Get ready to take a jump to the left and a step to the right, because “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” has returned to the central Kenai Peninsula. A shadow cast is staging two performances this weekend, complete with a castle set, choreography and a lot of debauchery.
At the front of the Orca Theater’s Screen 1, hands thrust a pair of glittery lips from behind a curtain that sing along to the show’s opening track.
“Michael Rennie was ill the day the earth stood still,” the lips sing.
If you know the next line to “Science Fiction/Double Feature,” you’re probably a fan of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” So is the group reviving the shadow cast production for the central Kenai Peninsula.
On Thursday night, the theater’s front row was a sea of glitter, feather boas and the personal belongings of the roughly dozen people coming together to stage the campy cult classic.
“It's theater times 10,” said show producer Logan Parks. “Because you have a movie, you have the full soundtrack, and then you have a live theater cast acting as well. So it's like you get the movie and you get theater — best of both worlds.”
Released in 1975, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is a film adaptation of a similarly named stage show. It follows the hapless Brad and Janet, who stumble on Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s castle of chaos after getting lost in the woods. The ensuing raunchy romp is an ode to the B-side movies of old Hollywood that sets otherworldly science fiction to a singalong rock music score.
This year, Parks is also stepping into fishnets and glittery pumps of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. He’s the show’s central scientist and master of the house who’s just finished building himself a male companion with the intent of returning to his home planet. The role was popularized on stage and screen by Tim Curry, who died in August.
This year’s shadow cast is honoring Curry’s by donating show proceeds to organizations that embody his legacy and the legacy of "Rocky Horror." Maggie Winston is directing this year’s show.
“We chose to support Choosing Our Roots and the Independent Living Center because of Tim Curry experiencing disability since 2012 and living with disability, and then also the LGBTQ+ community and kind of like what this movie has meant,” she said.
Choosing Our Roots is an Anchorage-based nonprofit organization that works to connect Alaska's queer youth with safe homes and supportive communities. Rocky Horror quickly cemented its standing in the queer canon for its celebration of nonconformity and identity, and for pushing the conventional boundaries of self-expression, gender and sexual liberation.
Winston is also the executive director of the local Independent Living Center – the show’s other beneficiary. The organization seeks to empower Alaskans with disabilities through self-determination and supportive services. Curry had a stroke in 2012 that restricted his mobility and speech and required him to use a wheelchair.
This year, Winston is also reprising her role as Dr. Everett Scott, a rival scientist whose nephew is killed by Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Like Winston, Dr. Scott uses a wheelchair in "Rocky Horror," and Winston says the character is not defined by disability.
“He's just a regular, normal guy living his life in a wheelchair, being a brilliant scientist, and there's accommodations that happen through this giant magnet that gets him all throughout the house, and no one ever brings up the wheelchair,” she said. “Everyone just dances around and acts as if it's regular, normal life. That is something particularly meaningful to me.”
Longtime fans of local shadow cast shows may recognize some of the faces on stage. But this year has a newcomer in a big role. Summer Lazenby is playing Brad. Lazenby has never seen a shadow cast production of “Rocky Horror,” and has been studying up since getting cast. She says it’s been fun to adapt the performance for the local show.
“We've had to figure out ways to work within the space that we have, the set that we have, the props that we have, and I think we've got a really good show for folks,” she said.
As is tradition, audience members are encouraged to interact with the performers. A goodie bag of props gets the whole room hiding under newspapers, snapping latex gloves and tossing toilet paper. Those in the know talk back to characters throughout the performance. And first-time attendees are reliably rounded up for a virgin sacrifice.
Winston says audience participation and the show’s broader function as a haven for colorful misfits keeps the performance popular.
“I think people are hungry for something that, like, feeds their shadow, and something a little bit naughty,” she said. “Otherwise, we wouldn't sell out every single year.”
Both performances of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” are sold out in Soldotna. But if a year seems like a long time to wait until next Halloween, well, it’s astounding – time is fleeting.
