When the pre-show started at exactly midnight, Kyle Munch was wearing a green Adidas pullover, the red Ohio State T-shirt he wore to the Bowling Green game earlier in the day and a pair of jeans.
Less than 10 minutes later, he was standing in front of a cheering audience in his boxers, jumping to the left, stepping to the right and doing the Time Warp again.
“At first I was thinking this was demoralizing and I was embarrassed,” the junior in pharmacy said. “Then I realized I didn’t know anybody here, and I was up here with a bunch of guys [who were] just as embarrassed as I was.”
Munch was one of many “virgins” who attended last Saturday’s screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at Studio 35.
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” premiered in 1975, starring then-unknown actors Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon, and developed an instant cult following.
Since then, theaters across the country have held late-night screenings with casts shadowing the film’s scenes and audience members, many of whom dress as characters from the film, shouting “callbacks” to the screen. Some callbacks have been around since the film’s premiere, while others are brand new. On Saturday, some more contemporary callbacks referenced Hurricane Katrina, the Crocodile Hunter and Congressman Mark Foley.
The cast at Studio 35, called The Fishnet Mafia, has performed since 1976, when it went by the name The Whores of a Different Color and performed at the Graceland theater. Several members of the cast said it was the longest continuously running production in the country until it had to leave the Graceland in 1998.
Before the film started, cast coordinator Anthony Nelson led the pre-show, where the audience prepared for the screening, rules were given and virgins were initiated.
The “de-virginization” process included two virgins spanking themselves, two male audience members using their “cleavage” to put lipstick on each other and six female audience members exposing their bras and jumping up and down as the audience counted to 10.
“It was probably the best part of the show and I was behind them the whole time,” said Munch.
The show’s reputation of pushing the limit might intimidate prospective virgins, but it also is part of the reason some audience members show up.
“I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to get naked,” said Lyndsay Lautzenheiser, a student from Lexington High School who was part of a line of virgins passing a dildo up and down the line with their necks.
Although the show’s appeal seems obvious, with Nelson giving the audience rules like, “You can throw condoms, preferably not used. You can throw underwear, preferably not stained,” there is something deeper that keeps the audience and cast coming back each time.
“It literally takes and accepts everyone, every orientation, breed, mindset,” said Robert Crane, the technical director for The Fishnet Mafia. “As long as you accept others, it accepts you.”
Munch enjoyed the show and said if he came back he would bring friends. If he does, he would join the regulars who have returned after their virgin experience.
“Part of it is a stress relief,” said Jeremiah Tann, who has been coming to the show for 18 years. “You can be yourself without having to worry about what others think.”
Others noted the feeling of camaraderie and the connection that comes with regular attendance of the show.
“There’s a really strong family,” Nelson said. “Not just among the cast but also among the audience and the cast members.”
Dale Harper, who has been coming to the show for just over a year, referred to the crowd as a “second family.”
Of course, family is not always meant in a figurative sense.
“I know a first-grader whose parents were told by her teacher she had to stop reciting lines (from the movie) at school,” said a female graduate student at OSU who didn’t want her name used.
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is shown the first and third Saturday of every month, with an additional Halloween show on Oct. 28, at Studio 35 on Indianola Avenue, north of campus. The pre-show typically starts around 11:30 p.m. and admission is $5.
Crane has a little advice for anyone planning to attend for the first time: “Always wear clean underwear.”
