For decades, shadow casts of the cult classic film “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” have captivated audiences across the United States. Today, there are well established callouts and traditions, but each production has its own twists.
For the third year, Spectrum – Troy University’s Gay-Straight Alliance – gathered inside Patterson Hall to put on their own shadow cast. They donned their costumes, showcased their dance moves and carried around the cardboard cut-out of Danny DeVito who played the main character, Rocky.
The crowd erupted in laughter at nearly every scene, and several cast members said it was not only a good time, but a nod to an important piece of history.
“This film is important to the LGBTQ+ community because of the boundaries that it broke at the time, including gender and sexuality stereotypes, and just the idea of having a 1970s movie with some of the lines and themes that it does is incredibly important,” said Kris Harrell, the president of Spectrum Alliance who played the lead role of Frank N’ Furter.”
Harrell, who is also the Tropolitan’s Trojan throwing items such as a piece of toast, toilet paper and bags of rice.
He said he was proud of how successful the night was.
“The role of Frank N’ Furter has been a dream of mine since we first started doing the shadow cast,” Harrell said. “I was one of the original cast members when we first started, so seeing it grow from what we started with – just messing around and having fun – to now having costumes, different scenes and everything else, it is humbling.”
While selling tickets, Spectrum Alliance held a charity raffle, raising $100 for Alabama’s Traumatic Brain Injury Camp.
Before the show, the raffle winner was announced, and a costume contest was held. Winners were chosen by the audience’s applause.
In first place was ‘The Sexy Ghost,’ also known as Tommy Karczewski, a freshman English education major from Helena, Alabama.
“This was unexpected because I made this costume ten minutes before I came, and so I was going up there saying, ‘Come on, Daddy needs a new loss,’ because I was so confident I was going to lose,” Karczewski said.
When asked what the people loved so much about The Sexy Ghost, Karczewski popped a leg on the table and said, “the legs, of course.”
When the show began, it didn’t hold back. Dancers jumped onto the tables. The student who carried around Danny DeVito growled. Confetti Poppers popped. One student burst into a scene on a tricycle. There was murder, love, betrayal and aliens.
Elliot Molina, a freshman psychology major from Seale, Alabama, said he was honored to play Brad, one of the main characters.
“It was very hard not to break character because of the amount of hilarious scenes,” Molina said. “It’s a very light-hearted environment, and it's definitely given me a chance to get closer to the people here in the rest of the show.
“Being in ‘Rocky Horror’ created such an amazing community for me. Back where I grew up, I never really felt that.”
Ari Nichols, a junior interdisciplinary major from Montgomery, Alabama, played the role of Riff Raff, the alien butler.
“Because I played Janet two years ago when we first did the Shadow cast, and Janet's just a regular person, playing this weird creepy alien dude who's out to kill his master was a wild, fun experience, and I'm glad this is the way I get to go out,” Nichols said.
It was a special night for Nichols for another reason: it was their birthday. The show was reminiscent of when Nichols and their friends used to celebrate by watching “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
“It was also on my birthday the first year we did the shadow cast, and this is my last year,” Nichols said. “‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ is a part of a bigger community of people who enjoy this weird nonsense, and it's something that brings so many people together every year.”
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