THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 24, 1995 TAG: 9502240059
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Teenology
SOURCE: BY ALICIA LUMA, HIGH SCHOOOL CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
THIS WEEK'S featured activity is for those who enjoy the abnormal and shun the ordinary. It's the ``Rocky Horror Picture Show,'' which alternates each week between the Naro Theater in Norfolk and the New American Theater in Hampton. Tonight it's in Hampton.
The show is supposed to start at 11:30 p.m. but usually starts whenever. If you are under 17, a parent must buy the tickets (but I heard that they only card if you look, like, 12 or something.)
Since I'm not Rocky literate, my friend Joe Francis, a five-year Rocky veteran, helped me out.
Joe said that Rocky is so wild that you can't absorb the movie's plot through all the hellishness. So here is the basic story line: A newlywed couple, Brad and Janet, get stranded on a dark road. They see a gooey old mansion and ask if they can use the phone. They get mixed up in the strange happenings and people in the mansion, and somehow Brad and Janet are talked into spending the night. From then on, the movie is an immorality-fest. Well, they don't really show anything, but a lot is implied. It's rated R.
If after hearing that, you decide to go, here are some tips:
The show is really confusing, so if possible, rent the movie before you go. If you can, watch it twice.
If you are a Rocky ``virgin,'' Rocky veterans will paint ``V's'' on your face in lipstick and you'll get hauled up on the stage and spanked. If this is not your idea of fun, go with someone who's been before and lie to the virgin catchers.
Don't wear clothes that you like a lot, because you are likeley to get water, wet and dry toilet paper, and burnt toast thrown at you.
Bring bird seed, toast, a deck of cards, toilet paper, a water gun and three bucks for a Rocky kit, which includes a how-to and when-to booklet for all the dance numbers. You can buy it at the show from any of the packet peddlers, who bug you so much you will know who they are.
I don't have any more space to extol the unvirtuous virtues of Rocky, but if you feel Rocky is better left to others, here are some alternative activities:
For those of you who like art (or like to pretend you do), the Chrysler Museum is a playground for the right side of the brain. Currently, there's a cool photography exhibit by a woman named Marjorie Content. The photos are small and black and white, but they are so beautiful that I'm getting weepy thinking about them.
The collected photographs span 10 years of Content's life and are of everything from flowers to drainpipes. And if you don't like drainpipes, there is plenty of neat old stuff, and paintings, and glass, and statues, and, oh, just take a Saturday and go. It's located on Olney Road and Mowbray Arch in Norfolk and it's open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. The cost to get in is however much you decide to donate. The Marjorie Content exhibit runs through March 5.
Check out the free, three-screen, nine-projector, multimedia event called ``Breaking Free'' this Sunday in Norfolk.
``Breaking Free'' takes you through the lives of four teenagers from different backgrounds but with common problems. It explores the decisions they must make day to day. After it focuses on the problems, the movie asks questions and then provides answers that leave you with a sense of empowerment and not the feeling of helplessness that is so evident in our generation.
Although it does have a decidedly religious message, it is not in an in-your-face style. Plus, there will be people there to counsel in any needed area. The production will start at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, at Bayview Baptist Church, 707 E. Bayview Blvd. For more information, contact Todd or Gina Sims at 587-4265.
For those of you looking for shows that we can attend, I found a few.
The Nsect Club, located on the corner of Armistead Avenue and Mercury Boulevard in Hampton, has an all-ages show Tuesday, March 7, at 7 p.m. Tsunami will play basic alternative grooves to the tune of $5.25 and $1.50 extra for the almighty Ticketmaster.
Thank DJ Joe and Stoopid Car Productions and the bands willing to play for these all-ages shows. DJ Joe points out that only two of the many all-ages shows have run past midnight (when those of us under 18 must vacate). Both times it was because of transportation problems. Usually the band dictates the price, DJ Joe said, so you have the bands and Ticketmaster to thank for blowing your allowance for high-priced shows.
For shows that are always all ages, at the Oceanfront, there's the Fire Escape. The next good show is Lost Dogs and My Brother's Mother, which includes members of Violet Burning and The Choir. They will play Monday, March 6, for only $8 at the door. On Friday, March 11, Unspoken will speak (or scream) at you for only $2. Soundwise, they're like Metallica with soul. It's open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Doors open around 8 p.m., and management is curfew-conscious. The Fire Escape is located at 17th and Pacific, and in March, all shows will have a $2 cover. MEMO: If you'd like to tip off Alicia Luma on upcoming events or things to do,
call INFOLINE at 640-5555 and enter category 8989.
ILLUSTRATION: Alicia Luma is a home-schooled junior.
by CNB