News-Letter

What's a better way to spend a Saturday night than learning how to do the Time Warp and finding out that Johns Hopkins Freshmen don't know how to fake an orgasm? A small group of passionate Hopkins students (including some alumni) are dedicated to bringing students a small taste of tasteful debauchery a couple times a year in the form of a staged showing of the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

For those less familiar with the RHPS, or as the more experienced like to call them, Rocky Virgins, the show originated as a stage production before it was adapted for the film starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick and Richard O'Brien, who also wrote the show.

The movie originally flopped, but was resurrected with a major cult following. Every Halloween, if not every Saturday night, cities across the country re-enact the movie in front of the screen, playing the parts along with the film.

For the past eight years, a group affectionately called Homesick Abortions, based off one particular callback (phrases screamed at the screen timed with words and actions in the movie) at the end of the show, has made sure that this tradition has been extended to the Hopkins community.

The vagabond group began with a few upperclassmen who were zealous about sexual flamboyancy and Rocky Horror. After setting up the first showing of the film, they eventually passed the torch to Ryan Hopson ('04) who recruited many of his friends to be involved in the cast, most of whom remained in the cast until last year. The group was then passed on to Dave Haldane ('07), then sophomore, who took it into his own hands to negotiate with the authorities to make the viewings an official and (partially) funded event.

However the money provided by the school doesn't nearly cover the costs of the productions, and Dave, the group's current lead, Frank-N-Furter, often ends up paying out of his own pocket.

As devastating as any loss of money is for a college student, Haldane values the need for such an event on campus. "I don't necessarily enjoy the costume," he says, "but I appreciate the need for JHU kids to cut loose and enjoy themselves without repercussionsc9 as well as a chance for some of them to have a LOT of fun with sexuality." And Johns Hopkins' students, of all people, could use any opportunities they can afford to experience something that places them outside of their normal comfort zone.

Jason Maur ('07) describes the Rocky Horror experience as "simply a great way to break out of the common trend of Hopkins life. It is unlike really anything else that goes on here.

"Yes, we have theatre, but this is different. It is a chance to have some fun in a very unique fashion." The Rocky Horror Picture Show definitely provides students with an outlet for the most unique kind of fun.

Following the tradition and spirit of RHPS, each show begins with a deflowering of all the Virgins in the audience. This can range from having to fake an orgasm onstage to some fun with whipped cream.

The audience of any Rocky Horror live viewing anywhere tends to be more readily accepting of their initiation tasks than expected, perhaps due to the lack of sobriety that many people come to the show already possessing.

Most people find their deflowering fun and fairly painless in fact. One freshman declared that "it was definitely a unique first experience. Once I got over the initial shock of feeling like I was participating in cult activities, I found the show pretty hysterical and amusing."

The show itself is harder to explain. As one male senior stated, "I really didn't understand what was going on most of the time ... but I appreciated James Barker's ('07) physique." (James played Rocky, donning nothing but a gold thong). Any basic plot summary of the movie would fall short, because Rocky Horror isn't about the plot. In fact, many cast members would agree that it isn't too great of a cinematic piece.

Participation in RHPS, whether in the cast, crew, or even the audience, is about letting go, feeling free to express yourself and coming together as a community to share a mutual obsession. Cast member Rob Attorri ('09) said that the group is "like an instant family where Dave [Haldane] is like the weird uncle who dresses up in women's clothes." A family that they want as many people on campus to get to join.

Maur sums up the spirit of the show, saying "It is a truly unique experience. After all, how often is the audience not only in just as much costume, and is as essential to the show as the cast. As the callback goes, `This movie would suck without audience participation.' "

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