Don’t Dream It, Be It Celebrating
Rocky Horror Written by Matt Jamieson Photography Courtesy of Jeanna
Crawford and Vanessa Roman
It’s time once again for the annual Rocky Horror Picture Show screenings at the Tivoli! The screenings have been going on in the STL for more than 30 years. We found some of the cast from the show’s Varsity Theater days to ask them what makes Rocky Horror just so damn fun. v
Vanessa Roman
Bob Shirley (Eddie/Dr. Scott)
Why play Eddie, or Doctor Scott? It was about body type, I’m a big dude, any other part for me would have been slightly ridiculous. Not to say I never played other parts as we would have switch nights when the boys and girls would play different gendered parts. I gave up playing Dr. Scott after I convinced a friend who happened to be confined to a wheel chair to take the part.
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(Magenta)
Best RHPS memory? I finally figured out a way to play Frank N. Furter for real. Around Christmas one year, I portrayed Frank as Santa Claus in drag: black boots, red fishnets, red corset with white fur, dyed my hair and beard grey. The moment I tossed that cape off is forever etched in my mind, the laughter was glorious.
October 2013
What makes Magenta the best?
What has RHPS done to impact your life?
Magenta was known as “The Bitch” and I learned to wear that proudly as a woman who spoke her mind, who knew when to compromise and when to step up and lead and was unafraid to make her voice heard. She was never apologetic for who she was.
The first time I went to RHPS, I was 13 years old. I took a look around at what was happening there and I knew I wanted to be a part of it. The simple answer at the time was “I fit here.” Everywhere else in my life, I was generally misunderstood. But here, in this small little theater was a place where all of the misfits who were bursting with untapped creativity, words to say, truths to tell—I fit there.