When The Kids of Albany founder Mike Baker suggested asking the Palace Theatre to host a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show back in 2010, even his own team didn’t think it would happen.
“I was not a believer,” said Brett Glasser, the current president of The Kids of Albany. “I told him, ‘Dude, there is no chance they’re going to let you throw toast and toilet paper in this gorgeous historic theater.’”
Fifteen years later, Glasser is still at it—filling 2,000 baggies of birdseed as towers of toilet paper take over his dining room. Each year, The Kids of Albany perform their annual shadow cast screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Palace Theatre, pantomiming the action while the film plays.
This year is a big one—not only for The Kids of Albany (turning 15) and Hudson Valley’s Apoca-Lips (turning 25), but for “regular Frankie fans” everywhere. The cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show is celebrating its 50th anniversary since release.
The Show That Didn’t Fail
Richard O’Brien’s sci-fi, punk-rock musical started as an homage to the genre films of the 1930s through the ‘60s, following the newly engaged Brad and Janet as they stumble into the world of the eccentric Dr. Frank-N-Furter. The 1975 film adaptation starred Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, and Tim Curry—and although it flopped at first, it became a cultural phenomenon.
“But it stood up like a phoenix out of the ashes,” said Andreas Zerr, the German filmmaker behind the new, unauthorized documentary Sane Inside Insanity: The Phenomenon of Rocky Horror.
Midnight screenings turned the movie into a movement—audiences dressed up, shouted at the screen, and acted out the scenes in real time. Thus, the shadow cast was born.
Behind the Scenes of the Shadow Cast
For performers like Glasser and his cast, rehearsals look a lot like traditional theater. They block scenes, learn choreography, and bring the film’s iconic moments to life.
Some groups, like Apoca-Lips, even hold auditions. “We want you to get a grasp for the character and understand who you’re auditioning for,” said Amanda Fuller, a 15-year Apoca-Lips cast member and co-director. “You don’t want to be giving Columbia energy if you’re auditioning for Magenta, right?”
Costumes and props are part of the fun, too. The Kids of Albany’s Sarah Barger sewed fluffy tulle boas for the “Floor Show” finale, and her mom helped design and construct Frank’s signature leather corset for Barger’s fiancé, Tom Egan. Apoca-Lips co-director Michael Felleman helped the group find pieces that made the show look “more official (but ‘not professional’—that would go against the ‘Rocky Horror’ spirit).”
For the audience, prop bags are packed with items to toss or wave during the film—newspapers, toast, noisemakers, toilet paper, confetti, and more. “It’s satisfying at the end of the night, when you look at the theater and you look at this crazy mess before they come in and really start cleaning it,” Glasser said. “That’s pretty satisfying knowing I literally bagged every prop kit that’s now thrown across this theater.”
“It is ‘the most respectful mess,’” added Sean Allen, marketing director for the Palace.
Why RISE Chose Rocky Horror
“Rocky Horror has also become the focal point of fundraising events such as RISE’s annual gala,” the Times Union noted. Since debuting in 2022, RISE’s Rocky Horror fundraiser has raised around $150,000 to support affordable housing and human services in Saratoga County.
“We decided on ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ particularly because of the impact that it had and it continues to have on folks who feel alien or outside or even outcasts from society,” said Lindsey Connors, associate executive director of RISE. “Our folks who we serve, who tend to also be on the fringes of society, know those feelings all too well.”
Unlike the shadow cast shows, RISE encourages any costumed attendee to perform at its Rocky Horror gala, harkening back to the spirit of those early midnight screenings. “It’s not unusual to see half a dozen Frank-N-Furters strutting it out to ‘Sweet Transvestite,’” Connors said.
The Legacy of Being Unapologetically You
The influence of Rocky Horror stretches beyond film and theater—it’s a lesson in self-expression and belonging. As Fort Salem Theater’s Nik Gaz, who’s reprising the role of Frank this fall, put it: “The role has taught me how powerful it is to be bold, to stand tall, to be seen and not apologize for it. When you’re in the stiletto heels and the fishnets and this extremely tight corset, you stand and you move a little bit differently. You feel like you’re in command of the world.”
For The Kids of Albany, community is everything. After founder Mike Baker passed away in 2020, the group made sure his urn attends every rehearsal and performance. “We ask the audience to throw their toast and try to hit his urn for good luck, which he would have just absolutely loved,” Glasser said.
Fuller has seen firsthand how the show changes lives: “They find themselves, and they find a community that they belong to.”
For freshman cast member Roz Ary, Rocky Horror was deeply personal. “It was inspiring,” Ary said. “It helped me find out I’m gay and nonbinary … the full course of acceptance people go through watching this movie — that’s what made a lot of people be like, I can be comfortable with myself because (these characters) can. I could be weird and unashamed.”
Though some aspects of the original film reflect their time, Felleman said, “the unapologetic queerness of ‘Rocky Horror’ was radical at the time, and it remains a haven for performers and audiences alike.”
A Celebration of Joy, Acceptance, and Community
For those who’ve never attended a Rocky Horror screening—known affectionately as “virgins”—Apoca-Lips promoter Nicole Graf has some simple advice: “Come with an open mind, you know, don’t come with any expectations of any kind, because it’s never going to be what you think it’s going to be.”
And, as Fuller put it best, “Our most important rule is to have some f—ing fun.”
At RISE, that’s exactly what our Rocky Horror gala represents—a joyful night of laughter, creativity, and inclusion that raises crucial funds for our housing and support programs. The story may be wild, the costumes outrageous, but the message is one we live every day: everyone deserves to belong, to be seen, and to be celebrated.