It was June 16, 1973 when London
theater-goers first previewed Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show at The Royal Court Theater Upstairs. Since Halloween is coming up, and many areas have midnight Halloween showings of RHPS, complete with audience participation, I figured I would give you all a little history behind this cult phenomenon! Here are some interesting facts about RHPS:

• The original stage production ran for nearly 7 years in England, finally closing on September 13, 1980.
• Filming began on RHPS roughly a year after its stage run began, premiering in London, England, August 1975. (I was 5 months old) 
• The first midnight showing, and the beginning of the audience participation phenomenon, was April Fool's Day in New York, NY, 1976.

• It wasn't until spring 1977 that the use of props came into play, and the RHPS fan club was founded by Sal Piro.
• In addition to the RHPS soundtrack, there is also an audience participation album, originally released on a 2-LP set in 1983.
• The original VHS release of RHPS sold for $89.95 retail.
• There were websites dedicated to RHPS as early as 1994.
• March 16, 2006, The Rocky Horror Show starts a new run in England.

All of these facts and many more can be found at www.rockyhorror.com.