NSO does the time warp with 'Rocky Horror'

Jackson Reeves Staff Writer

When did you lose your virginity? “When I was two,” said Rachel Crossno ’09, Assistant Director of the student-run production of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” in reference to her “Rocky Horror” virginity, a euphemism for the first viewing of the cult classic.

The 12th annual production of “Rocky Horror” at Vassar on Nov. 2 will feature a midnight screening of the 1975 film in Sanders Classroom. Student actors will simultaneously re-enact the movie in the auditorium.

The film follows the wholesome couple Brad and Janet after they wander into a foreboding castle. They meet its owner, Frank, a temperamental transvestite who is completing his ultimate project: to create a sexbot boy-toy named Rocky. Satirical insanity ensues.

No Such Organization (NSO) has funded “Rocky Horror” performances for the past 11 Halloweens.

“It’s the organization for everyone else,” said the play’s director, NSO Colonel Jacob Strick ’09. “So I think ‘Rocky Horror’ actually makes sense [to be put on by the NSO] in that regard because we take in the outcasts of Vassar campus.”

Thanks to a significant budget allowance from NSO for this year’s performance, the “Rocky Horror” technical crew has had more money to build sets, make props and buy costumes than in previous years. And with a larger technical crew this year (11 members, up from three members two years ago), scene changes should be quicker and the lighting design more complex, all amounting to a more professional show.

Technical Director Christopher McCririe ’08 has led the “Rocky Horror” technical crew for the past four years. “Movie accuracy is something that the tech crew of the Vassar College ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ has always striven for, building upon the work of previous years, regardless of directorial vision,” he said in an e-mailed statement.

McCririe and Crossno both emphasized that the concurrent student performance is more accurate to the movie this year, and that audiences can expect a high-quality technical production. Strick added, “every director just brings their own flavor to it.”

Anthony Pinggera ’11 plays Riff Raff, Frank’s servant. He summarized the playful campiness of the production with an observation on the difference between himself and his character: “I’m not an incestuous hunchback from another planet, so I feel a big dichotomy between the two of us,” he said.

The fun of attending a midnight showing of such an outlandish movie is the interactive component. The show’s organizers encourage audience members to shout “callbacks” at the screen during the movie, such as saying “asshole” whenever uptight Brad introduces himself. Then there’s the perennial crowd-pleaser the “Time Warp,” a dance sequence that directly instructs the audience to dance along with it. As the song says, “It’ll drive you insane.”

Strick reflected on the legacy of “Rocky Horror” in view of its beginnings as a low-budget, B-movie, musical satire of horror films. “It’s not a stellar film, it’s not a terrible film, but there’s a reason why we yell at the screen,” he said.

“I think that’s the beauty of [the show],” said Crossno. “It’s something that’s just for fun and just so outside of academics. It’s just a haven away from homework, and where you can just have a good time.”

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” presented by NSO, will begin at midnight on Nov. 2, 3, 9 and 10 in Sanders Auditorium.