About the Oriental Theatre's "Rocky Horror Picture Show" tradition

Ryan Putskey isn’t fazed by calls to the Oriental Theatre asking if “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is “appropriate.” Or, calls telling him it’s not.

“To be fair, it can be kind of graphic. But, I mentioned this to the cast — it’s been like this for probaby 40 years,” said Putskey, the theater’s longtime caretaker.

A quick Google search confirms the historic East Side theater gets national kudos for its longstanding commitment to Rocky Horror. In some tellings, the Oriental takes the crown for the longest single run of the movie since its release in 1975.

Putskey humbly said that’s a point of contention: the Oriental’s tradition dates back to January 1978 — before its rival for Rocky Horror longevity, the Clinton Street Theater in Oregon — but has logged fewer individual shows.

Regardless, Rocky Horror devotees consistently show up for the movie and live stage performance at midnight on the second Saturday of each month to call out virgins in the audience and throw toast at the stage. They never tire of watching the transformation of an under-sexualized engaged couple, Brad and Janet, as they wander into a castle and are soon seduced by a mad scientist from the planet Transsexual and his Frankenstein-esque creation, Rocky.

Those details aren’t unique to Milwaukee. But the Oriental’s minaret towers and lioness statutes add an otherworldly, in-person touch to the celebration of madness, weirdness and sexuality that demands to be taken seriously.

“You’ll consistently be there with — and I say this will all due respect to all of them — a bunch of weirdos,” Putskey said.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: About the Oriental Theatre's "Rocky Horror Picture Show" tradition