CHAMPAIGN — The Virginia Theatre in Champaign will host its annual showing of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on Oct. 25. This year’s showing will embrace a tradition of the film and include a performance by a shadow cast.
The movie celebrates its 50th year since its release in 1975, and its long legacy has resulted in a whole host of traditions created by its cult following. A shadow cast consists of performers lip-synching to the film as it is projected behind them
Other traditions include dressing as characters, throwing toast or rice on stage, shooting water pistols and heckling performers with ad-lib responses to the dialogue.
“Rocky Horror” is a queer gothic horror musical that is a very loose adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It begins when a newly engaged couple happens upon a party at Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s castle full of unconventionally-dressed guests. Frank-N-Furter invites them to stay the night and the strangeness continues.
Rick Vessel, director of the shadow cast, said he has probably watched the movie around 400 times. He said the traditions of “Rocky” are what have made it a cult phenomenon.
“At random times during the film or particular times during the film, members of the audience will shout things at the screen directing them towards the characters as if they can hear them,” Vessel said. “Anything from off-color comments to incredibly funny jokes.”
Jess Schlipf is the guest host of this year’s show, performing as their drag persona, Spank Knightly. They said the movie creates a space for LGBTQ+ folks to be unapologetic.
“A lot of us see this cult classic film, and we get to dress up and have fun and yell out and call back,” Schlipf said. “I think that has a special place in a lot of peoples’ hearts.”
Mitch Marlow, the operations manager at the Virginia Theatre, said he’s worked most of the showings of “Rocky Horror” the theatre has had.
“There’s just an energy in the room,” Marlow said. “As long as I can remember there have been people who flock to it and see it over and over again.’
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is widely regarded as a landmark film in LGBTQ+ representation, showing depictions of trans people and unapologetic sexuality.
“This show has men wearing corsets and women wearing corsets and everyone wearing heels,” Schlipf said. “It has hypermasculinity, hyperfemininity and everything in between.”
The movie has had a kinship with the queer and trans community since its inception, known for its cult fandom embracing nonconformist attitudes.
“It’s definitely been a good place for LGBTQ and people who are still trying to figure out who they are,” Vessel said. “Even myself being a straight white man, not fitting into what society says I should be, ‘Rocky’ is also a comfortable place for me.”
Schlipf said the show has a long history of drag and has become a key influence to their gendered performance. In the film, Dr. Frank-N-Furter is the only character in drag but shadow casts often perform with multiple characters in drag.
“To see that on screen, to see a bunch of people in a movie showing this really high camp, very egregious, unapologetic, weirdness about it,” Schlipf said. “It’s great then and it’s great now. And it’s probably even more important to have that now.”
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” will also show at Danville’s Fischer Theatre through Nov. 1.