Time Warp tradition: Lexington’s Rocky Horror Picture Show cultivates community

Audience members getting a group photo before the Rocky Horror Picture Show in the Kentucky Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky on Saturday, August 31st, 2024. Photo by Siler Bargo | Staff

Marquee lights shine down on a crowd of people, many dressed in black, sheer stockings, short skirts and eccentric makeup, outside the Kentucky Theatre. Inside, tucked away from the crowd, Katie Feeback draws the letter “V” in bright red lipstick on the center of Eli Abernathy’s forehead. It’s almost midnight and the show is about to begin. 

This scene is familiar to anyone who’s attended the Rocky Horror Picture Show, hosted by the Kentucky Theatre on the last Saturday of each month. The cult classic movie released nearly 50 years ago is still screened nationwide, often with “shadow” casts who act out the entire film as it plays.

Fred Mills, general manager of the Kentucky Theatre, said he remembers when the film first came to Lexington around 1975. 

“This film comes to Lexington and it was one of those films, no business at all, just a few people in the theatre,” Mills said.  

About a year later, he said the film had gained a cult following. For about two or three years it showed every Friday and Saturday night before transitioning to monthly showings.

Audience members waiting for the show to start at the Rocky Horror Picture Show in the Kentucky Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky on Saturday, August 31, 2024. Photo by Siler Bargo

“Back in the day, when we first started Rocky Horror, there was 1,100 seats there, and we’d fill up every Friday and Saturday night,” Mills said. “[It was] very popular, if it was New York City, if it was Atlanta, wherever, you know, there was full houses that was happening, no different in Lexington. It became a real phenomena.”  

When the movie first came out, Mills said, more people dressed up as the characters. Now, their attire loosely draws from the sequins, corsets and fishnets worn in the movie. 

“Folks, they dress up, or I like to say dress down,” Mills said. “Maybe they like to see, in a few cases, maybe the least clothes that they could wear — but it’s all in fun.”  

LeAndra Longoria, cast director of the Kentucky Theatre’s shadow cast for Rocky, commented on the outlandish fashion seen at the show. 

“There’s no wrong answer, because surely what you're going to wear is probably not going to be even the most outrageous thing that you see,” she said. “And it's all okay, we're all very accepting.” 

Mills said people were a little more into the movie in earlier years. They knew just about every line and would spout it out and talk back to the screen. That still happens, but some of the things they shout out now have nothing to do with the movie.   

The crowd waiting for the show to start at the Rocky Horror Picture Show in the Kentucky Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky on Saturday, August 31, 2024. Photo by Siler Bargo

The interactive experience of dressing up and attending Rocky Horror has become a Lexington staple for many. Feeback, who’s attended before, was eager to introduce her friend Abernathy to the excitement. The “V” on Abernathy’s forehead signifies that he is a Rocky “virgin,” attending for the first time. 

“The movie itself is not the reason I come, it’s just … so fun,” Feeback said. “Everybody’s so free, I love it. It just feels so Lexington, and I’m from here, so it makes me really happy to go somewhere that feels so much like home.”

The Rocky Horror Picture show feels especially like home to the Master’s Affairs, the name the shadow cast has given themselves. 

“With a film that’s 50 years old, you need a little bit of extra something to keep things going and keep interest,” Mills said, referring to what the Master’s Affairs does for the picture show.  

He said the group has been together for a long time, and he thinks the strength of the cast is more evident than ever. None of them get paid and all of the funds they make go directly back into the cast and into the theatre.  

 “This is entirely a labor of love,” Longoria said. “It really just takes a great team of committed people that really love Rocky Horror and really love performing, and really love this event.”

Shadow cast members getting out of costume after the show at the Rocky Horror Picture Show in the Kentucky Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky on Saturday, August 31, 2024. Photo by Siler Bargo

The cast’s dedication and acceptance of one another reflect the culture of Rocky itself, rooted in embracing the queer community since the self-proclaimed “sweet transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania” Frank-N-Furter first graced the screen. Released at a time when the LGBTQ+ community was not widely accepted, the cross-dressing main character and his band of quirky companions captured the attention of the queer community and have held it ever since. 

“It’s always been there, and it’s always been a symbol for, I think, the queer community,” Longoria said. “The Rocky community is the reason why it has persisted this long. Because I think it has always been a safe haven. Now as time has gone on, obviously the spaces that exist have grown, which is fantastic, but I think this being one of those, like core classic spots where you know, you can come to a Rocky show and not feel different and judged.” 

Harlee Ramone, the co-cast director, said that Rocky provides an outlet for young LGBTQ+ people to participate in queer culture. 

“It’s a great place for, like, the people that aren't going to drag shows, because a lot of them aren't 21 and up,” Ramone said. “We are a very good safe haven and a very good introduction to our queer community around here. It's a good place to learn about other stuff and that’s what I really like — is it gives that little section that doesn't have a home, because they're not old enough to go out, they have a home here.”  

Shadow cast members being interviewed before the Rocky Horror Picture Show in the Kentucky Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky on Saturday, August 31, 2024. Photo by Siler Bargo

Erin Whiles, a shadow cast member, said she believes the love in the Kentucky Theatre during Rocky is contagious.

“I feel like people respond to passion and people respond to authenticity, and the movie itself is such, I mean, just like watching it, you know it was a passion project. What we do, where we devote so much of our time and our weekends to this, that's a labor of love,” Whiles said. “It's just an authentic and loving experience. It's so much about having fun and being authentic to who you are, to how you express yourself, and to just like letting loose and having a good night.”

This environment of self-expression and joy is what entices Nick Burgos and other regular attendees to return. 

“I just love the atmosphere, like, a lot of it’s so queer-coded, it's just like stapled in gay culture,” Burgos said. “A lot of it is very interactive, which is like the first time that I ever attended something like that. Because that experience was so unique to Rocky Horror, that’s why I kept coming back.”