Halloween at the Oriental Theater

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Beth Carey

The beautiful lobby of the Oriental Theater could be seen while waiting in line to purchase tickets.

Beth Carey, Staff Writer

Feeling an itch to do something late at night but bored at home with nothing to do? Grab some friends and head downtown! The Rocky Horror Picture Show playing at the Oriental Theater is sure to keep you entertained. The Oriental Theater holds the U.S. record for a continuous film engagement, playing The Rocky Horror Picture Show every second Saturday of each month, and of course on Halloween! The theater opened in 1927 and is still around for entertainment today.

When I arrived downtown, I fell in love with the theater. The outside looks just like a movie theater from the 1920’s, big marquees and all. The inside is what’s really spectacular though. Walking into the lobby, you start to see all the beautiful decoration. The whole theater is decorated with an East Indian theme, with no traces of Chinese or Japanese artwork. Hanging from the ceiling, there are three spectacular stained glass chandeliers; all around the lobby, there are six huge Buddha statues, eight lions made of porcelain, the walls are covered with hand drawn murals, and there are dozens of detailed Indian draperies. It was such a beautiful sight, I thought I was in a museum, not a movie theater!

Not only was the building wonderfully decorated, but the people were too! The people waiting in line for The Rocky Horror Picture Show were all dressed up as characters from the movie. It was quite a sight, and they were all so excited.

The time came around for the show to start, so we all piled into the theater. It was packed tight, so this must be quite a popular thing for people to do. The movie started playing, and I was instantly entertained. It was filled with drama and humor. Halfway through the movie, it shut off and the screen went black! I had no idea what was happening. To my surprise, actors dressed like the characters in the movie came on stage and performed a skit. That was such a fun and unexpected thing. Everyone cheered them on, and when they were done, the movie came back on. The movie finally came to an end, and it was time to head home.

Overall, this was such a fun experience for me. I had never seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show, so I figured it would be cool to see it in a theater on Halloween at midnight. The admission to the movie was $10, so a little more than a Marcus theater per say, but I didn’t mind paying that for the movie, the beautiful scenery, and the surprise skit performed. It was well worth the full ten dollars.