Ruckus Entertainment will present a science fiction double
feature tonight at the Sooner Theatre with this year’s
showing of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” One feature
takes place on the screen, with the 1975 cult film starring Susan
Sarandon and Tim Curry, and the other feature is the one the
audience performs on the floor.

For the past four years, Tom Ferris and his company, Ruckus
Entertainment, have organized and produced the event at Sooner
Theatre. The show usually sells out the 550-seat venue, packing the
historic theater with corset-clad, make-up plastered,
fishnet-wearing divas. And those are just the guys.

“Our show is nothing serious,” Ferris said.
“It’s all in good fun. There’s kind of a cult
script that you say [with the movie], and points when you throw
certain items.”

For the uninitiated, commonly known as “virgins,”
the experience is nothing like a typical movie screening. Expect to
be showered with rice, toast, toilet paper and various other fun
things by a crowd screaming vulgarities at the actors on screen.
Expect to see transsexual transvestites from Transylvania dancing
in the aisles. Expect the unexpected.

Brian Huntington has operated the spotlights at the show for the
past few years as well as participating with the audience. He said
he likes the “Rocky Horror” experience.

“People are encouraged to get up and sing and dance and
throw [props] at the screen,” Huntington said.
“It’s not weird because you do it en masse.”

Heather Updike has attended the production in the past. Though
she says she’s not a die-hard fan, she dressed up as a
character for her first time a few years ago. Though she called
this debacle the stupidest thing she’d ever seen, Updike said
she had a great time.

Ferris recommends virgins come to the show with an open mind and
ready to have fun. Unlike some other places that do this type of
event, Ferris’ production won’t have any major virgin
initiations. Instead, the new viewers will be marked with
lipstick.

Before the show there will be a costume contest, where the
audience votes on who has the best costume for each part. The
winners of the contest will be asked to perform the show in front
of the screen. Ferris said these people are usually expected to
know all the lines and rituals for the show.

Because the rituals usually make a mess, Sooner Theatre staff
had some concern about having the show at the historic venue.
Jennifer Heavner Baker, Sooner Theatre artistic director, said that
all the traditional props for the show will be used except for
water guns, because of potential water damage.

“The Sooner is a venue for everyone and for all types of
things,” Baker said.

The show starts at 10 p.m. this year, and tickets are on sale at
the Sooner Theatre box office for $8. Because the show usually
sells out, patrons are advised to get their tickets early.
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