“Say! Any of you guys know how to Madison?”
Asshole.
“Rocky Horror Picture Show” is coming. So be prepared for the click-clack of high heels, and study up on the heckling essential to creating the full Rocky Horror experience.
The NSU Student Theatre Organization is presenting its ninth annual Rocky Horror production Oct. 25 at 8:30 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom.
Actors will sing most songs live, and the film will be played in between numbers to complete the show.
This year’s performance is directed and choreographed by junior theatre major Jhalon Thomas, who was selected after competing with other students for the job.
During his childhood, Thomas recalls seeing Frank-N-Furter costumes and thinking it was just a stock outfit sold in stores; later, he was formally introduced to the Rocky Horror world when he heard about cast auditions during his first semester at NSU and later joined the production as a dancer and Transylvanian.
Thomas’ experience with the show helped him cope with body dysmorphic disorder.
“I never took off my shirt in front of someone, let alone frolicked around stage naked in just duct tape and a pink Speedo,” he said. “[Rocky Horror] made me love myself and made me grow so much as a person. And I can honestly say that my time at Northwestern would not have been the same if I didn’t go through the ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ experience.”
Similar to Thomas, freshmen theatre majors Trevor Brown and Milla Gonzalez will make their NSU debut in Rocky Horror playing leads Brad and Janet.
Brown lost his Rocky Horror virginity in a corset and fishnet stockings on Halloween his sophomore year of high school.
“My parents are going to disown me for this,” he joked about the evening. “I enjoyed it so much that I decided to audition for the show here.”
He sums up his connection to Brad with one word: awkward. But he hopes his experience in the show will lead him to fully accept himself and his body – something he feels is already working.
Gonzalez relates to Janet’s curious nature and how she “thinks she knows what she wants in life” while always wondering, “what if?”
“I feel like I’m at that stage… I think that I have my whole life set out for me,” she said.
Gonzalez first saw the film with her friends and said it was “unlike anything [she] had ever seen” at the time.
“It’s such a massive show,” she said. “It’s kind of hard to take in all at once, but then once you understand how it works, it’s just – I really love it.”
Talking about other cast members, Brown, Gonzalez and Thomas were enthusiastic about the experience.
“We’re all experiencing this together, and I think that’s what keeps us all close,” Gonzalez said.
“We were close at the beginning, but now we do lots of stuff together outside of rehearsals,” Brown said. “While we are in rehearsals, we are having so much fun together.”
“They are all so eager, and it’s just so fun,” Thomas said. “The bottom line goal is to have fun, love yourself, and be the sexiest version of you.”
The production serves as a fundraiser for the Student Theatre Organization. Student tickets cost $3, or $5 with a prop bag. General admission is $5, or $7 with a prop bag. Visit facebook.com/studenttheatrensu for more information.
