Broadway.tv Blog

By Shane Toogood, BROADWAY MAGAZINE –This Halloween you may find yourself performing in the film version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Aside from the left-jumping, right-stepping, pelvic thrusting “Time Warp,” Richard O’Brien’s musical has gained from the audience participation. Whether you’re 16 or 61, if you’re a first-timer at a midnight screening of the movie or a theatre production, you are known as a “virgin.” Next, a big, red lipsticked “V” is displayed on your forehead.

To avoid such embarrassment, below are the essential props and instructions needed to experience The Rocky Horror Picture Show as Dr. Frank-N-Furter would have it.

1.    Rice is to be thrown during the wedding scene in the beginning.

2.    Waterguns are to simulate the rain as Brad and Janet walk through the storm.

3.    Newspaper is worn over the head during said rain scene.

4.    Flashlights are used during the song “There’s A Light.”

5.    Rubber gloves are snapped in time with Frank-N-Furter during the creation scene.

6.    Toilet Paper will be thrown when Dr. Scott enters and Brad yells “Great Scott!”

7.    Toast is thrown during the dinner scene when a toast is proposed.

8.    Party poppers, party hats and blowers are used during the Dinner/Happy Birthday scene in the play.

9.    In “Planet Schmanet Janet,” ring a bell when Frank-N-Furter asks “Did you hear a bell ring?”

10.    Playing cards are thrown during the line “cards for sorrow, cards for pain” in Frank-N-Furter’s song, “I’m Going Home.”

And don’t forget to yell the obscenities at the screen such as calling Janet a “slut” when the narrator mentions her name or the hundreds of talk-backs at the characters. (Although there is no definitive audience participation talk-back script, it is not okay to use talk-back during songs and the death scene at the end.)

As the doctor says, “let the party and the sound rock on” and you’ll be the best virgin there is! For more information, visit http://www.rockyhorror.com/participation/proplist.php .

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 6:01 am and is filed under Broadway Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.