In the wake of the death of Tim Curry, stars of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” will honor the cult film’s 50-year impact with an event with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) on Oct. 18.
Audiences will enjoy a screening of “Rocky Horror” with a live shadowcast performance, a costume contest, and a Q&A with stars Barry Bostwick (Brad Majors) and Nell Campbell (Columbia).
“Please think of questions that you’ve never heard answered before that you’ve always wanted to know the answer to,” Campbell told Georgia Voice. “Like, did I sleep with Meatloaf? Was Barry a crashing bore like Brad in the movie? We’ll answer honestly.”
What started as a 1973 stage musical in London with an audience of 64 quickly became a beloved sensation. Soon after the 1975 film release, “Rocky Horror” found success as a midnight movie with audiences developing their own participatory traditions. The film is known for its shadow casts, where actors lip-sync and perform along with the movie.
Every ticket purchased for the ASO event includes one bag of “Rocky Horror” props for audience participation. For safety reasons, outside props will not be permitted.
“If you’ve never seen the film before, you cannot miss it,” Campbell said. “If you have seen the film before without a shadowcast, you cannot miss it. And if you’ve seen it before with a shadow cast, you can’t miss having us there to make it even more fantastically fantastic.”
For more than five decades, “Rocky Horror” has been particularly beloved among the LGBTQ+ community for its campy and tongue-in-cheek queer representation. For many, performing in or attending a “Rocky Horror” shadow cast is an entrance into drag and gender non-conformity.
While the film’s queer themes are overt, both Campbell and Bostwick said they never could have predicted the long-standing impact it would have.
“It feels like our life has meant something, honestly. Actors do things and they’re just forgotten, or they’re just pure entertainment,” Bostwick said. “The impact of the themes, the impact of the characters… The community has grown from an originally very queer community into a world of people being different than what perhaps they thought they were.”
The movie stars Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in his film debut. Curry died on Aug. 25 at the age of 80 of coronary artery disease.
“He was a dream to work with,” Campbell said. “He was a lot of fun, he was intelligent and witty and completely not a diva. He was quite, I suppose, shy, reserved – certainly a lot more reserved than Frank-N-furter.”
“I know that he wanted to hide behind these characters and create,” Bostwick said. “He just wanted to disappear, which I think he was able to do, but I don’t think any of my memories of Tim will ever disappear.”
Tickets for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Spooktacular Tour” at ASO begin at $71.10. VIP tickets are available and include a meet and greet with Bostwick and Campbell, photo and autograph opportunities, a special seating section, and an exclusive “Rocky Horror” VIP laminate.
Tickets can be purchased on the ASO’s website.
