Hundreds gathered at Edmond Town Hall on Saturday, October 25 to celebrate The Rocky Horror Picture Show the best way they know how: with a screening of the movie alongside a live shadow cast performance. Much like past years, there was also a screening of the movie without a shadow cast the previous night.

Screenings of the cult classic musical comedy film have been a longstanding tradition, but this year is particularly special since Rocky Horror celebrates 50 years since its release in 1975.

People poured in by the dozens on Saturday night to grab some snacks and show off their costumes for the special occasion. Attendees went all out when it came to dressing as their favorite characters, from rocking black corsets and fishnets like the mischievous Dr Frank-N-Furter or the classic pink dress and white corset like the shy and straight-laced Janet Weiss.

However, audience members were far from the only ones who dressed like Rocky Horror characters. The people who took center stage that night were none other than Come Again Players, a passionate all-volunteer, nonprofit group out of South Hadley, Mass., who perform alongside screenings of Rocky Horror as a shadow cast across western Massachusetts and Connecticut.

A shadow cast is a group of people who dress up as characters, act out scenes, and use props to perform alongside a movie screening. Shadow casts performing alongside screenings of Rocky Horror are an enduring tradition across the country and beyond.

Come Again Players Technical Director Matthew Jarrett, who emceed the show on Saturday night, said it felt surreal to be part of “something that’s been going on for longer than [most of us] have been alive.”

“Next year will be a decade for me performing Rocky [with the Come Again Players], and yet I feel like I’ve been doing it forever,” Jarrett said.

A large part of why Jarrett loves performing the show at Edmond Town Hall is because they always see a really wide, really diverse audience.

“You get some people who are young and have never seen it. But then you have people who are 40 years my senior coming out and, before you know it, we’re complimenting each other on our fish nets. They’re so excited to come out because they saw [Rocky] when it first came out,” Jarrett said. “It’s just a really great thing that links different generations.”

Edmond Town Hall Executive Director Gary Lindemann said he was 11 when the movie came out. Now 61, Lindemann said he watched Rocky Horror only become more popular with time.

“Being in the theater world, I mean, oh my God,” Lindemann said. “When I got into college, people were going nuts over it. Everyone was singing along to the soundtrack. And now it’s the grandkids of those original fans who are coming to events like this.”

Having watched people enjoy the movie for much of his life, Lindemann said he “couldn’t help but feel excited” to continue the Rocky Horror tradition at Edmond Town Hall. Saturday night saw the 500-seat theatre completely sold out, with every aisle filled with Rocky Horror fans excited to celebrate the movie’s 50th anniversary. It also marked the fifth consecutive year Edmond Town Hall has screened Rocky Horror, and the fourth consecutive time Come Again Players performed alongside the movie.

“And oh my gosh, here it is, sold out again. Last night had over 300 people and tonight we completely sold out,” Lindemann told The Newtown Bee Saturday night. “It’s just become this wonderful annual event bringing people together from all over.”

“Don’t Dream It, Be It”

The hundreds of people who came to the sold out live shadow cast performance spent the night indulging in classic Rocky Horror fan traditions. Anyone who never saw Rocky Horror with a live shadow cast before got marked with a red V on their forehead. Many people bought a prop bag to interact with the film and shadow cast. Everyone put newspapers on their head, threw toilet paper into the air, or blew their noise makers at different cues throughout the show. Not only that, but people shouted at the screen when certain characters introduced themselves or said certain lines.

These are only some of the many traditions that have come from the decades of Rocky Horror screenings and shadow cast performances. Jarrett said Rocky Horror has been continuously in theaters since it was released, making it the longest-running theatrical release in film history.

It has also been a big year for Come Again Players. Since they last performed at Edmond Town Hall, they recruited eight new cast members and added a brand new venue to their Rocky Horror tour. In addition to performing several sold out shows, Come Again Players were featured on Connecticut Public Radio’s Where We Live morning talk show and podcast on October 20.

Come Again Players had a new preshow for their performance at Edmond Town Hall this year. It featured Rocky Horror protagonists Janet and Brad Majors running from zombies to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Beyond that, Jarrett said they are continuing their efforts to take culture in a new direction. He said the group has a “don’t punch down, punch up” policy, encouraging audience members to choose language and jokes that punch up — or mock those in power — rather than punching down and hurting oppressed communities.

The callback lines people shout during Rocky Horror performances come from diverse communities across the country and beyond, from different decades and social movements, according to Come Again Players. A note from the team said that, of these countless lines, some have lost contest over time and many are ableist, racist, or otherwise objectionable. To that end, Jarrett said they wanted to go a step further with their policy this year and pushed for no slurs.

“Let’s leave them in the past, because I’ve seen people come up with more clever stuff that’s a lot funnier than what we used to use,” Jarrett said. “So if you’re just sitting there and yelling out a slur, ‘You can do better than that,’ as Frank-N-Furter would say.”

As a troupe that goes around and performs Rocky Horror, all of the Come Again Players, from cast to stagehands, are happy to put their time and energy into performing a show they all love.

“We encourage you to use your outside voices,” Jarrett told the audience Saturday night. “Most of all, we encourage you to not just dream it, but to be it.”

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.