Sunday, October 20, 8 p.m.
Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore Avenue, Davenport IA
In celebration of the musical cult classic's 49th anniversary, the iconic entertainment The Rocky Horror Picture Show will enjoy a special screening at Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on October 20, the event boasting a live shadow cast, audience participation, a costume contest, and the eagerly awaited guest host Nell Campbell, the Rocky Horror co-star who appeared opposite Meat Loaf as Eddie's eccentric love interest Columbia.
Based on the 1973 musical stage production The Rocky Horror Show, and with its music, book, and lyrics by O'Brien, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a tribute to the science-fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s. The film stars Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick, and centers on a young engaged couple whose car breaks down in the rain near a castle occupied by celebrants in elaborate costumes. Director Jim Sharman's film was shot in the United Kingdom at Bray Studios and on location at an old country estate named Oakley Court, best known for its earlier use by Hammer Film Productions. A number of props and set pieces were reused from the Hammer horror films., and costume designer Sue Blane has claimed that her creations for the film directly affected the development of punk-rock fashion trends, such as torn fishnet stockings and colorfully dyed hair.
Initial reception to The Rocky Horror Picture Show was extremely negative, but it soon became a hit as a midnight movie, when audiences began participating with the film at the Waverly Theater in New York City in 1976. Audience members returned to the cinemas frequently, talked back to the screen, and began dressing as the characters, spawning similar performance groups across the United States. At almost the same time, fans in costume began performing alongside the film, with this "shadow cast" miming the actions on screen above and behind them while lip-synching their characters' lines.
Still in limited release in 2024, some 49 years after its premiere, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the longest-running theatrical release in film history. In many cities, live amateur shadow-casts act out the film as it is being shown and heavily draw upon a tradition of audience participation. Despite the initial critical pans, the movie is now considered one of the greatest musicals of all time, and in 2005, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
The Rocky Horror Picture Show with host Nell Campbell screens on October 20, admission to the 8 p.m. event is $25-50, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)328-8000 and visiting RhythmCityCasino.com.