It looks like a lot of New Yorkers are doing the Time Warp.
There’s a New York City Rocky Horror Picture Show renaissance, although the movie has never really gone away, as the cult classic celebrates its 50th anniversary with showings, shadow casts and a Broadway production in the works.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show, complete with a shadow cast performing along with the movie, is being presented at the Quad Cinema, Village East by Angelika and the City Winery.
And the Roundabout Theatre Co. is gearing up to present a Broadway version of the 1975 cult classic next spring at Studio 54.
For those who’d rather not wait for the show to arrive back on Broadway, there are plenty of opportunities to see the movie and shadow casts this weekend and beyond.
Rocky Horror with shadow casts is being presented Saturday, June 21 at 10 p.m. at the Village East by Angelika, 181-189 2nd Ave. (2nd Ave. and 12th St.).
The City Winery NYC Presents The Rocky Horror Picture Show Pride Edition with a shadow cast on Thursday, June 26 at 7:00 p.m.
And the Quad Cinema, 34 W. 13th Street, is presenting the show and shadow cast Saturday, June 28 at 9:45 p.m.
Thirty-five million people reportedly have seen the movie, which includes songs such as “Dammit Janet,” “Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a Touch Me,” “Hot Patootie” and “Time Warp.” The legendary movie is spawning a small literary renaissance as well.
Asylum Press published “Rocky Horror Anniversary Collection” by Lillias Piro and a book came out by photographer Mick Rock celebrating Rocky Horror’s 50th anniversary. New Zealand on May 7 released l a set of Rocky Horror stamps as part of that nation’s Music Month.
“We usually sell out,” said Steve Albistur, general manager of the Village East by Angelika. “There’s a lot of college kids. We’re right down the street from several dorms. And there are some older people.”
Rocky Horror may be the world’s most successful Broadway flop. The show, which had a brief Broadway debut at the Belasco Theater on West 44th St. in 1975, closed after a month. That, however, followed successful runs starting in 1973 in London’s Royal Court and at the Roxy nightclub in Log Angeles.
The movie, which had already been shot, took off as shadow casts began performing, turning it from entertainment into an event.
“I wasn’t skin-deep gorgeous. I was gorgeous in attitude. And I was gorgeous, I think, in a certain kind of courage,” Tim Curry has said. “It took a certain amount of courage to do the show in the first place, let alone translating it to New York.”
Sal Piro founded the show’s fan club, organizing events, contacting cast members and helping turn it into a phenomenon, turning the Waverly Theater in Greenwich Village into a home for this movie that would last longer than even big Hollywood hits.
The New York City Rocky Horror Cast today performs every first and third Saturday at Village East Cinema and some other venues.
“They do a 20-minute pre-show before the show starts and then they act out the show in front of the screen with audience participation,” Albistur said. “One time for the shadow cast they brought out Susan Sarandon as a guest. She did an introduction and watched them perform it.”
Keeley, a shadow cast member, said she saw the movie many times, before joining a shadow cast.
“I watched the movie a lot when I was thirteen,” Keeley has said, “so when I moved to New York City to pursue stage management and theater tech, it seemed fitting to join a Rocky cast.”
Shadow cast member Kristin also grew up with the show, performing in private before taking on roles in public.
“I spent my childhood imitating the floorshow in my living room every day after school, so I guess you can say I was destined to perform rocky regularly,” Kristin said.
Audiences participate, dressing up, doing “callbacks” and throwing toilet paper rolls and other ideally innocuous objects as high school sweethearts Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon) meet and join in the mayhem with Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
“These callbacks are a constantly evolving dialogue between the audience in the movie,” according to the New York City Rocky Horror Picture Show cast. “If you think of something funny, timely, and relevant to the action on screen, just scream it out .”
Props such as newspapers, gloves and confetti let audience members participate rather than only watching.
“If you forget to bring anything, don’t worry,” according to the New York City Rocky Horror Picture Show Cast. “The NYC Rocky Horror Picture Show Cast sells prop bags that contain many (but not all) of the goodies mentioned above for your participatory pleasure.”
While the hybrid of live performance and cinema is a hallmark of Rocky Horror, NYCRHPS also has performed a shadow cast versions for Shock Treatment, Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, and Cats 2019.
Meanwhile, the Roundabout Theatre Co. is gearing up to present Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway in spring 2026 at Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street, staged by Oh, Mary! director Sam Pinkleton.
