ELAINE VIETS
July 1992
Never mind what the lyrics say. Darkness didn't conquer Brad and Janet at the late-night "Rocky Horror Picture Show." They were brought down by something more insidious -- middle-age. The cult classic had the perfect home, the Tivoli, a slightly seedy 1920s movie palace in University City. But the Tivoli's new owner, Harman Moseley, says he probably won't run "Rocky Horror" when the theater reopens. Harman wants his sleep. "It's a midnight show," he said. "I won't get out until after 2 a.m. I have a family now. I have to get up for church and then a Sunday matinee. I don't need the money to survive anymore. I need my sleep." Harman said he doesn't need the hassle, either. "Rocky Horror" is a picture with audience participation. Fans throw rice at the wedding scene and shoot waterguns during the rainstorm. "Rice is a mess to clean up," Harman said. "Then you have the water. And the wear and tear on the seats from the crowd." Ah, yes, the crowd. Some were yuppies, thrilled at this walk on the wild side. Others may have been people who didn't walk -- they ran wild. I mean, this is a movie where men wear fishnet stockings. "I'm concerned about the clientele," Harman said. "The show had to have a husband and wife security team to pat down the crowd. And metal detectors. They found knives on people. I don't want the problems.

"I guess I sound like my parents," said Harman. Yes, Harman, you do. "I'm not against the movie," he said. "I've seen it 120 times. I ran it in the late '70s at the St. John's Theater. They'd throw rice and water and light BICs and someone would always get drunk and puke in the bathroom. I ran it to stay in business. I don't have to do that anymore." And so a great tradition dies. Maybe. "I might change my mind later on," Harman said, sounding even more like a parent. The sexy sci-fi spoof, starring Tim Curry in fishnet stockings, was a shocker in 1975. In a post-AIDS world, the movie's casual attitude toward sex and drugs seems almost quaint. St. Louis had one of the longest continuously running "Rocky Horrors" in the country. It's played every weekend since 1978, if you don't count the two-week break when it jumped from the Varsity to the Tivoli in 1986. Twentieth Century-Fox in Los Angeles said the picture is available to "any theater that wants it." Harman Moseley said "Rocky Horror" is a money-maker. "It brought in about $1,500 a night at the Tivoli." Harman said there were also costs. "The crowd can make you older people uncomfortable. They start staying away." But "Rocky Horror" fans keep coming back. Sue Savage has seen the show "424 times since March 1985. I miss it. I've been depressed since it finally hit me. It's really over."

Sue become part of the picture. She was one of the true fans who began dressing as the characters. Then they started singing, dancing and saying the words during the movie. When the show closed July 11, the Tivoli had a cast of about 12 performing regulars, Sue said. "We didn't get paid, but we got in free. I dressed as Magenta, the maid. "I have four different costumes. First, a maid's costume. Then I changed into a short sheer black robe with white ruffles. Then a long sheer black robe. Then my space costume." Sue said the audience did more than toss rice and shoot water. They'd throw in a few puns. "Sometimes they'd throw toast when Dr. Scott proposed the toast in the movie," she said. "Once, someone threw bagels. We said, 'Excuse me. What are bagels doing in this?' "Someone threw an egg, too, but that's not in the script." She disagrees with Harman about security. "The Tivoli never had a metal detector," Sue said. "Two security guards would search you. If you brought a huge box of rice, they'd dump most of it out. If you brought a really big water gun, they'd take it away. I took a guy's spray bottle after he sprayed me in the face. My makeup is water soluable."

Sue didn't see any knives, either. "Well, some guy had a pocket knife once. Or maybe it was brass knuckles. Whatever it was, security said he couldn't take it in. He gave it to his girlfriend and made her put it in her purse -- right in front of security. How stupid can you get? Security made her take it out to the car and searched her good when she got back. "A couple of seats did get ripped out, but I wasn't there when it happened. I'd take a week off and they'd be gone. I don't know who did it. Those seats are pretty old, anyway." Sue had no problems with the crowd. "They were mostly yuppie, some cool people and one guy who was a creep. His name was Darryl. He was obnoxious. He'd try to grab a cast member's chest or stick his hand down their panties. He stepped on Dawn's foot and nearly tripped her. If he ever did that to me, I'd deck him. "But the people seemed perfectly fine to me. There were very few bad ones. Except Darryl the creep. I really hated Darryl."

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