On Friday evening at the Wilson Theater, a group of student thespians treated the campus community and general public to a continuation of a long-held tradition with their production of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Raucous laughter filled the theater, rolls of toilet paper flew through the aisles, and the cast delivered dynamic, ebullient performances to kick off spooky season on campus.
Doors to the show opened at 7:30 p.m., and attendees queued up to purchase tickets for a sex toy raffle, with winners to be announced during the pre-show beginning at 8 p.m. A playbill and a list of callouts associated with specific moments in the cult-classic 1975 film were available via QR code. During the performance, the film was projected on a screen behind the performers as they danced, mimed, and acted along with the movie in costume in a production complete with hilarious and unconventional props like kiddie pools and floppy plastic dildos mounted to the side of the stage. As is customary, those who hadn’t been to a screening or performance of the film before, called “virgins,” were optionally marked with a “v” in red lipstick when they entered the auditorium to find their seats. A statement included on the playbill before the start of the pre-show was read to the audience by the show’s producer and pre-show emcee, Lyndall Breaux’27. It concerned problematic depictions of gender non-conforming individuals in the film that don’t hold up to contemporary scrutiny. The pre-show began with Breaux ushering anyone in the audience dressed in costume onstage for a costume contest, with the winner dictated by audience applause. Vivian Kopka’27, dressed as “The Dude” from the 1998 film “The Big Lebowski,” took home first place in a tight race. Virgins were a big part of the pre-show as well. Breaux invited them up onstage for a challenge in which they had to manually inflate a prophylactic device like a balloon, trying to get it as large as possible without bursting it. After a winner was determined, there was a brief intermission before the start of the performance.
As the rollicking intro credits rolled, twisting out to center stage came Keira Linton’28, who portrayed the titular Rocky, and Sonya Edwards’28, tackling the roles of both the film’s sneering narrator, called The Criminologist, and sax-wielding biker brute Eddie. The chemistry between the main cast was apparent throughout the show. “There’s a lot of community in the cast, and we all help each other,” said Sonya Edwards. “My biggest supporters and biggest fans were the other people in the cast.” This helps create an environment that is safe for improvisation between the actors on stage and even the audience, with many instances of spontaneous hilarity like the aforementioned toilet paper toss popping up throughout the night. “There were things that went really well in the final performance that were only practiced once or twice,” Edwards said. Speaking more about the collaborative environment in the creation of the show and the community within the cast and crew, Edwards expressed that the process was bolstered by the shared reverence and knowledge of the source material as well as a collective willingness to experiment.
Other standouts from the cast included the show’s lead, Journey Beier’28, whose immersion into the role of the film’s antagonist, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, as well as the physicality they brought to the stage elicited a thunderous reaction from an audience driven hoarse by the shouting of call-outs. Kate Mann’27 and Charlie Harrison’29 had a delightful interplay as the clueless couple of Janet and Brad, with their colorful expressions gleaming all the way to the back row. This year’s Beloit College production of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” left all who attended with a buzzing feeling of jubilation, as they greeted the cast with a standing ovation when they emerged for their curtain call.
Featured image: Bethany Yu’27
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