Fans of The Rocky Horror Picture Show were treated to the first-ever showing of the film at the Perot Theatre last Friday night. There were costumes, glowsticks, bubbles, singing, dancing in the aisles, comments yelled at the screen, and probably the most enthusiastic demonstration of crowd participation ever witnessed in Texarkana.
To illustrate how passionate this RHPS crowd was, shortly after the first musical number, several audience members started shouting, “Turn it up,” and “The sound’s too low.” This issue was soon remedied by Perot staff who obliged liberally. The rock-n-roll axiom: If it’s too loud, you’re too old applied for the rest of the presentation.
The version of RHPS that viewers were shown is known as the “Wizzard of Oz cut.” As one might imagine, it starts off in black and white and then converts to color during the introduction of the film’s protagonist Dr. Frank-N-Furter, The Eccentric Transvestite Scientist, according to Wikipedia.
For those unfamiliar with the Rocky Horror Picture Show PerotTheatre.org provides a brief synopsis: “In this cult classic, sweethearts Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon), stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a transvestite scientist. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker (Meat Loaf) and a creepy butler (Richard O’Brien). Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named ‘Rocky.'”
Perot officials indicated that if this show is successful, there would be future screenings and possibly a live-action performance. It is hard to discern how last Friday night’s show could be considered anything less than a resounding triumph. Let’s do the Time Warp again!
Here are a few of the upcoming events at the Perot Theatre.
Metamorphosis Saturday, November 5th.
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer The Musical Friday, November 18th.
And just announced Clint Black Thursday, January 26th
