Is it drag or is it theater? That’s a question those who perform in tandem with screenings of the classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show are asking themselves after an onslaught of “anti-drag” bills have swept their states, making them feel like they’re in a time warp. And not in a good way.
Widely known for its gender-bending cast that encourages audience participation, The Rocky Horror Picture Show “shadowcasts” — performers who act out the movie onstage while it shows on a screen behind them, prompted by audiences shouting “call backs” from their seats throughout the show — have been a staple of work within the musical theater community for over 40 years.
In light of recent legislation, however, some are raising concerns about how these decisions will impact its young fans, many of whom have found solace within the Rocky Horror community.
“It was a queer safe space long before many had access to safe spaces, and it continues to serve that role,” Rachael Mahan, cast leader of Little Morals, a shadowcast based in Nashville, Tenn. tells Yahoo Entertainment. “It provides an outlet to be your complete self with no judgment. For me and many other cast members, it was also a great entry point into the world of theater and performance art.”
Mahan’s cast is one of several being impacted by Tennessee’s new law, passed in March, that bans drag performances in public spaces where minors may be present. Similar bills have been introduced in at least 14 other states — including Arizona, Oklahoma and Florida — many of which are expected to be signed into law in the coming weeks.
Specifically, the Tennessee law restricts “adult cabaret performances” from taking place on “public property,” like libraries, or any “non-age-restricted private property where a minor can be present,” such as restaurants and theaters. Its language is vague by design — the word “drag” is never cited, for example, and it only targets entertainers appealing to what’s called a “prurient interest.” It also fails to state whether theater featuring drag components is considered an “adult cabaret performance,” though it does make clear that “male and female impersonators” fall in that category. Venues that host such entertainment in the presence of minors are subject to losing their liquor license, per the law, while individual violators can face a hefty fine and possible jail time (upwards of six years for subsequent offenses).
Unsurprisingly, the wave of legislation is leaving people like Rebekah Wallace, lead producer of the Satanic Mechanics, a shadowcast based in Knoxville, Tenn., in a state of uncertainty.
“Everything is kind of in limbo, and we don’t really know how it’s gonna end up affecting us,” Wallace tells Yahoo Entertainment, pointing to an array of popular shows featuring “male and female impersonators” that conservatives don’t seem concerned about — Hairspray, Kinky Boots, Matilda, Rent, La Cage Aux Folles, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Peter Pan, to name a few.
Despite the legalities, Mahan, Wallace and others are not letting their “safe spaces” go without a fight.
“What constitutes theater, and what is drag?” Wallace says. “Until they can clearly define that for us, we’re just moving forward and pressing on per normal. If that means we get in trouble and we have to be made an example of, that’s a risk we’re willing to take not only as queer people, but as allies, because that’s what good allyship is.”
‘A rite of passage’
Since the late-1970s, when the first shadowcast appeared in Los Angeles, theater fans have found community through a shared admiration of the 1975 film starring Tim Curry as Frank-N-Furter, a “sweet transvestite” and sexually-charged alien from another planet whose main goal is to create the perfect man in the form of Rocky Horror. When “Frank” meets prudish newlyweds Brad and Janet (Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon), he challenges them to break free of their comfort zones — including social constructs around sex and gender roles — to reclaim their individuality on their own terms (and with a little help from Meatloaf).
The film may be an acquired taste for some, and it wasn’t exactly a box office success upon its release. But over the course of several decades, it’s become a cult hit, finding new life as hundreds of shadowcasts began popping up in cities across the nation, attracting thousands of young minds who simply want to express themselves.
Jason Vervlied, co-director of Creatures of the Night, a shadowcast based in Palm Beach County, Fla., where Gov. Ron DeSantis has unleashed a crusade of anti-LGBTQ state laws recently, says the Rocky Horror community brought him out of his shell as a young, shy kid.
“I first got involved with Rocky Horror when I was 16 years old, back in the mid-90s,” he tells Yahoo Entertainment. “It was one of the first places where I felt that I fit in.” It’s also where he met his wife Tanya, who now co-directs, produces and acts in the show.
Tanya was also introduced to the show as a young teen, and tells Yahoo Entertainment the scene at the theater is one that “hasn’t changed much” since then. Until recently, children and teens were among their most active audience members — with some “as young as six months old,” she notes. But lately, “theater owners have been concerned about the political landscape in Florida,” so they’ve started restricting minors from attending shows, even though the state’s proposed anti-drag bill has yet to be signed into law.
“It was a different kind of audience,” she says of a recent April performance without young people in the theater — including a cast members who could no longer perform because they weren’t of age. And while the couple says they understand the theater owners’ decision to prohibit minors, they’re still concerned about the message it sends.
“We’ve always seen Rocky Horror as a place where the freaks and the weirdos can go to be around other freaks and weirdos,” Jason says. “We can just be whoever we are and explore that weird side of you, but now it’s starting to seem like it’s a scary place to go.”
‘Cold, and wet, and just plain scared’
“High school students use our cast as a safe and familiar area to be themselves because they don’t feel like they fit in anywhere else,” Amanda Levine, cast director for the Faithful Handyman, a shadowcast based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., tells Yahoo Entertainment. “Rocky has been dragged into all the politics, and it’s caused a lot of people to be confused and scared.”
“I’ve never viewed it as inappropriate for children, and our cast doesn’t act inappropriate onstage,” she notes. “We’ve had parents bring their children as a rite of passage: ‘You’re old enough now to handle the weirdness, so here you go.’ Rocky is about stepping out of the norm and experiencing life and the things that are out there.”
Cade Cummins, owner and operator of the Masters Affair, a shadowcast based in Lexington, Ky., and one of the top-grossing shadowcasts in the nation, says he went so far as to speak with a pro-bono lawyer to understand the language of his state’s proposed anti-drag bill, which failed to pass the House.
“We had to look into it before we put ourselves at risk,” he explains to Yahoo Entertainment, though speaking with lawyers didn’t help much, given the vagueness of the bill’s language. “We were having discussions with theater management: ‘What does ‘drag performance’ mean to us? Does it mean girls wearing guys’ clothes and guys wearing girls’ clothes in a part, or not?’”
While the Kentucky Theater in downtown Lexington, which hosts the Masters Affair, has a strict “18 and up” policy, even for visitors backstage, Cummins is aware of the power his cast has on young people in the area, noting that the monthly performances often sell out, which translates to nearly 1,400 people filling seats at the theater.
“Rocky is not just for one group,” he says. “I have many friends on all sides of the spectrum, and it’s funny because it doesn’t matter what side of the spectrum they are on. When they come and watch the show, they leave pleasantly surprised.”
Whatever happens next, Wallace says the most important thing is to approach the issue with knowledge and perspective — and, most importantly, a willingness to call it for what it is.
“A lot of performance artists end up a casualty in these laws, but they’re really aimed at targeting trans people in the long run,” she explains, pointing to the growing number of anti-trans bills that have flooded the courts (over 500 this year to date). “If they make it a very gray area, it’s easy for them to target trans people and say, ‘Look, they are in violation of this law.'”
Looking ahead, Wallace implores theater fans to “keep their heads high” and to “never forget” the kids who may be losing “the only safe avenue they know” if lawmakers continue the crusade.
“There are a lot of people who have problems making friends,” she says. “Rocky showed them how to go out and be exactly who you want to be, and to live life without fear. That is what Frank-N-Furter instills in all of us, and that is the journey Brad and Janet take, as well.”
Continues Wallace: “We see so many folks come into the show as Brad and Janet. They’re ‘cold, and wet, and just plain scared,’ and they leave being their own version of Frank-N-Furter. And to create that happiness and safety, to allow someone to bloom, is a phenomenal transformation to see somebody have.”
