The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Celebration! Cinema

By Jessie Leugs
Celebration! Cinema Marketing Intern

This past weekend, Celebration! Cinema partnered with WLAV and WHTS to host a Rocky Horror Picture Show event.  This event featured a pre-screening party in the Wave Room and then a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show movie on the big screen.  At the pre-party, guests were able to enjoy beverages, display their Rocky Horror-themed costumes, and participate in a karaoke contest.  Inside the auditorium, a costume contest was conducted, with prizes given to the best-dressed man and woman.  The number of people in costume, the enthusiasm of the karaoke-singers, as well as the tumultuous cheers from the crowd clearly showed the audience’s love of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and their excitement for this event.

The Setup & Props
Guests were lining up for the event hours before it was scheduled to begin.  Once the Wave Room was setup, the doors were opened and the fans started flooding in.  The first 50 guests to arrive to the Wave Room were given a goody bag filled with party favors like hats and noisemakers, and also some unusual items such as a bag of rice.  In addition, newspapers, pieces of toast, and rolls of toilet paper were available for all guests to take.

What’s it all about?
Having never seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show, I couldn’t imagine why guests were encouraged to pick up these items.  It took a conversation with a kind guest (and extreme Rocky Horror fan) to educate me about the specifics of the cult classic that is The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  The guest told me that the film requires a lot of audience participation.  Audience members are encouraged to actually do some of the things that the actors are seen doing onscreen, such as throw rice during the opening wedding scene and cover their heads with a newspaper when two characters run through the rain.  Avid-fans also know to shout out comments at the screen during certain parts of the film.  This audience was no exception.  Guests cheered, clapped, laughed, sang along with the songs, threw rice, and participated in countless other ways.  There was no doubt that the audience was having fun.

The Aftermath
I’m very glad that Celebration! Cinema was able to host this event and that I was able to be a small part of it.  I’m sure there was quite a mess of rice and silly string to clean up once all the guests had left the auditorium, but I think it was worth it.  The guests clearly enjoyed themselves.  I believe that the hardworking staff of Celebration!, WLAV, and WHTS hosted a memorable event for the guests and fulfilled the theater’s mission of creating a “superior shared entertainment experience.”  Through this event, strangers were able to come together and celebrate their shared love of The Rocky Horror
Picture Show.