Just in time for Halloween, Seattle University and Inigo productions gave students who to dared enter a look into just how gay creatures of the night can be. This rendition of The Rocky Horror Picture was chalk full of LGBTQ representation, sexual humor, and bad acting. In a good way of course.
I went to the Sunday night show, so after Halloweekend I needed an entertaining way to distract myself from the hangover headaches. From the start of the night I knew I was in for a treat when I stood up from my chair to have my rocky horror show cherry popped with the rest of the virgins in the audience. The quirky acting of the Inigo group and the standup comedy style of the host truly brought this interactive show to life.
As someone who has only recently been able to accept their sexuality, seeing a show that had both gay and trans representation was fun and eye opening for myself and my friend who went with me, who is trans. Despite the movie being from the 70s and doing a horrible job to accurately portray these sexualities, it was acted out by fellow students in a way that was creative, goofy, and just exaggerated enough for their characters of different sexuality that may not fit their own.
Throughout my Netflix binges, I had seen little bits and pieces of this show from watching Glee and Perks of Being a Wallflower, so singing along and shouting “slut!” and “asshole!” made me feel really a part of the experience. Not only was I physically engaged by dancing, screaming, and singing but uncontrollable laughter swept over me at one point when the host of the live production pointed out the exact moments of how low budget the movie was, like when the scene kept cutting to dramatic gasps from Jan and the iconic butt twitch from Rocky Horror.
Although I found the movie to be a good way to laugh at and make light of many problematic topics, I want to commend all the actors of the show who had to strip down to their bras, underwear, and drag costumes. I was just very proud that at a private Jesuit college, we as a community are able to be so open and comfortable with vulnerable ideas like the ones presented in the show.
I am so glad I went to go see The Rocky Horror Picture show for the first time on the Seattle University campus. Singing and doing the time warp with my friends was a blast! So even though the movie may not make any sense in terms of its storyline and the practicality of characters who willingly walk into a castle that says “enter at your own risk,” I am still really glad that it has become a joke that people of kinds can enjoy.