History

The Rocky Horror Show originally debuted in 1973 on a small experimental stage in London. A live parody of the classic sci-fi and monster movies of the 40s and 50s, it was the brainchild of actor Richard O'Brien and director Jim Sharman. It starred Tim Curry and with catchy rock music, larger-than-life characters and a bewildering plot, it was immensely popular with audiences and won the award for Best Musical of 1973 from The London Evening Standard.

In 1974, the show came to America, opening at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, where it played for nine months to full houses. Tim Curry reprised his role, but many new faces joined the cast, including the rock musician Michael Lee Aday, a.k.a. Meatloaf. The production caught the attention of 20th Century Fox, who acquired the rights and set out to make it into a motion picture,

In 1975, The Rocky Horror Picture Show opened in the United States. In the roles of Brad and Janet, it featured relative unknowns Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon. It received mixed reviews initially, but promoters quickly realized the film was attracting a cult following. They began to hold discount midnight screenings, which turned out to be very good idea. Audience members were returning time after time and, having memorized the film, were shouting alternate lines and dancing "The Time Warp" in the aisles. Soon "shadow casts" developed, who wore elaborate costumes and pantomimed every scene in the film on the stage in front of the screen. Now, more than 30 years later, it is still the quintessential cult film, with a huge international following, yearly conventions and midnight showings in many major cities, including San Francisco.

Now, Ray of Light Theatre is proud to present Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show, the original stage version that started it all. We're going back to its roots, taking our inspiration from the original stage casts, and bringing it to life with live music, choreography, costumes, sets and some of San Francisco's top vocalists.