Rosendale Theatre presents Rocky Horror Picture Show with shadow cast

Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon in Rocky Horror Picture Show.

If you’re a Gen Xer, you may well have misspent a considerable portion of your youth at midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, dressed in horror drag, throwing things and talking back to the screen on cue. It’s the original interactive movie phenomenon that – way back in the 1980s – sparked the “cosplaying” subculture, which nowadays enlivens comic-cons and other “geeky” events with displays of the sort of creativity normally only seen at Halloween parties and parades.

The vintage Rosendale Theatre has an ongoing tradition of reviving Rocky Horror each October, duly accompanied by the antics of a costumed “shadow cast” whose task is to act out scenes, dance to the musical numbers from the film and encourage “callbacks” from the audience. Doug Motel, John Cox, Dylan Johanson, Nikki Vly, Timothy Bruck, Emily Vail and Carrie Wykoff are among the performers who will cheerlead this year’s screening. Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Meat Loaf and Richard O’Brien star in the campy 1975 horror flick.

If you haven’t stepped into this particular time warp before, you should be aware that Rocky Horror is an R-rated film, loaded with crude humor and raucous rock ‘n’ roll. Audience members under the age of 17 will require an accompanying parent or adult guardian, and no one under the age of 12 will be admitted. Attending in costume will definitely enhance the viewing experience, and there will be a costume contest with prizes.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show returns to the Rosendale Theatre this Saturday, October 29. The doors open at 8 p.m., with some instructions provided for “virgins” (first-time filmgoers), so you’ll be able to join in the cultish interactive fun. Prop bags will be for sale for $5. Tickets cost $10 – $8 for those in costume – and the event is a fundraiser for ongoing renovation efforts at the Rosendale Theatre, which is located at 408 Main Street (Route 213) in Rosendale. For more info visit www.rosendaletheatre.org.