Well, last night was just a stone cold blast, Daddy-O! (Click on any picture to embiggen.)First we headed to Shane and Matt’s groovy pad to exchange Christmas gifts. Better late than never, right? They seemed to enjoy their gifts, and they got us some fun and cool stuff. I just love the heavy glass squirrel bookends they got us! They are gorgeous...thanks, you guys! The squirrel is kind of the unofficial mascot of Nutwood, and we have quite a few squirrel things. These are by far the most beautiful!
Then we headed to downtown South Bend to grab a bite to eat at CJ’s. It is just a few feet from the State Theater, so we walked down there to see if we could pick up our tickets a little early. As we walked in, Drew, the guy who is spearheading (I can’t believe I just got to use the word ‘spearheading’) the renovation of the State, was walking through the lobby towards the doors. He saw us and said, “Are you Beth? Beth!” and came up and gave me a hug, and shook Ken’s hand. Awww! How sweet! Dude is a tall drink of water, too. Hard for me to judge, since I’m so short, but he has to be at least 6’4”. Anyway, he was just heading for CJ’s to meet up with us, so the timing was great. As we headed back to CJ’s, we saw Shane and Matt outside, and there were introductions all around.
We all enjoyed the beverages of our choice, and it was a great opportunity to talk with Drew about his plans for the State and why he decided to stay in the area after graduating from Notre Dame. He basically felt like there was a lot of potential for downtown South Bend, and we all agreed that there has definitely been a sort of renaissance downtown. Since Shane and I grew up here, I think he enjoyed our perspective on what downtown used to be like, including the Ethnic Festival, which used to be held downtown, but was moved to a city park. We all agreed that we’d love to see it move back downtown. There used to be a lot of cool little places downtown, like Vegetable Buddies, that hosted local bands. It was a great conversation, and he really impressed me with his vision and ambition to restore the State and make downtown a real destination again. You rock, Drew!He couldn’t linger for long, because they were doing a 9 pm showing of Rocky Horror, so he had to get back for that. After he left, the rest of us sat there and chatted a while longer, and then it was getting close to the midnight hour, so we headed out.
There is a salvaged church pew at CJ’s, and Shane took my picture. Despite wearing a Mick t-shirt and fishnets, I managed to not burst into flames. What a relief!
So wonderful to see the State marquee all lit up, and people in line! Everyone was in a great mood, and we were all having fun. We had a little bit of a scare when we got up to the table and they didn’t find our names on their list...then either me or Ken said, “Drew said he was going to reserve four tickets and...” and she was like, “Oh!” and checked another list. She found our names and said, “Okay!” and marked an “R” on all of our hands. Well, all righty then!
I didn’t realize until later that no payment took place. Ken told me later, and I said, “What?” He said, “Yeah, I guess Drew comped us the tickets!” Drew, did I mention that you rock? Thank you!
So sorry I didn’t get a good pic of me and Ken, but I forgot that my forward-facing camera on my phone doesn’t have a flash. Drat! I’ll see if I can doctor up the picture and get it a little brighter!
We bought our “survivor packs” in the lobby, a large baggie filled with all the stuff you throw at the screen during the movie. Including toast!We found some seats, third row, and settled in to wait. After a brief warm-up from someone with the “shadow cast” (a troop that acts out what is happening onscreen), the movie began.
I hadn’t seen the movie since college, it had been years since Shane had seen it, and Ken had never seen it before. I could be wrong about this, but I don’t think Matt had ever seen it before, either. (Hazy memory, sorry!) I had forgotten how much fun it is, how good the music is, and how poignant the ending is. It’s obviously a bizarre movie, but there is a lot to be seen there, on many levels, and I’m not ashamed to say that I got a little verklempt at the ending. The participatory portion of a Rocky Horror viewing is a blast, but I think the movie stands on its own as a campy and bizarre cult classic. It was a total blast! We really did all do the Time Warp, and it was so much fun! It was a raucous and enthusiastic crowd.
I think my favorite part was “Great Scott!” and the throwing of the toilet paper. When was the last time you got to throw a roll of toilet paper with great abandon and joy? It’s been too long for this gal, I can tell you that! But the toast part was pretty fun, too. You can see the aftermath above (picture via the State Theater’s Facebook page). Yikes!Drew hopes to make it a regular feature at the State, and although I’m not going to be going every time it’s held there, I would definitely go again on occasion.
I’m sorry to report that there was one casualty of the evening. My fishnets took a beating when my bracelet got stuck to them, and I had to tear a hole in them to get it unstuck. I’m not throwing them out, though...they’ll be my future Rocky Horror fishnets!
The State has a ways to go on renovation, but good things are happening, and work is progressing. It is once again becoming a downtown destination and the “Pride of South Bend,” and it makes me happy to see this happening.
A fun night!Of course, we had to end the evening with a Minion Flip-off! This might be a new tradition!
