Fort Wayne's Civic Theatre, holding court for 90 years, gives performances at the city's Arts United Center

There's quite a history to Fort Wayne's Civic Theatre. For over 90 years, it's been the home for local, volunteer talent to perform. Singers, dancers and actors have a showcase for their takes on Broadway musicals and plays, performing for community audiences. In 1927, Fort Wayne established a Community Theatre Guild. By 1931, it was called the "Old Fort Players" and was housed at the Majestic Theatre, 220 E. Berry Street. It must have been quite grand - a website describes a Ben Hur production with live horses in a chariot race on a treadmill.

In 1940, the name changed to the Civic Theatre and the organization became tax-exempt. It's remained so to this day, and the Civic has performed in the same location since 1973. What was then called the Performing Arts Center is now Arts United Center, renamed in 2004. Some of the productions I have seen over the years have seemed a bit amateurish, and that's to be expected - these are volunteers, not professionals. Recently though, the Civic pulled off a very professional production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with local casting.

If you're not familiar with Rocky Horror, here's a bit of the story: two sweethearts are stuck in a storm, and they come upon an eerie mansion. There they meet unusual characters and break into song and dance. When they are introduced to a Frankenstein-like character, Rocky, lots of shenanigans ensue. The film digs into our moral codes, and also parodies many science fiction and B-horror movies of the 1930s-70s.

I fondly remember the Rocky Horror film from the 1970s. The movie featured stars including Susan Sarandon and singer Meat Loaf, among others. I just read that the writer of the whole show and who created this musical for theatre in Britain's West End, a man named Richard O'Brien, also portrayed the character Riff Raff on the big screen.

The show has always been famous for visitor participation, which helped spur a nearly cult-like following at midnight movie showings. Toilet paper, newspapers, water guns, flashlights, party hats, playing cards and other props all have their place in the story. At the old midnight showings of the film, audiences brought these things with them and some of the stuff would fly through the air.

The show is just fun. The music is catchy and and makes one want to sing along. It explores societal assumptions about sexuality and other cultural norms, blithely moving right on past these in its alternate reality. How can I describe it? The Civic's website called the work "kitschy rock 'n' roll," "sci-fi gothic," etc. It brings in lots of themes. O'Brien managed to tweak in and play off our ideas about language, authority figures, and notions about gender without seeming to get serious at all. Touché, Mr. O'Brien, and praise be to our local Civic Theatre and Arts United Center; and especially to the cast and crew of this production of the wonderful Rocky Horror Picture Show.