soapbox derby in Burlap by the Bay as a “long absent” event being brought “back to the Bay Area.” Apparently, the publication has no knowledge of annual soapbox races for kids that occur in faraway Brisbane just over the city’s southern border.

THE TIMING IS MOST UNFORTUNATE: As the College of San Mateo and the San Mateo County Community College District observe the centennial of that academic operation in 2022, it’s depressing to watch its former chancellor, Ron Galatolo, prepare to face a bundle of felony charges related to district construction contracts in court April 27. The timing casts a pall over what should have been an upbeat and historic year.

WHO’S GOING TO DIAL THE NUMBER?: Then we have that TV ad for a prescription drug that offers a long and disturbing laundry list of warnings about possible side-effects, including this one: “If you lose consciousness, call your physician.” OK, but how?

Email John Horgan at johnhorganmedia@gmail.com.