APO to perform 'Rocky Horror Picture Show'

During the 2005 fall semester, the UW-River Falls theatre department performed the musical Rocky Horror picture show and, since then, Alpha Psi Omega, a theatre honor society, has been carrying on the tradition each year.

“It started out as a full musical, but it has kind of lived on ever since,” Al Broeffle, president of APO, said.

The first performance on campus was a full-length musical directed by theatre professor James Zimmerman.  It was APO’s idea to continue performing it annually, Broeffle said. This is the third year APO will be putting on the performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The first two years the show was directed by alumna Kristy Reid, but this year student Amanda Luke takes on the challenge as director.

The theatre department still has the costumes from the original show. So far they have only had two rehearsals but most of the cast improve their parts on their own, Luke said. 

“We play the movie on a huge projector and the actors act it out downstage of the projector,” Luke said.

Actors lip sync, move and dance along with the movie as it plays on the screen behind them. 

“It’s laid back. Most of the people know the show pretty well,” Luke said.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, starring Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon, was originally released Sept. 26, 1975. It has since received a cult-classic following among its fans that act out the movie. The movie is 89 minutes long and starts at midnight, but the doors of the Blanche Davis Theatre in the Kleinpell Fine Arts building will open at 11 p.m. on Nov. 7 for pre-show activities.  One of the activities includes a costume contest. 

“Winners will get something extremely sexy,” Broeffle said.

Any type of costume is allowed, but goth or drag are preferred, Broeffle said.

“You can show off your Halloween costume, or show off a different costume you didn’t get a chance to wear,” Luke said. “It is not required but you can.”

The show is free to students, but there will be optional $5 prop bags and concessions to purchase.

The show costs about $500 to perform.  The Leadership Development and Programming Board has donated $400 to this year’s performance while APO paid the additional $100 for the performance.