Lace up your corsets and break out that red lipstick. The Lost Flamingo Company’s annual production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show is back at The Union Bar & Grill, 18 W. Union St.
The cult classic is known for its midnight showings, featuring a shadow cast that acts out the film in front of the screen. Those who have never seen the performance before are marked with the signature lipstick “V” and callbacks are frequently shouted throughout the screening.
This year, the production will feature a performance on Halloween day, prompting a special addition to the actors’ makeup.
“The cast members will be in zombie makeup,” said Caiti McLaughlin, the show’s director and a senior studying Spanish education. “There will also be a costume contest among the audience.”
Last week, LFC joined forces with ARTS/West for a screening of Rocky Horror. The show at ARTS/West gave prop bags to the first 20 people, but this week’s performances do not permit prop bags — a staple of the Rocky Horror culture. Prop bags typically contain playing cards, toast, a newspaper, a noisemaker and toilet paper.
“I don’t feel like you lose much without them, but it is fun to have them when you do,” said Jacob Crosen, a sophomore studying political science who plays Frank-N-Furter in the show.
Kristin Salaky is a cast member for Rocky Horror and the culture editor at The Post.
McLaughlin said her favorite part of the annual event is seeing people come out of their shells.
“That person may not be flamboyant or outgoing and is reserved, but for one night, they are usually the complete opposite,” she said.
This is the 11th year LFC has done Rocky Horror, and the troupe itself has been around for only 12 years. McLaughlin cited the film’s large fan base as the reason the production has occurred since the beginning.
“It’s one of those cult classics that people come from everywhere to be a part of,” she said. “That’s what’s allowed it to succeed for so long, in and outside of LFC.”
Crosen said he thinks the “magic” of Rocky Horror lies in the fact that it brings so many people together.
“It just gets all these different people together and has them do something that’s objectively pretty weird; but, at the same time, when you actually perform it and have people see it, it doesn’t seem that weird at all.”
If You Go
What: The Rocky Horror Picture Show
When: 9 p.m. Wednesday – Friday
Where: The Union Bar & Grill, 18 W. Union St.
Admission: $5
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