There are run-of-the-mill cult classics, and then there’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Since its release in 1975, the comedy-horror musical film has amassed a devoted following thanks in large part to midnight screenings in which audiences dress up, use props and shout out dialogue in tandem with the characters on screen.
“As someone who has attended live Rocky Horror events before, it is an experience you will not forget anytime soon,” says Arts HUB operations director Clara Wendland. “It is all about connecting with those around you.”
Boulder County audiences can expect as much on June 1, when the Arts HUB kicks off Pride Month with an event led by the state’s largest Rocky Horror “shadow cast.” Known as Colorado’s Elusive Ingredient, the troupe has been performing in front of the screen since 2000 in and around Denver, one of 30 cities in America that have screened the film consistently since its release nearly a half-century ago.
The upcoming Lafayette production is a fitting launch for Pride, considering the film’s rich history with the LGBTQ community. On top of its campy embrace of gender fluidity and sexual freedom, Rocky Horror screenings are well known among fans as a place where everyone is welcome and nobody is judged.
“Rocky has always been this space of radical acceptance and queerness,” says performer Erik Sundblad, who also serves as Elusive Ingredient’s production director. “We never shy away from that, but it is on full display during our Pride performances. The group allows more flexibility with costume alterations than we do the rest of the year, allowing performers to stylize their outfits to reflect whatever Pride means to them, and we encourage the audience to do the same.”
‘Rocky’ in the Rockies
This will be Elusive Ingredient’s first performance at the Arts HUB. The collaboration began with a meeting between the two organizations at a concert by Denver experimental band Itchy-O during last summer’s Lafayette Art Night Out.
“We had a mutual friend and patron who approached us and said, ‘Hey, you are cool, and Elusive Ingredient is also cool; I think it would be great if you could be cool together,’” Wendland recalls. “It sounded like a lot of fun, so after meeting in September at the Itchy-O performance and really hitting it off, we decided to do a Rocky Horror show together the following year.”
If you have never been to a shadow cast performance before, you will be marked with a red V on your forehead (with your permission) to indicate that you are a “Rocky virgin.” To begin the show, these virgins are asked to take part in a “virgin pop game” as an initiation.
“Our show is all about audience interaction, which starts when you walk in, hopefully dressed in costume,” Sundblad says. “I would highly recommend purchasing the prop bag we have available, which will allow you to interact with the film. Expect our cast members to be in the crowd, so feel free to interact with them.”
For Sundblad, the magic of Rocky Horror lies in this audience participation and the resulting sense of community and spontaneity.
“One of my favorite recent Rocky memories was when Casper Smith did the opening chant,” Sundblad says. “Casper chanted, ‘Give me an R. Give me an O. Give me a C. Give me a K.’ I guess they were so caught up in the moment they forgot to say Y, so when they yelled, ‘What does that spell?’ The audience yelled back, ‘ROCK!’ with complete confidence. I knew it was going to be a great show.”
Loud and proud
In addition to their show in BoCo, Elusive Ingredient will be performing Rocky Horror Pride shows at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Studio Loft on June 21 and will conclude the month with the group’s final show at the Esquire Theatre on June 29, before the beloved 97-year-old venue closes in July to become an “upscale office, restaurant and retail space.”
Locally, the Arts HUB’s production of RENT, a musical following a group of Bohemian artists in NYC who deal with the HIV/AIDs crisis, opens the weekend following the Rocky Horror event. Together, these productions will help kick off a celebration of the LGBTQ community.
“June is going to be loud, proud and so much fun,” Wendland says.
ON STAGE: The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The Arts HUB, 420 Courtney Way, Lafayette. $15