“Celebrating 50 years of The Rocky Horror Picture Show” from Jennifer Ouellette at Ars Technica is just a terrific retrospective of one of my favorite musicals.

I first saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Waverly sometime in the early ’90s, long after it had established itself as a cult classic. I’d been a high school and college theatre nerd, and I remember the friend who took me—she’d been going for years—insisting it would be right up my alley. Hot patootie, was she right. I fell in love with this show from the moment those giant red lips filled the screen. The music, the characters, the sci-fi setting, the absolute campiness of it all, and, of course, the audience interaction and talkback—all of it delighted me. It felt like a new world had opened up, that I’d found my people. That it was OK to be weird and goofy and obsessed. It stuck with me like few other movie experiences.

I’ve listened to the soundtrack (conservatively) four or five hundred times, and it’s impossible for me to listen (or watch the movie) without singing along and interjecting talkbacks. For example, in the opening credits, when The Lips sing:

… see androids fighting …

I am physically incapable of not exclaiming:

… and fucking and sucking on …

…Brad and Janet…

Or:

… to the late night, double feature, picture show, by RKO.

RK-who?

And of course:

… to the late night, double feature, picture show. In the back row.

Fuck the back row!

I never had a chance to be part of a shadowcast, though I’d gladly give it a shot even today. I’d be thrilled to play Riff Raff—or Brad. Unhinged lunatic or milquetoast dork? Both would be tremendous fun… though I may have aged out of both. Perhaps Dr. Scott is now more my speed.

In addition to the movie soundtrack, I also own The Rocky Horror Show original stage soundtrack, and the 25th Anniversary Edition DVD (which includes an audience participation version), and bless my soul, as sure as there’s a light over at the Frankenstein place, you can bet I’ll be buying the 50th Anniversary 4K edition when it’s released in October. Until then, yes, you do see me shiver with antici… pation.