The Queerest Night of the Year: Georgetown’s Rocky Horror

Getting labeled as a virgin might sound like a humiliation ritual, but for The Rocky Horror Picture Show attendees, it's a rite of passage. As a first-timer walking into GU Pride’s Halloween night production of Rocky Horror, I was marked with a “V” on my hand in bright red lipstick—when I realized, however, that plenty of people around me entered bearing similar marks, I felt more at ease. This was the first step in being inducted into the Rocky Horror family. As we waited for the show to begin I felt giddy with antici…pation. 

For those unfamiliar with Rocky Horror’s eccentric traditions, it may be strange to have a movie-going experience with a live cast, interactive call-outs, and constant heckling. It was definitely odd to realize I would hear the audience's yells throughout the experience, but that's all part of its captivating nature. Rocky Horror debuted as a stage show in 1973 and quickly gained traction, even moving to a Broadway stage, but when it was released in cinemas in 1975, it got pulled from quite a few theaters due to small audiences. Within mainstream media, it was subject to intense criticism for its unabashed queerness and perceived hyper-sexuality, but it quickly became a cult classic within the LGBTQ+ community. Midnight screenings have continued into today,  allowing people to gather and watch a shadowcast of actors lip-sync, dance, and interact with the audience while Rocky Horror plays in the background. The audience is encouraged to participate with scripted (or completely impromptu) call-outs that have been shared from theater to theater over the past 50 years. Georgetown was no exception to these historic traditions. In addition to the quippy responses to Janet, Brad, and the rest of the cast’s dialogue, the production included a twist on the classic 'virgin sacrifice ritual,' and a handful of lucky newcomers competed for the chance to be onstage with the crew. 

Image Credits: Disney

Splendidly directed by Allie Gaudion (‘26) and Sasha Jayne (‘27), this shadowcast understood exactly what makes Rocky Horror special: total commitment. The performers mirrored the on-screen characters with twice the energy and most of the precision.The amazing student cast threw themselves into the madness, creating the kind of beautiful mess that only Rocky Horror can pull off. Madeline Burns (‘26) played Dr. Frank-N-Furter with an attitude and a flair that I can confidently say left the audience mesmerized. One of the undoubted highlights of the cast was Claire Cable (‘27) as Riff Raff. With her dead-eyed stare and movements that looked almost bored, she made me laugh more times than I could count. The rest of the cast matched that intensity beat for beat. J Gertin (‘26) as Brad Majors leaned fully into the himbo energy, Linsey Brookfield (‘26) gave us a perfectly wide-eyed Janet Weiss, and Navyah Sathyamoorthi (’26) as Rocky, Grace Stephenson (C’26) as Magenta, and Gianna Paratore (‘26) as Columbia each nailed the impossibly infectious energy that created a group dynamic that was just the right amount of unhinged. The entire ensemble oozed confidence and charisma, creating the kind of performance that made you forget you were watching a student production at all.

The dedication and care put into this production was obvious. The costumes were sexy and individualized, and the props caught me off guard in the best way. Have you ever seen three rubber dildos on a pitchfork being used as a weapon? Because I certainly had not before that night. Even a minor setback with the movie projection near the beginning of the film was handled seamlessly, with Brad and Janet taking advantage of the pause for a cute, in-character moment where they shared a piece of candy, a sweet Halloween distraction if I’ve ever seen one. 

If the cast was the heart of the show, the audience was the soul. The audience was packed with students, and from the moment the directors stepped onstage to begin the pre-show rituals, the crowd was loud and loving it. Veterans shouted callouts with expert timing, while “virgins” like me scrambled to keep up, but ultimately, everyone was in on the joke. It’s hard not to join in when everyone is screaming “Slut!” or “Asshole!” at the screen. Of course, Rocky Horror has always been about more than just raunchy jokes and fishnet stockings. It’s a celebration of queer freedom being able to exist without apology. This production captured that ethos perfectly, creating a space that felt safe and electric at the same time. When “Time Warp” began, the audience sprang up on cue. My arms were flailing, but even if I felt ridiculous as I struggled to keep up, I never felt left out for not knowing what was going on. There’s something incredibly intimate about realizing you’re part of a shared language, initiated into a decades-old community of songs, jokes, and dance. The call-and-response built over decades has the cadence and sanctity of a traditional song and dance, passed down like folklore. 

By the end of the production, I left with smudged lipstick on my sleeves and the distinct feeling that I’d just joined something bigger than myself. I found that the incredible cast and crew carried on a decades-long tradition with their own charming individuality in all its sequined glory. If you haven’t already, I highly suggest that you attend a campus production of Rocky Horror in the future. In a campus culture where people often worry about saying or doing the “right” thing, Rocky Horror is a beautiful reminder that sometimes the most honest thing we can do is yell, dance, and moan at a movie screen.

INDY

---

Natalia Gonzalez-Chelala is a freshman in the SFS majoring in International Politics and minoring in something that’ll be sure to disappoint her parents.