“Rocky Horror” opens MSUM’s University Theatre Series
Cult favorite encourages audience involvement
The Rocky Horror Show, a musical stage version of the film Rocky Horror Picture Show, opens Friday, Sept. 24, in Hansen Theatre in the Roland Dille Center for the Arts on the MSUM campus. Both the stage and movie versions have been cult classics since their inception in the 1970s.
The rock musical and science fiction spoof follows the misadventures of two lovers on their way to visit an old college professor. They experience car trouble and seek help at a freaky mansion in the woods, not aware that the mansion is inhabited by alien transsexuals from the planet Transylvania and Dr. Frank N Furter, who happens to be in the midst of one of his maniacal experiments.
Stage performances of Rocky Horror almost always draw several audience members who dress up in campy costumes befitting the nature of the show. Dancing during the “Time Warp,” shouts from the audience and other kinds of audience participation have helped turn the musical into a cultural institution, and are encouraged, as long as they don’t interfere with the performance or endanger anybody.
The show runs Sept. 24 and 25, and Sept. 28 through Oct. 2. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m., with an extra midnight performance on Oct. 2. Tickets are available now, and may be purchased online at www.mnstate.edu/theatre. Or call the MSUM Box Office at (218) 477-2271 Monday through Friday between noon and 4 p.m. Tickets are also available at the door 90 minutes prior to curtain. For more information, go to www.mnstate.edu/theatre.