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• Experiencing the Rocky Horror Picture Show

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Canopy Club »
Address: 708 S. Goodwin Ave. Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 367-3140
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After reading the Wikipedia page before I left my house, I assumed that I knew what to expect at the midnight screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Canopy Club Saturday night. A quiet, relaxing movie night was completely in order — turns out, it was the complete opposite of quiet.

When I got to Canopy Club, I sat down in a dark, shady corner by myself. As I looked around, I was confused — half of the audience members seemed to range from late teens to early twenties, and the other half of the audience belonged to the burned out hippie demographic.

Thankfully, I mustered up the courage to ask two women who seemed to know what was going on.

Karen Chumbley and Lisa Butler, two loyal Rocky Horror fans, were so kind to tell me what was happening. They explained that the show was an interactive one, where the audience is encouraged to participate throughout the show’s duration. This includes yelling about 60 percent of its running time and throwing objects such rice, toilet paper and playing cards.

It probably looks as ridiculous as it sounds, but it was more fun than I would have expected. Who knew that calling perfect strangers “sluts” and “assholes” could be so much fun?

The event started with a performance of Rocky Horror Picture Show by the Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company. The cast was energetic in its performance, and the costumes were brilliant in their gaudiness.

The most interesting part of the live performance was the visual aspect, with all of the actors and actresses looking their parts. After the live performance ended, there was a costume contest. It was pretty entertaining to watch — seeing younger men attempting to walk in huge heels and skimpy skirts.

As the lights started to dim for the film showing, we were asked to stand up and recite the “pledge” of the Picture Show.

The film itself was pretty ridiculous, and there is no way to get around that. The best part about it, however, was that it did not take itself seriously. I don’t think a single person involved in creating this film thought that it could be a literal cinematic masterpiece, but that’s what made it so interesting. It is a cult classic that has a group of loyal fans willing to watch it over and over.

Maybe it’s the catchy tunes and the funky choreography. Maybe it’s the ‘70s Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick chemistry.

Maybe it’s about being allowed to be obnoxious and loud with a whole audience in a theater. Any way you look at it, Rocky Horror Picture Show was a truly unique experience that has to be witnessed firsthand in order to appreciate it to its fullest. Audience members connect on a different sort of level — laughing at each other’s yelled remarks and contributing to crap flying at the screen.

Rocky Horror Picture Show is an event that should be experienced at least once — for the costumes, or the encouraged “disrupting” that feels so odd and fun all at once.