Pictured Above: Nearing the show’s end, the onstage Dr. Frank-N-Furter unveils the classic costume with a red corset and stockings.
Courtesy of Robert Anderson | The Lakeland Gazette
By Molly Ryan
I never thought my first experience at the Rocky Horror Picture Show would entail a drive-in theater, face-coverings and watching the cast dance on the beds of two tow trucks – but here we are.
On Oct. 10, the Silver Moon Drive-In in Lakeland, hosted the cast of “Hell On Heels,” a Tampa-based group that exclusively performs the cult classic.
“…It (was) a very different type of show,” Susan Belliveau, the producer for “Hell On Heels,” said. “Rocky is typically a very intimate show and thrives as an intimate show. We enjoy being able to be close with our patrons… and (we) share a small theatre yelling callbacks together.
“However, in the era of COVID-19, that just isn’t safe.”
The patrons began to take their seats (parking spots) and arrange lawn chairs and blankets on the pavement.
As the show’s lengthy opening played, the famed bright red lips sang “Science Fiction/Double Feature” while the Rocky frequenters shouted snappy responses — an audience participation tradition known as “callbacks” — at the screen. On the make-shift stage danced a woman, unmasked, in a red dress emulating the lips projected behind her.
But the show didn’t remain unmasked for long.
Brad and Janet arrived on stage cautiously mirroring the movements of their on-screen counterparts played by Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick.
It was when Bostwick and Sarandon kissed during “Dammit Janet,” the masks of the actors onstage gingerly touched.
“Our cast had on masks at all times,” Belliveau said. “In addition to mask-wearing and casting, our cast members were allowed and given permission to change any and all blocking to allow for distancing if at any point they were uncomfortable.”
The show’s famously raunchy choreography was subdued, but it wasn’t absent from the performance.
“We did our best to cast as many people who (regularly) share exposure with each other,” Belliveau said.
The drive-in aspect just made the first-time experience of seeing the show all-the-more unique.
Hailing great popularity in the ‘50s and ‘60s, the drive-in phenomenon started to decline in the early ‘80s.
In October of 2019, the United Drive-In Theatre Owner Association reported that there were only 305 drive-ins remaining in the country.
In a Bloomberg CityLab article published in September, they said “… during the coronavirus pandemic, the promise of a shared entertainment experience from the comfort of a controlled, socially distant environment has fueled a drive-in resurgence…”
And apparently, Rocky Horror isn’t the only production taking the drive-in direction.
“Some drive-ins reopened after having closed permanently last year,” the article said. “The Goleta West Wind Drive-In in California, which had officially closed its gates last April, made a coronavirus comeback this summer with a Harry Potter double feature on Memorial Day.”
As the show went on, the irony of a “socially distant” Rocky Horror really sunk in when (the onstage) Janet sang “Toucha-Toucha-Touch Me” to Rocky from a distance of roughly six feet.
But the show, as far as I knew, upheld its humor and unpredictable nature.
“A drive-in challenged some of the core features of our show, and those were challenges we had to work around,” Belliveau said. “We did our best to bring as much passion and positive light into the show as we would any other night.”
When the cast lined up on the tow truck stage to take a bow as the credits ran, I just couldn’t help but eagerly anticipate a Rocky show without the limitations imposed by COVID-19.
“Rocky is all about community,” Belliveau said. “So even though the experience was different, we hope that patrons still know that this community is here, no matter what is going on in the world around them.”
Follow “Hell On Heels” on Facebook for more information about upcoming shows and events.
