The Rocky Horror Picture Show was written by Richard O’Brien in 1973 as a theatrical play with everything, including lyrics, written by O’Brien. O’Brien, now 76, has described himself as being 70 percent man and 30 percent woman and identifies as transgender or as being a “third sex.” He maintains an almost all black wardrobe and a perfectly hairless head that makes him easy to find in any crowd. He exudes confidence being in his own skin, but it was in the last decade or so only that he really came into himself. While his views on other transgender people leave much to be desired in the modern LGBTQ+ community, his original musical opened the doors to the general public for more frequent, casual and lighter conversations about queerness in everyday life.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (originally just Rocky Horror Show) was intended only as a three-week play, after which the shows would be finished; however, the unique conjunction of horror and science fiction wrapped into a giant blanket of absurd comedy provided a niche form of entertainment which quickly became a cult classic. Attendees of the show would come dressed in drag and ready for a party. These days, the film is often shown close to Halloween as is customary for most “horror” style films.
As for the plot of the unique play-turned-film, it follows a sort of semi-Frankenstein-esque (as played on with the name of the main character, Dr. Frank N. Furter, the “sweet transvestite”) who creates Rocky which leads to passionate murders, a lot of seduction, and the eventual end of the film. Truly the plot is seventeen different kinds of indescribable and can only really be experienced by watching the musical. It’s full of hilarious plot twists, sensual forbidden love, jealousy, taboo and horrifying murder.
The effects of the film, inspired by glam rock, on society can be partially credited for the way punk clothing came into popularity with everything from ripped fishnets to brightly dyed hair. The show has an almost religious small but cult-like fanbase where audience members will often come back to see the show every weekend. The shows often take place on Saturdays near midnight and provide that fanbase community with a sense of connection and identity.
O’Brien has said that he is glad that his play did not gain immediate fame or notoriety because the message and the feelings that the film and play influenced would not have been the same and that he would not have ended up the person that he is. While the film is certainly not the most popular, it was selected to be preserved in the United States national Film Registry in 2005 and is title-bearer of the longest-running theatrical release in film history.
While the show does have sequels by the same writer, O’Brien himself has described them as a failure, which could be partially due to his original sequel concepts being continually thwarted by elements beyond his control. In the end, this film and this edition is and was the most monumentally influential and original of its kind and time — and there will be a showing of the film here in Houghton!
Just in time for Halloween, the Rozsa will be presenting a screening of the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show in the Rozsa Gallery A-space at 11 p.m. on Oct. 27. Audience members are encouraged to dress up (or down…) for the late-night show and partake in the gory horror-comedy scene. The movie is rated R and costs $10 for youth and adults of the general public, but it is free for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech fee. For more information please visit http://www.mtu.edu/rozsa or call the ticketing office at (906) 487-2073.
