So Now They're Banning Rocky Horror Picture Show
by Diane Roberts, Florida Phoenix
June 5, 2023
LONDON — The lips appear first, full, outrageously pouty, fire truck red. Then the pearls, reminiscent of the ones Barbara Bush wore. Then the black bustier, the fishnet stockings, and the high heels. He raises an eyebrow, cocks a hip, and sings, “I’m just a sweet transvestite from TransSEXual Transylvaniaaaaa!”
“The Rocky Horror Show,” the award-winning musical mélange of science fiction, muscle movies, and gender fluidity, has just turned 50.
In Britain it’s considered a cultural treasure, saluted on the BBC, the revival production playing to sell-out crowds in the West End, performing polymorphous perversity with wit and joy.
When I was a teenager visiting London for the first time, a few of us escaped the chaperones and went to see the original stage show at the Kings Road Theatre. Between the garter belts (known as “suspenders” in this country), the gay wedding, the exposed nipples (male and female) and the sex scenes (tastefully done in silhouette), our little Tallahassee minds were blown. We were Brad and Janet, clueless — but curious — over-sheltered American kids fallen into a strange and wonderful world without inhibitions.
We fell in love with Tim Curry as Frank-N-Furter. Best legs in the business.