Anyone who lived in Berkeley during the Eighties and Nineties will
remember the Saturday night queue outside UC Theater, which formed
around 11 p.m. and usually snaked up the block by 11:45. Rowdier than
the average midnight movie crowd, it always included one or two “sweet
transvestites” in fetish wear, a few prissily dressed Susan Sarandon
lookalikes, and some bewildered interlopers with lipstick Vs drawn on
their foreheads (“V” stood for “Virgin”). All would arrive in full
regalia for the Saturday night screening of Rocky Horror Picture
Show, complete with a live cast onstage, toast throwing,
occasional orgasm simulations (usually from some poor, easily
manipulated virgin in the audience) and — yes — a chance
for everyone to jump out of his seat and dance “The Time Warp.” (Anyone
who didn’t know the moves risked banishment — or a scarlet V.)
The show ran every week for more than two decades until the UC Theater
shuttered in 2001.
A somewhat more nefarious Rocky Horror enjoyed Saturday night
screenings at the Bal Theatre in San Leandro, but those also fizzled
out in 2001 after cops raided the place and found minors drinking
alcohol. Of course, the East Bay could never stay Rocky
Horror-bereft for too long. Within months of UC Theater’s demise,
the cast of Barely Legal Productions moved its operation to Oakland’s
Parkway Speakeasy, where it remained until that theater shut
down in 2009, due to economic woes. Undeterred, the company scouted for
a new East Bay home. On October 10, Barely Legal launched its latest
iteration, now running twice a month at Grand Lake Theater (3200
Grand Ave., Oakland). With their new home in order, the producers hope
to revive the old brand, cultivate a fanbase, and ensnare more
virgins.
This Halloween marks a veritable Renaissance for Rocky Horror
in the East Bay, with Brad, Janet, and Dr. Frank-N-Furter appearing on
silver screens everywhere. The cast of Barely Legal will descend on
Grand Lake Theater for two nights (Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct.
31, 11:59 p.m., $10) to stage a special Halloween Rocky Horror,
complete with costume contests. Masquers Playhouse (105 Park Place, Pt.
Richmond) invites the audience to participate in its own Halloween
presentation of the stage musical Rocky Horror (the show that
inspired the 1975 film), also held at midnight on Saturday, Oct. 31
($20, Masquers.org). Even 924 Gilman
(924Gilman.org) couldn’t resist
featuring the camp classic at its Thursday night movie screening (Oct.
29), though Gilman’s Rocky Horror Picture Show will take place
long before witching hour, at 7:30 p.m. (Not to mention it’s free.)
Hopefully, such market saturation will get some of the young folks to
come check out Rocky Horror for the first time. It is, after
all, an old cult film with remarkable staying power. Audiences grow up
and theaters shut down, but certain traditions never lose their
cachet.
