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’ Lincoln residents do
, the Time Warp again
By Anthony Colman
Film Critic
Oh, Rocky!
After a 10 year hiatus. The Rocky
Horror Picture Show is back in
Lincoln. The Joyo Theater, 6102
Havelock Ave., has brought back the
weekly midnight showing of this leg
endary cult flick, and it’s impressive,
complete with a Tull floor-show and
enthusiastic audience participation.
Every Saturday night there will be
a show at midnight. At least so long as
people keep showing up. Which
means that every Saturday night, the
main street of Historic Havelock will
be overrun with deviants, sexual and
otherwise.
It’s about time, too. The Rocky
Horror Picture Show hasn't been
shown in a theater in Lincoln since
1988. It hasn' 't even been shown in
Nebraska since 1992, leaving a
noticeable void in local culture.
What is The Rocky Horror
Picture Show? The RHPS is several
things. Bv itself, it’s a mo\ ie. A cult
movie. The most popular cult movie
of all time.
Not a gore-flick as its title seems
to imply, it’s a campy rock ‘n’ roll
musical spoofing early science fic
tion and horror movies. The film
treads a fine line between homage
and parody. The plot blatantly
ridicules conformity and convention.
It promotes flamboyance, individual
expression, alternative lifestyles,
alternate sexualities, sexual promis
cuity, rebellion against authority,
mockery, self-mockery and rejection
of society. It’s all summed up by the
lyrics, “Don’t dream it, be it.”
The plot revolves around two nor
mal, healthy middle-American kids.
Brad and Janet, who are confronted
by the decadent morality and
inscrutable sexuality of Dr. Frank N.
Furter, a transvestite from the planet
Transexual, in the galaxy of
Translyvania.
The RHPS is the first truly audi
ence par-ti-ci-(Say it! )-pation movie.
With its unconventional plot, outra
geous imagery, music and oddly
paced dialogue, the movie is a perfect
framework for audience satire.
People yell back lines at the movie,
insert dialogue, sing along, dance in
the aisles and throw props during
appropriate times in the movie. For
instance, during a wedding scene,
audience members throw rice.
Usually, a local cast will dress as
movie characters and act in sync with
the movie.
Ultimately, the RHPS is an expe
rience. Each showing of the movie is
properly preceded with a pep-rally
and the de-virginization. The virgins,
those who have never before seen the
movie or experienced all that is
Rocky Horror, are brought up to the
front of the theater and initiated into
the cult and culture by having to par
ticipate in some humiliating contest
in front of the rest of the audience.
Dwight Carter, new owner of the
Joyo, said he decided to bring back
the RHPS because he remembered
what good times he and his wife used
to have at the movie.
That the RHPS has been greatly
anticipated by Lincoln residents is clear
ly shown by the turnout. About 250 peo
ple have shown up for each of the first
two screenings so far — nearly twice
what Carter said he was anticipating.
And the level of enthusiasm dis
played by audience members has
been surprising. Even though no one
has done RHPS locally for years,
everybody has brought their props,
knows the lines and quite a few have
shown up dressed as movie charac
ters.
Carter said that once he decided
to start showing RHPS, the people
just sort of came out of the wood
work. Many people have come from
Omaha and some from as far as Des
Moines to help out with the show'.
The Joyo Theater is a perfect
venue for the RHPS. Its seedy old
atmosphere and coziness add enor
mously to the overall experience.
As one of the cast members was
overheard saying, “Who would think
to build a theater that looks so much
like a dilapidated old castle?”
Plus, the Joyo has a full-sized
stage in front of the movie screen,
giving cast members plenty of room
to really perform.
The quality of the RHPS produc
tion at the Joyo is truly amazing,
especially for Nebraska. The theater
has already been pretty well packed at
only the first two showings, and
should continue to remain crowded as
word-of-mouth gets out.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
runs every Saturday at midnight.
Admission is $4 for adults, and $3 for
sixteen and under.
Here’s a fist of props you
may wish to bring to “The
Rocky Horror Picture
Show/*
Rice
Newspaper
Water pistol
Lighter/flashlight
Rubber gloves
Noisemakers
Confetti
Rol l of toilet paper
(preferably Scott brand)
Toast {unbuttered}
Party bat
Cards
Using props is part of the fun,
but it’s not meant to damage the
theater or ruin someone’s costume
or makeup. Respect the wishes of
the theater and its management.
Vandalism and breaking rules may
cause your expulsion from the the
ater.
Jazz in June books first international performer
fM—irJ*”iirrgiiMinTT——~ m« — M II ---
UCUDCDC nr imr , , . .. . . . ,„ J J . . . SCOTT MCCLURG/DN
MEMBERS OF IRIE perform for jazz enthusiasts last Tuesday during Jazz in June at the Sheldon Memorial Art
Gallery.
By Barb Churchill
Staff Reporter
Seven years ago, the Lincoln art
scene was stagnant.
The Nebraska Art Association hit
on a new idea: free evening jazz con
certs in June. Thus, the wildly popular
Jazz in June concert series was born.
“About seven years ago, at a con
ference for young friends of art, I
noticed that a lot of the museums
around the country were doing jazz
concerts in order to bring a whole
I new audience to art galleries," said
Kathy Piper, executive director of the
Nebraska Art Association.
So, Piper brought the idea home
to Lincoln and asked the Sheldon if
they’d like to try it. They agreed,
deciding on Tuesday evening because
Omaha’s Joslyn Art Museum had its
free evening concerts on Thursday,
and the Sheldon didn’t want to split
the available audience, Piper said.
Jazz in June has since become one
of the most successful free music and
art programs ever to hit the southeast
ern Nebraska area. And, for a while,
about an hour after the gates were
open for the first concert, it looked
like me concert idea Had tailed.
“We’d targeted a younger audi
ence. but 1 remember from that first
concert that the first patrons who
showed up were in their 80’s,” Piper
laughed. “That made me a little ner
vous at first.”
“But, we get 80-year-old people
and 2-year-old people and everything
in between,” she said.
The Nebraska Art Association
succeeded beyond their wildest
dreams, as many more people hav e
inquired about the Sheldon Art
Gallery, and its outdoor sculpture gar
den, than ever before, Piper said.
Nancy Dawson, Community
Programming Coordinator for the
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery,
agreed with Piper.
“I think that Jazz in June is a won
derful program,” Dawson said. “It has
been successful beyond anyone’s
wildest dreams, and it brings people
out to the Sheldon and to the Sheldon
grounds.”
Dawson does community out
reach and planning for the Sheldon,
but leaves Jazz in June to Piper and
Please see JAZZ on 6