By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Get ready, Indianapolis, because the Crawford Theatre Company is heading your way.
Twenty members of the theatre troupe will travel to Indianapolis today for HorrorHound Weekend where they will put on a production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show for roughly 400 horror fans Friday night.
The cast was doing a run-through of the production the day before they left, a set backdrop to be used two nights from then placed in the back of the banquet room of the Bucyrus Elks Lodge. Props and supplies were scattered across tables as half-realized Rocky Horror characters made their way in and out the doors.
“We’re just looking for the reaction from the audience, make sure everything’s okay and everybody’s doing the characters like they should,” explained Betsy Gerhart, her hair getting braided as she slowly turned into Magenta, the housemaid in Rocky Horror. “And for some of the newbies to get used to the shows because we have new people and they just need to know how the show goes and how people react to it.”
This isn’t the first time the Crawford Theatre Company will travel to put on a big production. A few years ago they put on a performance of Evil Dead: The Musical in Cincinnati, so the connections were already in place. When members of the theatre company mentioned putting on a production of Rocky Horror, it was suggested that they call the person who runs HorrorHound. Within a couple of minutes of sending a message, the group had their answer: Let’s do it.
When the actors put on their show, it’ll not only be in front of 400 Rocky Horror fans, but also possibly a few members of the original cast.
“It’s a lot of work,” Gerhart admitted. “We just finished Beauty and the Beast, which was a monster production and to get this ready in a little bit of time has been a little bit crazy.”
The cast won’t be paid for their show, but they are receiving passes to the convention.
For Lesley Loose and her son, going to HorrorHound is a great incentive, but putting on a production of Rocky Horror is a dream come true.
Loose has been a fan of The Rocky Horror Picture Show since 1981 when a friend’s brother brought over soundtracks of the stage performance and the movie. She fell in love with the first note.
“He ended up giving them to me because I hounded him so badly,” said Loose, who was already in makeup for her role as one of the phantoms. “I’ve loved it ever since. We were excited to come see these guys last year and we just kind of fell into place that I could be in it this year.”
To Loose, the opportunity was borrowing straight from a song in the musical: “Don’t Dream It, Be It.”
“I’m taking my son along, he’s in the show, too. It’s kind of cool that we can do it together,” Loose said. “He’s just as excited as I am.”
Levi Vermillion will take on the role of the lead phantom and he can’t wait for it.
“This is probably the coolest thing I’ve done,” Vermillion said, who also took on the role of a phantom the last time the Crawford Theatre Company put on the production.
Vermillion loved taking on the challenge of being someone else, whether it is a phantom in Rocky Horror, Pinocchio in the Shrek musical, LeFou in Beauty and the Beast, or being a part of a three-man show in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.
“I am borderline nervous and borderline pumped,” Vermillion said about putting on Rocky Horror for HorrorHound. “There’s no in between. I have very mixed feelings, this is the most nerve-wracking thing I’ve done because this is going to be the biggest crowd we’ve ever performed for – well, at least I have. So this is going to be nuts.”
“It’s just that honor to perform for everybody. People love it,” Gerhart said.
The Crawford Theatre Company will put on The Rocky Horror Picture Show locally Oct. 14-15 and 21-22. To find out more information on the Crawford Theatre Company, visit their website at www.crawfordtheatrecompany.com or their Facebook page.