Feature photo by Sam McIntyre
Story by Bailey Brantingham
At 9 p.m., MTSU’s Student Union is usually home to janitors and late-night crammers. As straggling studiers packed up for the night on Friday, high heels clacked on steps in the direction of the Ballroom upstairs. In one part of the STU, the school week was coming to a close. But elsewhere, a weekend of glitter, garters and fishnets was just beginning.
The Little Morals shadowcast has brought “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” from screens to Nashville stages since 1987. Actors dress up as the characters of the cult classic, acting out the movie onstage in real time. The film plays on a big screen while cast members skip, wheel and menacingly chase their way around the aisles and onstage. Audience participation is pressured, with props to go along with certain scenes and physical activities like dancing the “Time Warp.”
The 2024 shows marked the 15th year of “Rocky Horror” at MTSU. Little Morals cast leader Tyler Martinez has been performing with the company from the beginning.
When Martinez was 16, he experienced the culture shock of his first “Rocky Horror” theater show. The interactive experience emerged as a safe space for Martinez, deriving from the film’s openly-queer themes.
“It was probably one of the first times I really knew that I was around a lot of queer people in a non-heteronormative space,” Martinez said. “So much so that I was a little bit like Dorothy when she first got out of the house.”
Martinez has been jumping between characters since his first Little Morals show in 2012, more recently becoming an anchor for the roles of Eddie and Dr. Scott. For the MTSU show, he traded the leather vest for a blanket and high heels, wheeling up the stage ramp as Dr. Scott.
Martinez remarked on the novelty of a college crowd, which tends to see more “Rocky Horror” virgins than a normal Little Morals’ show.
Freshman Riley Marshall sat among the crowd with a red virgin “V” lipsticked on his face, courtesy of the Riff Raff and Janet shadowcast members marking first-timers as they entered. But, when his marked cheek was turned away, Marshall could have been mistaken for a regular.
“My parents have been going to these since they were 13 and 14,” Marshall said. “This is something I’ve — literally, since I was 5 I’ve known about this and I’ve seen this movie. So it’s something that I’ve grown up with my whole life…”
Marshall came prepared in a full Dr. Frank-N-Furter costume, decorated in a curly wig, face makeup, surgeon scrubs and a string of pearls.
He volunteered for the annual pre-show virgin sacrifice. With his green surgeon’s gown shielded by his metaphorical cherry, a red latex balloon, he waved to his parents in the crowd.
“I think it’s great that we can just do this and there’s no judgement about it,” Marshall said. “There’s no stigma to it. It’s not like ‘Oh, this is weird that all these people are coming here and doing this on campus.’ It’s just an accepted, open fact and I think that’s really amazing.”
Little Morals emcee Vesper Gamble emerged from the side-stage curtain wearing black lingerie and donning a virgin “V” and a little smiley face painted on her pregnant belly. After a reading of house rules that morphed into the overall message encouraging the audience to refrain from acting like a “f—-ing dick,” the lights dimmed for the opening “Science Fiction/Double Feature” performance: Gamble twirling through a burlesque flag dance shadowed by the infamous bright-red “Rocky Horror” lips.
For one hour and 38 minutes, the audience submitted to the will of the Little Morals cast and the flamboyance of Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
The cast packed up after a group bow and two ceremonial butt-shakings. MTSU SPARE organizers promptly kicked out lingering audience members just after midnight.
On Monday, the Ballroom will be back to normal with its usual neatly-lined chairs and PowerPoint presentations. But tucked away in the cracks and corners of the STU in the form of playing cards, shreds of red latex and strewn toilet paper, the spirit of MTSU’s timewarpers will linger on.
Bailey Brantingham is the Lead Lifestyles Reporter for MTSU Sidelines
To contact the Lifestyles Editor, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com.
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