Tim Curry, known for his legendary performances in It, Clue, Home Alone 2, Legend, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, died Tuesday night in his Los Angeles home. He was 80, and along with Dolly Parton, one of two gay icons to leave this world in a single day.
Like countless others, my strongest connection to Curry was through his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter—the “sweet transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania”—in Rocky Horror. As an (unknowingly) queer teen, wearing pleather and fishnets at midnight Rocky Horror screenings at the Admiral Theatre in West Seattle was a rite of passage. A few of my high school classmates were in the shadowcast, the costumed performers miming the action on screen. My mom went to screenings when she was young. Rocky Horror, and Curry, were always there.
Except—as my colleague, and fellow Rocky Horror devotee, Audrey Vann, lamented in our Complaints Issue last December—shadowcast performances seem to be nearly extinct in Seattle. Blessedly, for the sake of the youth, there are still a few. There’s no better time to do the Time Warp than where you are standing. Or, if you can wait, during the following shadowcast performances.
Riff Raff’s Street Rats is a Bremerton-based volunteer shadowcast troupe that performs at their home theater, the Tracyton Movie House, and at venues across the region, raising money for nonprofits across the Northwest. They have three shows planned in honor of Curry’s memory. See them tomorrow night (Saturday, August 29) at the Skyline Drive-In Theater in Shelton. Gates open at 7:30 p.m. Get there early for the 9 p.m. pre-show initiation ritual before the 9:30 p.m. screening. According to their website, audience “partici…… pation” is encouraged. The Street Rats next take the stage Saturday, September 19, at the Admiral Theater. Doors open at 9 p.m. and the show starts at 9:30 p.m. Their biggest Tim Curry tribute will take place at Olympia’s Capitol Theater on Saturday, October 3, with doors at 11 p.m. and pre-show beginning at 11:30 p.m. before the film—a rare midnight screening. Prop bags will be sold separately outside the venue.
On Instagram, the Street Rats expressed their grief at Curry’s death. Says cast member Chynna: “Growing up in rural Idaho, there was very little support for the LGBTQ+ community. I had to hide who I was, who I liked, and what I wanted, until a beautiful man with a beautiful voice kicked in the door with platform heels. My world was rocked. To me, it did feel like being transported to another planet, and for once in my life, I did feel like I was coming home. Tim became a beacon of hope for me, a battle cry for everything I did that got me called ‘weird,’ and I am honored to still perform in the shadow of that greatness.”
Tacoma’s Blue Mouse Theater screens Rocky Horror every second and fourth Saturday of the month, with their in-house shadowcast, the BlueMouseketeers. On September 12, they’ll host a memorial for Curry. The cast will organize a small memorial altar outside the theater, and guests are invited to donate art, cards, or other small items in his memory. Concessions and prop bags will be available at the lobby. Doors open at 11 p.m.
“For decades, the Rocky Horror Picture Show has provided a space of community and belonging for people of all walks of life; notably, the queer and trans communities, and Curry has played a huge part in that,” the BlueMouseketeers wrote on Instagram. “In honor of Tim Curry, we ask you all to remember the movie’s message of ‘don’t dream it, be it.’ We can’t ever replace this loss, and it’s difficult to express in words the grief this community feels, but the Blue Mouseketeers are committed to carrying on Curry’s legacy and keeping this show alive for as long as we can.”
Another shadowcast, the Vicarious Theatre Company, performs at the downtown Regal Meridian 16 the first Saturday of every month. I couldn’t find any information about Curry tributes, but on the Regal website, a show is scheduled for 10 p.m. on Saturday, September 5.
Prior to Curry’s death, a few Rocky Horror events were already scheduled in Seattle for the Halloween season. Patricia Quinn, who played Magenta in the original film, will stop by the 5th Avenue Theater on Thursday, October 15 for the 7 p.m. Rocky Horror Picture Spooktacular Tour screening. The evening will feature a live shadowcast with the BlueMousketeers, plus a VIP meet-and-greet with photo ops and autographs. Obec Brewing will host an interactive singalong screening at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 30, while Unexpected Productions will put a live improv spin on the film each Saturday in October.
