Roxy’s Downtown brings Rocky Horror to life in Wichita

Talk about your time warps.

Last week marked the 50th anniversary of “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” the counterculture-turned-mainstream musical that brought a generation out for midnight showings, live interactions with the movie — and for many of its audience, a sense of belonging.

Roxy’s Downtown brings “Rocky Horror” back next weekend, and artistic director Rick Bumgardner said it’s taking a retro approach.

“I’m taking it back to 50 years ago,” he said. “Back to that more innocent of a time and blurring the line between repression and liberation and what that looks like.”

That, Bumgardner said, varies per individual.

“I think our audiences are going to look at the show and see the show and think, ‘I thought I was a zero, right in the middle of this spectrum of liberation. And no, I may be more toward the liberation side or more toward the repression side.’ And just open their lens a little more about what that looks like for them.”

The “Rocky Horror Show” stage version preceded the movie by two years. It was first produced in Wichita by Christine Tasheff in 1995 at Roxy’s predecessor, Cabaret Oldtown.

“It just made sense” to bring “Rocky” back, Bumgardner said. “It’s a great show, so iconic, and there was no other organization had claimed it.”

Bumgardner said he asked all of the performers to put themselves in the 1950s mindset, where “Rocky” takes place.

“I’m asking my actors to adopt those feelings. Are Brad and Janet (played by Nick Wetta and Sisillia Shaffer) incredibly, incredibly naïve from the period of the ‘50s?” he asked.

The cast also includes Zoe Reitz as Frank-N-Furter, Jack Wilson as Rocky and Lorenz Looney as Riff-Raff.

The opening number, “Science Fiction Double Feature” will be a nod to the story’s screen success, Bumgardner said.

“We’re trying to do it through the lens of a camera, and the opening scene is our big projection screen,” he said. “They step out on the screen and the show starts on stage in front of them.”

While some of the stage and screen versions include audience members bringing their own props, Bumgardner said a “Roxy’s Rocky Party Pack” will be sold, with the only caveat that “we’re just asking they don’t throw them at the actors or the stage.”

Music director Simon Hill said all but one of the cast members has been a part of a “Rocky” production as a performer or audience member.

“It is all very near and dear and familiar to them. Fifty years later, it is still as meaningful and connective as it was 50 years ago,” he said. “It’s just been a riot and a lot of fun. The songs are iconic and beloved, and it’s just a fun, rocking score. The cast came in eager and excited to sing these songs. It’s a party putting this together.”

Bumgardner said the retro theme continues with the selection of vintage candy offered by the usherettes roaming the audience.

“Maybe we’ll remind them of an easier, simpler time,” he said.