Dammit, Janet! The MAIN’s screening of “Rocky Horror” dared fans to not dream it – be it

Theatergoers in Newhall hopped to the left, stepped to the right and did the Time Warp again back to 1975 at The MAIN’s screenings of the cult classic film “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

After the 2020 screenings were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Santa Claritans shivered in antici…pation for a year until Friday night, which kicked off the first of three sold-out weekend screenings of the horror musical. 

Sierra Priest, a house manager for The MAIN, coordinated the events and said that the screenings provided an outlet for the “crazy, silly, sexy and risqué” energy that is rarely found in Santa Clarita.

“I showed up to work and all the tickets were sold out, and people started calling to see if there was a wait list or if they could just show up to see if there were any extra seats, so people were very excited,” Priest said.

A large part of the experience of “Rocky Horror” comes from its tradition of midnight screenings, heckling and audience participation, which The MAIN facilitated by offering prop bags for sale which included items like newspapers, toast, cleaning gloves (characteristic of the movie) and flashlights.

“I think this movie was too early for its time, but I think they realized that while it is out of this world it would carry context later on,” Priest said. “Coming into a screening blind is best because if you come with an open mind to the weirdness and openness, you’re going to have a good time more than if you come in with predispositions to what the show should be.”

Christine Rich brought her daughter’s friend Emma Smithson to the screening dressed as Columbia and a Transylvanian, respectively. While Rich performed the show with College of the Canyons and has been to previous screenings at The MAIN, Smithson was a live screening “virgin.” 

“I have seen the movie several times and have so many things about the live shows, so when I heard we had one here I had to go no matter what,” Smithson said. “The movie is really important to me because it was my first introduction to LGBTQ culture and it really helped me fall in love with theater. There aren’t many things that are celebrated so widely that have the perspective of straight people coming into this new world.”

Rich, who has been attending screenings since her mother brought her to one at age 13, dressing up hold the same appeal as Halloween in that it provides an opportunity for the attendees to take on a different persona. 

“Someone else dressed as the same character as me just waved to me, so there’s an instant bond between us because we chose to dress the same,” Rich said. “There’s also a little bit of naughtiness to it because you’re waiting until midnight then sitting in the dark, swearing and throwing things and breaking all the conventions of going to a typical movie.”

Angela Zaidman attended the screening as a chaperone for her Girl Scout troop. As part of an annual tradition of celebrating the Halloween birthday of Girl Scouts founder Juliette Low, this year Zaidman’s troop decided to attend the show. Of all the members of the troop, only one had previously seen the film and none of the girls had been to a live screening.

“This reminds me of when I was a teenager and when I used to go out to these screenings,” Zaidman said. “The music and dressing up and the silliness are the best part, although it may not be as shocking to this generation as it was to my generation. Back then you didn’t go out to movies at midnight and that alone was such a big thing. I hope the girls embrace the fun and remember this when they’re old enough to go to a screening by themselves.”

While The MAIN has hosted “Rocky Horror” screenings before this is the first time they have included a shadow cast performance, during which actors pantomime the events on screen as they are happening. The shadow cast was initially only planned for Saturday, but performances were expanded to all three screenings due to popular demand.

“It was a lot harder to find the cast than we thought because while a lot of people love the movie but don’t love the idea of getting up on stage, taking their clothes off and dancing in front of people,” said Tyler Jackson who produced the performance and also portrayed the iconic Dr. Frank N. Furter, originally portrayed by Tim Curry, with almost hypnotic charisma. “That’s why it was so exciting to find the cast that we did who are all college students who bleed ‘Rocky Horror.’ We’ve been practicing in backyards. Obviously we didn’t create ‘Rocky Horror’ but we get to create our own mini version of it, so it’s so cool that we get to share this with Santa Clarita and that it did sell out so quickly.” 

Part of the film’s enduring appeal and fandom, according to Jackson, is its unashamed embodiment of queerness and self-expression, which allows audience members to find some aspect of “Rocky Horror” to identify with. Jackson said 90% of the shadow cast are queer people, which was not an intentional casting choice.

“Queer people do have a stronger connection to this film, and at least five members of our cast realized the were queer when they watched it,” Jackson said. “We are in one of the reddest counties in California so it’s really cool to see despite this show being what it is, it has an impact on so many people from different walks of life. ‘Rocky Horror’ is a force of nature that’s about more than wanting to dress up in fishnets and corsets, it’s a show about acceptance.”

 

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