Damn It, Janet

Many people think the of the DC area as somewhat stodgy and conservative.

I know I did when I first moved here in the 90s. A move I made to assert my independence and advance my career in one of the most exciting areas in the world because my boyfriend lived here.

This was a boyfriend I'd met while spending a semester abroad in London. Theatre was a big part of the experience during that semester so we saw many, many plays. We saw a ton of Shakespeare, got to experience Dame Judi Dench and Timothy Dalton acting in smaller productions, and, as a treat, got to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show on stage.

It was one of the more memorable performances for me because it involved a transvestite and a lot of people in their underpants. (It is these kinds of takeaways that explain why I am not a great playwright and instead write dirty jokes on my little blog.) It was also memorable because out of the entire audience, our group of 30 American students were the only people that did not dress up like the characters in the play or bring props to throw at designated times. There we were, wearing our college sweatshirts amid a crowd of Brad, Janet and Frank-N-Furter lookalikes with their stacks of toast and water guns. We probably should have just stood up and sung our national anthem swaddled in a giant U.S. flag while eating aersol cheese to further underline what a massive group of American tourists we were...though it probably would have just felt redundant. As great as the show was, we totally felt like Octomom at Planned Parenthood...completely out of place.

So you can imagine that when I moved to DC a year later and had the opportunity to again see Rocky Horror on stage with the same boyfriend and two other friends from our London group, we jumped at the chance to do it and do it right. We bought tickets to a ten o'clock Saturday night performance in the District and spent a few days coming up with just the right costumes and getting all of our props together.

We were very enthusiastic (...and very hott, though that really goes without saying):

And we were so delighted with ourselves that we spent a lot of time taking pictures and subsequently got to the theatre a little late. James (in glasses) had worn just tighty whities in the car, but right before we walked in, he decided that he would put on his pants until he was seated and the show started. As we made our way down the aisle to find our seats in the dimmed theatre, my eyes began to adjust and it slowly became apparent that I was surrounded by a sea of suit jackets and nice dresses.

You got it. In buttoned-up Washington, we were the only people who had dressed in costume. I have never been happier to be wearing a blazer in my entire life (a blazer that I immediately buttoned up to my neck). And I don't think James has ever even considered wearing only tighty whities to the theatre again. At least that's what he tells his legal clients...

We did not do the Time Warp again,
Brutalism