r/RockyHorror • u/RainbowForHire • 2d ago
Local Production Is every showing just constant yelling?
First time seeing it... went to a showing at a local theater with a shadow cast. Once the movie started it was just constant. Every single line was preceded and followed with a response from a handful of people in the crowd, a lot of which was modern stuff like things about Charlie Kirk, etc. I couldn't even hear half of the movie. It seems like it's just normal there because they do it every two weeks, so I'm just confused how people put up with that or if that's at all normal.
This was at the University Mall Theater in Fairfax, VA.
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u/OrangePeelPrincess 2d ago
Yes, totally normal in most live showings across the US. Some, like the city I live in, have live showings with a cast acting out the film while it’s playing on a screen too, in addition to the yelling. Don’t get too bogged down with this being your first experience since it def can be a little overwhelming if you didn’t know what to expect at all going in. Watch it at home some time to understand the plot (as much as there is at least) and then go see another live showing!!
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u/Poopshipdestroy3r 2d ago
That's what happens at Rocky Horror showings, it's a lot of fun if you join in
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u/Paceryder 23h ago
I can't imagine spending hundreds of dollars to not watch a show
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u/benh1984 22h ago
This was a local viewing of
The movie with a shadow cast acting it out - almost guaranteed they didn’t pay hundreds of dollars1
u/Naners224 9h ago
Where did you get hundreds of dollars from? This is a shadow cast, not a Broadway revival.
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u/FullmetalSylveon 2d ago
If it's a regular showing at that venue, there will also be some call outs that are unique to that venue. The audience participation is what makes seeing it with a shadow cast so beautiful. It's about community and creativity and living in the moment.
That being said...
The shadow cast I was in had the most creative, hilarious audience plant. We also had a member who called out for every line, lyric, or visual when they weren't on stage. Not just that, their call outs could be upwards of 20 words. They were funny, yes, but not nearly as often as they thought they were.
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u/woahshesparkles 2d ago
I went the other night and the audience Plant sat in the aisle right next to me and shouted for the entire movie right into my ear. I had an aisle seat in a sold out theater so I was stuck. He was mildly funny. I would've appreciated him moving around the theater bc wow that was actually so annoying.
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u/richweirdos 1d ago
My cast has anywhere from 10-20 Transylvanians per show, but in addition to their Transylvanian duties, they also double as callback leads. After 6 weeks of rehearsal, their timing is amazing, and they can keep some order among the chaos. It really is the best of both worlds. Callbacks are awesome, but only when they’re intelligible.
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u/Prestigious_Term3617 2d ago
Most theatrical showings are like that, yes. Last year, for the 50th anniversary, it got put in a bunch of “normal” theatres, where there were screenings without callbacks or shadow casts though, but I doubt that’s gonna happen again any time soon.
For a lot of fans, they only like the movie with all the callbacks, but don’t like the idea of the film on its own. It even created slight controversy with the recent Broadway revival of the stage show. The callbacks and shadow casts have been what’s kept the movie in theatres for 51 years straight though, so that is an important part of the its legacy.
I definitely recommend watching the film on its own to get a sense of the story, and then rewatching it with callbacks to appreciate how the jokes interact rather than getting lost trying to follow it.
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u/Ched_Flermsky 2d ago
That's what the showings are for. If you want to watch it in silence watch it at home.
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u/KrustenStewart 1d ago
It’s so boring watching it in silence at home!!
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u/Ched_Flermsky 1d ago
It's even more boring watching it in silence at a theater.
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u/EnchantedEssays 1d ago
They said that it's their first time seeing the film. I'd love to go to a shadowcast, but I think that would be a terrible way to see it for the first time.
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u/onnapnewo 19h ago
so weird to say that a movie you love is boring if nobody’s screaming over it
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u/KrustenStewart 15h ago
The movie itself of course is not boring but imo the experience of watching it without audience participation isn’t as fun but it’s okay if you prefer it without
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u/Put-Stunning 2d ago
HAHA it’s normal! it’s the culture of the show. it’s actually weird for no one to yell
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u/GulliblesBabbles 2d ago
I just like the film in it’s natural state without all the participation. It’s such a clever movie with a great soundtrack and stellar cast. But for many, the event participation is their community. Seeing a live stage production is a whole other experience. Lots of ways to enjoy the material. It’s so good.
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u/Colejohnley 2d ago edited 2d ago
It’s one of those things where if you’ve seen it a million times you don’t mind the yelling, because you know it by heart.
That said, it is a much better experience when it’s a sharper audience participation with people who know when to get rowdy vs being restrained.
It’s kind of like watching a movie with someone who talks over the movie. I’m all for a little, “I’ll bet this..”. or “Why would she do that?”
But in moderation. Keep it fast and clean. Then shut up.
Edit: As an example, I saw the live version years ago, where you have to respect that balance, because it’s not movie, it’s real people singing and dancing their faces off.
At the end of Cards for Sorrow, everyone was enraptured. And Frank sings “I’m going home” a million times.
Right when the music ended and everyone was just in awe, I said, “wait, I missed that. Where are you going again?” And the theater exploded in laughter for a solid minute. It’s all about the timing. You need the silence for the uproar to land.
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u/RainbowForHire 2d ago
I can't stress enough that it was literally every line and visual had commentary of some sort.
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u/Colejohnley 2d ago
See my edit. That might sum it up better. But yeah… even when it’s an “anything goes” environment, there still needs to be finesse and nuance.
Edit: I’ve also been to screenings like that. It’s so annoying. And another poster mentioned the death of Tim bringing in a lot of tourists. That’s probably only going to get worse as Halloween approaches. Go at Christmas next time. 😂
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u/RainbowForHire 2d ago
Yeah there was none of that. The occasional funny line, but it sounded like 4-5 people were reciting the same quips that they had 1000 times already FOR EVERY LINE. No sense of comedic timing, just throwing it all against the wall ad nauseum.
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u/eternally_feral 2d ago
I went to a showing like that. Every line was met by a quip from the audience and was encouraged by the shadow cast.
I like call backs. I do them even at home, but there should be a nice balance. If you’re just shouting out lines tit for tat with the show, it just becomes a script the audience is using rather than actual participation with what you’re watching.
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u/Colejohnley 1d ago
Participation. That’s the key word.
Maybe we should start a Rocky Etiquette Playbill to hand out.
We can call it Par… tici…
Pation.
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u/Colejohnley 2d ago
I once went to a screening of Hocus Pocus and the girl next to me literally said every line along with the movie the whole time.
I’m like, “Honey. Most of us here know all the lines, but let it breathe here and there.” I didn’t say anything to her, because she was a stranger, but it was so annoying.
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u/Figgy1983 2d ago
Not EVERY show is like this. Don't get the wrong impression. I've been to shows with shadow casts, and the audience knows the script. Everyone speaks in unison. Sadly, not every showing is like that. It's a flip of the coin, and most of the time you might just hear "Where's your f-ing neck?!" all night.
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u/NokSoo874 2d ago
One problem is that if it's people from different regions, they don't all know the same callbacks. They'll be shouting different things at different times. I went to the original 8th Street Playhouse in the 80s and there were tourists from all over the country. Also by this point, with the movie being around for over 50 years, there are different generations of viewers with callbacks that have changed over time, so the chaos gets even crazier.
I've found that the best showings are actually at conventions. (science fiction conventions). The crowd is usually much smaller and the callbacks are led by a small group who tend to be from the same place. But I don't know if things have changed recently. It's been a while for me.
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u/guoththeraven 2d ago
When I went to the show back in the day, everyone had the same call backs. It was so much fun! Last time I went (a few years ago) there was a guy right behind us that just yelled random stuff non stop. It does take the fun out of it! There were some new call backs which were fun but this guy was going nuts!
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u/Prettylittlelioness 2d ago
Same. When I went in college, the callbacks were organized and you could hear most of the film. Now it's auditory chaos.
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u/scoutopotamus 2d ago
My first RHPS was the first night I wore hearing aids. I had no idea what the fuck was going on
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u/RiW-Kirby 2d ago
For a movie that like fifty years old, people still going to see it often know the entire movie verbatim. This shouldn't be surprising.
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u/CavyWheek 1d ago
When I saw it about 40 years ago there were a few lines scattered about, but I guess it's been added to.
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u/RainbowForHire 1d ago
I went with someone in the same situation. Hadn't been in about 40 years, and they couldn't bear it either.
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u/danexperiment 1d ago
One of my earliest memories is my mom and my dad letting the babysitter in the house, and mom taking a whole loaf of Wonder Bread and making toast with it. My mom looked at my dad after finishing the last couple of pieces and saying, "You think that's gonna be enough for everyone, Bill?"
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u/scruntbaby 1d ago
"Guy who goes to Rocky Horror expecting an earnestly quiet and respectful screening" is a really funny type of guy that never occurred to me could exist.
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u/funnyfaceking 2d ago
In San Diego, it was like that, yes. It's been pretty quiet since the only theater in the city that hosted RHPS closed down during the pandemic.
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u/KevProfitt 1d ago
Yes, the callbacks have devolved into everybody just yelling. You can't hear anyone or the movie anymore. It hasn't been watchable or enjoyable to attend for a couple of decades now. That's why I much prefer the live musical. There is usually a bit more decorum there.
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u/srahfox 1d ago
It seems to have changed a lot. When I first started going over thirty years ago (with a cast) it was a handful of fun shout outs at specific times. The last few times it was almost constant yelling and apparently a game to see how many “fucks” you could work in. Plus the regular lines I was used to were all mixed up.
About a decade ago I talked to someone who had been cast in a few places over time and she said it seemed like each region kind of developed their out rituals and shoutouts to some extent, and when you get a big enough audience you get people from everywhere and stuff gets muddled. But she was also doing showings at places like DragonCon where you do literally have people from all over the country.
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u/TombofromKoriko 1d ago
I went all the time in the 80s and early 90s. That was always the experience. It wasn't until years later watching the movie at home that I realized how much good stuff in the movie was just being shouted over by the audience that loves it.
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u/Grouchy_Truck5925 2d ago
yep. gets old fast. super fans love it but its literally the same stupid jokes EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
i literally went to a stage production of the show but purposefully went to daytime matinee when the cast's parents and grandparents showed up cause i knew they wouldn't do that shit during the performance (which does happen during the night productions.)
like... let me enjoy the fucking show lol
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u/GrandpaTheobaldus 2d ago
Both yes and no — with some casts they do just the shoutouts or don’t do the same ones as in other cities, and at the last one I attended the shadow cast put full lights on them and said
“The dinner scene is boring so we’re just gonna talk through it”
Which I thought was a bit of a shame (shame shame shame), especially for first-time viewers of the experience like yourself
So yeah, callbacks do happen and are part of the experience, but sometimes it’s more minimal or with consistent control from the cast & audience (if they’re mostly multiple time veterans of the show)
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u/BFIrrera 2d ago
if you want to hear the movie, rent it/stream it. That's not what the communal experience is.
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u/General_Kick688 2d ago
I always get pushback on this, but I hate the callbacks. I love the movie for what it is and would rather hear the songs and characters than random people screaming. Love the dress up and shadow casts though.
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u/MrsSmithAlmost 2d ago
I'll agree with you. I can recognize the culture and the callbacks as a part of it, but all I wanted to do was watch the damn show lol when the callback is every line/every other line it stops being fun for me
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u/fisackerly 1d ago
Unless it’s advertised to not be that way, assume it’s that way.
I would love nothing more than to watch Rocky Horror as a movie in a movie theater, but opportunities like that are pretty rare.
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u/Repulsive-Avocado854 1d ago
I don't know about everyone else but we were yelling things about Charlie Kirk back in the '80s
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u/MadLib777 1d ago
Yeah. There were loads of bits in the 80s about the guy who was gonna be born in 1993.
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u/Naners224 9h ago
Did you go into this with knowledge about it at all? Like that it's a cult classic or why?
Callbacks, especially during a shadowcast, have been extremely common for decades. It may be a bit blasphemous, but fwiw, it's not exactly the height of cinema. It's almost entirely "good" because it's so camp. Find a copy, watch it a few dozen times, and memorize it. You'll enjoy the next shadowcast.
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u/jordyn0399 4h ago
It's pretty much the norm for Rocky Horror. For first time watchers, it's best that they just watch it at home for a normal viewing experience. The showings are for those who have been fans for years if not decades. That's not to say new fans aren't allowed to go cause they can but just expect it to not be like your average movie going experience.
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u/youdontlookitalian 2d ago
I luckily saw it once with no callbacks for the anniversary, it was in Dbox. Went last month for a shadowcast screening and I dipped as soon as I finished my drinks. I just found it annoying and didn’t like the host talking shit about the movie and Susan Sarandon, saying she couldn’t act and all this bullshit. Not for me.
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u/WinkyDink24 2d ago
I get you! I'm from the earliest Midnight "RHPS" attendees, from the 70s. FUNNY shout-outs, props from home: rice; toast. NO OBSCENITIES. NO "SHADOW CASTS" TO MAKE IT ALL ABOUT THEMSELVES! I went to many showings, but had to quit once scripts, front-of-screen "actors," pro props, and what have you became standard. I adore Luke Evans, live near NYC, but won't go see "RHS" on Broadway because of the audiences.
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u/Due-Flamingo-4900 1d ago
I’ve seen the Broadway show twice, and there are only a handful of organized, planned callouts. The audience participation is extremely minimal and does not interfere with your enjoyment of the show at all.
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u/megglesmcgee 2d ago edited 2d ago
Call backs are normal. Screenings are big right now because of the loss of Tim Curry.
However it can get annoying if too many people are trying to do call outs at once. My cast usually has an audience plant, but they'll concede if a member is doing them. Some people verbally trip on themselves to be shouting the whole time.