‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ shadow cast returns to the Commons

Samantha Foster
Spectrum Editor

With a cast and crew of less than a dozen people, Richmond’s own “Rocky Horror Picture Show” live shadow cast, Orgasmic Rush of Lust, laced up their corsets to perform this past Friday at the VCU Student Commons Plaza.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” originated as a staged musical in 1973 and was adapted into a movie in 1975. In both the original play and the movie, Tim Curry plays Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the “Sweet Transvestite” and mad scientist from Transsexual, Transylvania.

In the movie, Janet Weiss and Brad Majors step into Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s castle to use the phone (in the days before cell phones) and are quickly taken captive by Frank and his servants, Magenta, Riff Raff and Columbia.

While Brad and Janet are there, Frank introduces them to his newest creation, Rocky, a muscular, blonde-haired man in gold lamé hot pants. Drama and hilarity ensue and at the end, Riff Raff and Magenta take over the castle to return to Transylvania, their home planet.

While the film was not a success by any standards, it quickly gathered a cult following when a New York City movie theater starting screening the film at midnight. Moviegoers began shouting jokes and insults in between the awkward pauses of the songs and dialogue.

By 1978, Rocky Horror gathered a nation-wide following, bringing people dressed as the characters together to shout at the screen.

Orgasmic Rush of Lust (OROL) is Richmond’s live shadow cast which mimes the film in front of the screen while the movie plays behind them. They perform twice a month at Bowtie Movieland at Boulevard Square. Normally, the shows are the first Friday and Saturday of the month, but the October screenings are on Oct. 26 and 27.

For OROL performances, each actor is in full costume and makeup for his or her character, and lights are brought in to increase actor visability during the movie. Costumes include immense quantities of glitter, corsets, fishnet stockings and feather boas.

VCU sophomore Jack Miller, who performed as Riff Raff during the OROL show in the Commons Plaza this past Friday, said “(As Riff Raff), I win the movie, so that’s pretty decent. There’s not a whole lot of costuming and changes that I have to do, which makes it easy. I like the end. I like my costume for take-over a lot.”

Miller’s costume for take-over is a banana tied to the top of his head, which he said he eats as soon as the show is over. Miller has been a part of the OROL cast for a year, with his first show being at the Commons Plaza last year.

Another key aspect to live Rocky Horror shows, besides dressing in thigh-high fishnet stockings and garter belts, is the props used by the audience during the movie. OROL allows flashlights, noise makers, water spray bottles, newspapers and toast in the theater.

VCU sophomore Alan Kyte brought a backpack full of props to Friday night’s screening, including rubber gloves to snap along with Frank during the film and rice to throw in the air during the opening wedding scene.

“I used to have toast but because I have so many other props, I gave my toast to a friend,” Kyte said. Toast is used as a prop during a dinner scene when Frank calls for the guests to toast the occasion.

Each of the members of OROL has a main character which they often play. VCU freshman Cathy Quigg has been a part of OROL since December 2011 and played Columbia on Friday. Quigg said that Columbia has always been one of her favorite characters.

“(Columbia) is all sparkly and is always happy, and then she’s angry and pissed off and depressed because Eddie (Columbia’s boyfriend) is gone,” Quigg said. “I turned 18 in April… and that was the night I got to play Columbia for the first time, before that I was one of the ‘transies’ and prop people.”

OROL is constantly seeking more people to join their cast. Anyone who joins the cast starts as a prop person, setting up the minimal sets and helping face characters change into their costumes.

After time spent as a prop person, the next level is known as a ‘transie,’ a small acting part which refers to the people of Transylvania, the planet from which Frank, Riff Raff and Magenta originate.

From the role of “transie,” actors can upgrade to face characters, such as Frank, Columbia, Riff Raff and Magenta. “We’ve all gotten really close,” Quigg said of the OROL cast. “They’re like my second family, pretty much. I feel accepted here. We see each other in our underwear constantly.”

Another tradition of the culture surrounding Rocky Horror is the initiation of newcomers, or “virgins,” as the cast calls them. At the beginning of every show, including this past Friday’s show, the host asks the audience to stand, and then to sit if they’ve seen the movie a certain number of times, such as 100, to which the audience adds “Sit the f*** down and get a f***ing life,” and 42, to which the audience adds “read a f***ing book.”

All those left standing are asked to stand in front of the movie screen and are hit on their rears with a large wooden paddle. Friday’s show had a larger number of “virgins” than the usual show, so “virgins” were lined up in groups of roughly two dozen people at a time as the host ran down the line-up with his paddle, spanking each with full force.

“Virgin” and VCU sophomore Tereza McInnes said, “I thought that getting paddled made the experience more fun. It was some crazy thing that my friends and I could bond over. Next time I come, I’m going to dress up.”