Let’s do the time warp again: Fallout celebrates half-century of ‘Rocky Horror’

Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor

For 50 years, audiences have been shivering with anticipation as they enter Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s lab to see what’s on the slab in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Fans in costumes come to theaters in droves to sing along to the campy musical, especially around Halloween.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” follows the story of freshly-engaged high school sweethearts, Brad and Janet, travelling home after their friend’s wedding. After their car breaks down in a rainstorm, the pair seeks haven in a Victorian-style mansion.

At the door, they are greeted by Riff-Raff and a party full of eccentric guests is taking place as they perform the “time warp dance.” During screenings, audience members will get up and join them in the dance. 

They then meet Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a self-described “sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania.” He shares his plan of making a man with blonde hair and a tan, his new obsession: Rocky. 

Hijinks ensue the rest of the night, in a night of murder, infidelity, cannibalism and burlesque. 

Orgasmic Rush of Lust, or OROL, is Richmond’s “Rocky Horror” shadow cast; they put on a show, acting and lip-syncing while the 1975 film plays in the background. OROL puts on productions throughout the year, but ramps up during autumn with three shows in the second half of October. The final show this month was on Oct. 29 at Fallout, a nightclub in Shockoe Bottom. 

Guests were gifted with “gag bags” filled with props to use throughout the show. Items included, but were not limited to, bubbles and a ring to celebrate Brad and Janet’s engagement, noise makers to party with the Transylvanian as well as party hats and “toast” as audience members join in on the dinner party. 

The show started at 10 p.m., following the late-night tradition of most “Rocky Horror” shows — originating when theatres and playhouses realized the crowd drew in creatures of the night, as opposed to more straight-edge moviegoers.  

“The movie premiered and it flopped, so it started getting shown later and later at night and people started to really dress up for it and it really got that cult following,” said casting director — and former CT Spectrum Editor — Sam Foster. “It was the one night a month or year that they could just be themselves. They could dress in all the sparkles, they could dress as a different gender.”

Foster has been with OROL for 12 years. She started on the props team in her first year and then moved to the cast to play Columbia (a groupie), Riff Raff (a handyman) and the iconic mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter. In 2019, she moved back behind-the-scenes to cast the show. 

It is hard for Foster to choose one character she likes to play the most.

“I really like playing Riff Raff,” Foster said. “You get kind of angry the whole time, he doesn’t want to be there and you get to be a little sassy with it. But I mean, being Frank, you get to be the star of the show, so that comes with all eyes on you. So, being the attention seeker that I am, works for that too. With Columbia, you get to be all sparkly all the time. They have their own kind of pros and cons.”

The culture surrounding “Rocky Horror” is ever-evolving, according to Foster. While venues still show the movie late at night — with characters in costume and audience members yelling jokes at the screen — jokes have been updated to be more inclusive. While still being raunchy, OROL discourages jokes that punch down and will boo people who do.  

Some jokes yelled at the recent show:

• “Brad, did you wipe your a** today? Smell your hand to find out.”
• “You killed Kenya! You Bastard!” When the Crimologist spins the globe and stops it with his finger. 
• “Where are the Epstein Files?” as the chorus sings “burning in the fireplace!”

Bobby Castelvecchi, an audience member and burlesque performer, had a witty remark for practically every line said in the movie. 

Castelvecchi was once a cast member of OROL. Rocky Horror is what got them into burlesque. They have seen the movie upwards of 100 times. Callouts helped them learn blocking for when they performed. 

Castelvecchi was a part of the cast from 2012-2014 and will still join from time to time. They said their favorite character to play is Janet. 

“I started out as Dr. Scott and Eddie, but my favorite was Janet,” Castelvecchi said. “I really just leaned into the role. I just made it as fun and explorative as possible … switching to Janet was just so freeing, just like how her character arc develops throughout the film.”

The musical was born from author and composer Richard O’Brien’s love for B-movie double features that played late into the night, according to Studio Theatre. 

“I used to go on a Friday and Saturday night and see the late-night double feature, sitting in the dark with useless geezers like myself, with no direction, gormless youths shouting lines at the screen, muttering and thinking we were funny,” O’Brien said.

Though the show has found its home in queer culture today, it has not always been that way, according to the OROL actor who played Rocky at the show on Wednesday, Rae Carkhuff. While there has always been a faction of queer fans, the majority was cisgender men for a while. 

“I would say the majority of spaces are becoming more equitable, and I think a huge part of that are the folks gravitating towards ‘Rocky Horror,’” Carkhuff said. 

Carkhuff first saw the show when he was “way too young.” He has been a part of different shadow casts for the past decade, playing almost everyone but Riff Raff, Magenta and Columbia. 

Personally, Carkhuff said he has always resonated with Brad, and there are multiple jokes surrounding his similarities to the character. 

“He has always resonated with me, like this guy who’s doing what he thinks he’s supposed to do,” Carkhuff said. “Then he has one weird experience, and it’s all out the window for him … Brad really resonates with me. I see myself in him in more than one way.”

For 50 years, fans have dressed up as their favorite characters to sing, dance and yell at the screen. Callouts may be considered rude at regular movies, plays or musicals, but improvised interactions with the cast are simply part of the Rocky Horror culture. 

OROL will be back at Fallout come springtime, according to Foster, who played Riff-Raff during Wednesday’s production.