WEST PLAINS, Mo.– Area residents will enter a “time warp” of their own on Wednesday, Dec. 5, when the Missouri State University-West Plains Student Government Association (SGA) and University/Community Programs (U/CP) Department team up to sponsor a free showing of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at 7 p.m. in the West Plains Civic Center theater.

Organizers said the showing will be a participatory screening of the 1970s cult classic motion picture starring Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick and Tim Curry.  Costumes are welcome, they said, and appropriate props, with the exception of flashlights, will be provided.  This is the third such showing in West Plains in recent years, they add.

The movie, which parodies science fiction and B-movie horror films, tells the story of a newly engaged couple, Janet Weiss and Brad Majors (Sarandon and Bostwick), who find themselves stranded on the side of the road when their car has a flat tire.  During their search for a phone, they are drawn into the bizarre antics of an outlandish group of sexually ambivalent people, including alien transvestite Dr. Frank N. Furter (Curry in his first film role), who are hosting an intergalactic convention at a nearby castle.

Released in 1975, the film was adapted from the British musical stage production The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O’Brien, who also wrote the film’s script along with Jim Sharman.  It gained widespread notoriety as a “midnight movie” in 1977 when audience participation began in theaters across the country.  It continues in limited theatrical release, making it the longest-running theatrical release in film history.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is rated R and is not suitable for youths under 17 years of age.  For more information about the Dec. 5 showing in West Plains, call the U/CP Department office at 417-255-7966.