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The Rocky Horror Experience in L.A.

© Lynette

Los Angeles is sometimes known as a city of excess. One of the successful indulgences that Angeleno’s created was a 1970’s musical that became a favorite for many. Though the number of followers was not phenomenal, the excitement was well recognized.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show began as a musical at the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles and was later turned into a film. The film bombed, nationally, but some Angelenos knew a good thing when they saw it. There had been a lively Rocky Horror following that had been created by the show at The Roxy. Those same viewers welcomed the film and attended it as often as they had the live show. Cinema owners noticed repeat ticket sales to the same crowds for midnight showings, which made it the first regular midnight run in the country. People, then, started dancing and singing along with the music, and casts began to form.

A total of $900,000 was the cost that made Rocky Horror, a modest amount, even in 1975. In 26 years of cult screenings, the one time cinematic let-down became a smash hit, as it has grossed more than an estimated $160 million.

Despite such names as Tim Curry, Meatloaf and Susan Sarandon the film became a sub-culture hit with crowds. Cities like New York, Chicago, and London followed, after hearing of the midnight screening success with spirited crowds in Los Angeles. Twentieth Century Fox eventually released special edits of the film to theaters. As it is, today, there are some songs and dances that Texans may know and others that the Swedish do not.

Rocky Horror is the only "audience participation" motion picture that has surpassed its 25th year. The movie musical has inspired countless midnight act-alongs, dress-alongs and sing-alongs and the crowd always looks the part.

For fans, it's not just a movie. It's a way of life. There is a camaraderie that develops between the people who go to see it every week, so it's very family-like in the most naughty way. The regulars may look weird but they are ordinary people looking for a good time and always willing to welcome a virgin (one who has never been to a showing).

Why would people see the same film hundreds of times - never mind dressing up as the film's characters? No one knows what draws crowds every week and every year. Possibly, it is something that people collectively recognize that may be subliminal about the story. Despite the idea of sex, drugs and rock and roll some of the most ordinary attend the showings, dressed in sex shop leather corsets, fish net stockings and whips. It was a film of its day. No one’s sure how it figures with modern audiences. However, the moral of the film is “Don’t dream it; be it”, and that idea is very universal. After all, fans don't mind seeing it again and again.