The Rocky Horror Picture Show @ International 10.27.2026

My favorite booth at International is the middle one. I like people watching, and usually at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday, I wouldn’t expect anyone to be pouring in to watch Little Rascals on the bar TV. Tonight is different, as a flow of corsets gathers for a tradition as warped and as old as time. 

The cult classic Rocky Horror Picture Show shadowcast spectacular has become a Halloween season ritual since the horror-musical-comedy first released in 1975. Starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick, the film and its dedicated shadowcasts have become a cornerstone of queer culture and experimental performance. Devoted theater groups like SLC’s own Thenewperspectives, and first-time director Alex Fowles (AKA Jack Elope) are keeping the tradition not only alive, but thriving. 

“I’m really proud. I feel like this is such a hodgepodge thing that we threw together, but I am so proud of the turnout and proud of my cast, how excited they’ve been and the effort they put into it,” Fowles says. Hodgepodge or not, I was shocked and impressed to find out that the production has only been in the works for two and a half months. I grabbed my prop bag, complete with SLUG Magazine, and took my seat to watch Fowles and their crew set up.

Rocky Horror is a show of controlled mayhem, and watching the cast prepare and warm up made me feel like I was in very good, chaotic hands. What I would give to be an International regular unexpectedly wandering into Transylvania for the first time only to  see Frank in full costume, brought to you by Hoardnation and Blue Velvet Bunny. 

Annabelle Candland and Ash Limon work and vend for Blue Velvet Bunny thrift in Salt Lake and together have been collecting for seven years, curating pieces for a night like this one. As well, Candland has been working as producer and creative designer on the project. “Through these 2.5 months, I have been advertising, designing and creative directing. The crowd interaction is the part I really love. I think people get more excited, get more rowdy,” Candland says. She and her team have worked non-stop to make the show one to remember and get pieces for their costume specialist, Chloe Larsen. As a local stylist and designer, Larsen was the mind behind the brilliant costume design that captured the essence of the late-great Tim Curry and co. 

“I’ve done a lot of design, but this is probably my best turnout,” Larsen says. “It’s Rocky Horror, so of course it’s going to be sexy. We wanted to go for more of an edgy style and capture people’s personalities. When you are dressing someone, you have to make sure someone feels comfortable and sexy.” And sexy the show was; performing to a packed crowd, the cast, though relatively new to working together, put on electric numbers, even on the very small stage.

Rocky Horror will find a following anywhere, and it is always such a joy to hear the crowd call Brad an asshole, or Janet a slut, on the biggest stage or the limited International bar. I really didn’t feel how small the stage physically was, because Thenewperspectives made it feel so grand; using the space you’ve been given in such a way is always a feat. Fowles was able to direct with precision to get the whole cast involved and let them show off, while letting the show feel its most fun and engaging. “I teared up really intensely at the end there, just like taking it all in and being in such awe of all those, like all these people and how many people came to support and how amazing it was. And just I’m really proud,” Fowles laments.

And in light of the late great Curry, Dandy Ridge was an amazing Frank-N-Furter, capturing the flair of the character while putting their own personality into it, which is what these types of productions are all about. This cast is something special, and they earned many fans with this show; be on the lookout for more of their work. This is the second most fun I have had while dressed up as Susan Sarandon, and it made us all feel a little closer to Tim Curry; may he rest in peace. “Don’t dream it, be it!” —Sam Goodman 

Read more reviews of theatre performances from SLUG:
Play Review: 20 Years Later, Facing East Still Hits Home
Stage musical Little Shop of Horrors to play remodeled Murray Theater

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