La Paloma Theater, Encinitas, Ca.
Wednesday October 31st 2001
Midnight Show
Since
moving to the San Diego area a few months ago I have wanted to visit this cast
again, but with a lack of personal transportation and a busy schedule, I have
been unable to. Luckily for me I managed to solve that problem on Halloween
night.
When
I showed up to the LA Paloma Theater, I was not surprised to see a large crowd
gathered around the theater, but I can only assume that since this was the
second show for this evening, the 9pm show had a larger crowd.
The crowd
for this show was filled with costumed individuals. From people in Rocky
costumes to keep with traditions, to an assortment of Halloween costumes from
Laura Croft to a man dressed in white with the nametag of “God” and an angel at
his side. Upon entering the theater, we managed to catch a scripted and
well-rehearsed preshow. The show ranged from the basic rules and “Virgin
Sacrifice” to the annual costume contest, which had contestants ranging from
the gory to the outrages. My personal favorite costume however was not from an
audience member, but from Kevin, one of the cast members, who dressed as the
killer from “Scary Movie”.
The show
started, as always, with Trixie, The Rocky strip tease, which I found out
through my interview with an audience member, Jason Rios, was his favorite
part. The show started out as any normal show; the cast all had well made
costumes and played their parts well. I also must add that after seeing Kate
play Brad Majors again I can honestly say that she has improved her already
excellent performance.
This show
had a reminder of a laid back Midnight Insanity (Long Beach, Ca. RHPS).
Defiantly proves that Rocky is an Audience Participation movie that is a
Halloween tradition. The show added improves to the right places to insure that
there would never be a boring scene. Once again this cast has giving me the
rush I had from past Rocky cast’s where I had asked if there were any openings,
sadly, this cast is well liked for their cast is large.
After the show I had a chance to interview a
couple members of the audience to get a reaction other than my own.
“I’m
probably gonna try to bring some friends Friday night”. Said Jason Rios, a
“Virgin to the Rocky Horror experience, who luckily managed not to be marked
with the famous “V” in Red Lipstick.
Overall
this cast has proven that Rocky Horror is a show that can be a serious
performance, but being a midnight show, most people can use a little improve to
make a straight show interesting. Sometimes I can describe Crazed Imaginations
as South Midnight Insanity, yet I have never walked out on this show out of
repetitious boredom. This cast has always made it worth the trip, weather I was
living in the LA area, or now here in San Diego