The Rocky Horror Picture Show is turning 50 this year, and I’ve been involved with Orlando’s shadowcast productions for nearly three decades. As a result, I’m no more capable of being entirely objective about my beloved Rich Weirdoes (since I was the group’s founding producer during their lengthy run at Universal CityWalk) than I’m able to explain the enduring appeal of this campy cult classic to the uninitiated.
But in case you’ve been living under a castle for the last half-century: RHPS stars Tim Curry as Dr. Frankenfurter, a “transsexual” extraterrestrial who terrorizes a virginal couple with erotic nightmares and sensual daydreams as he builds his titular hypermasculine monster. Rocky Horror fans have long enacted a ritual of acting out the scenes and songs in front of movie screens, but for Orlando Fringe, directors Jacqueline Krause and Alex Gutierrez have ditched the cinematic backdrop and instead make their actors mime to a soundtrack of edited musical numbers.
The big twist here is that each performance features a different guest narrator, who rewrites the plot with a personalized surprise spin that the performers must instantly adjust to; during the press preview, “Bikini” Katie Thayer entertainingly adapted the plot into a Titanic parody, with Janet becoming Kate and Rocky Leo. It’s a clever premise on paper, but the narrative mashup doesn’t have much impact on the actual musical numbers, whose blocking is mostly like what you’d see in a movie theater, plus a few stripteases and salacious sight gags.
Without any MC introduction or audience participation callbacks, it took a while for the preview crowd to warm up. And although the original film was never renowned for its screenplay, it’s positively Shakespearean compared to some of the anemic ad libs that were awkwardly improvised. This ridiculous riff on Rocky isn’t exactly a horror show, but it’s unlikely to convert new cultists. However, it might at least serve as a raunchy refresher for fellow faithful fans eagerly awaiting this October’s anniversary.
The Rocky Horror Improv Show
Peach Venue, Orlando Family Stage
60 minutes; 18 & up
$12
Get tickets
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This article appears in May 14-20, 2025.