The Esquire Theatre has been a centerpiece of the Cincinnati art scene since it opened in 1911.
Originally operating as the Clifton Opera House, the then single-screen theater showed silent films and hosted stage shows until 1927, when it transitioned to new-fangled “talkie” shows. The stage-show element hasn’t left the Esquire entirely, though. On any given Saturday night, you can still see a living piece of Cincinnati cultural history play out in front of your very eyes and catch a cult classic flick in the process.
The flick in question: The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The beloved institution: The Denton Affair, the Queen City’s own Rocky Horror shadow-cast.
Shadow-casts are troupes of actors who take on the roles of a movie’s characters — in this case, the iconic characters of The Rocky Horror Picture Show — and act out scenes and crack jokes while the movie plays. If you’ve never experienced a shadow-casted movie, it may sound strange, but the combination of film and theater creates a unique experience for both the audience and actors.
“It was just something I had to be around,” The Denton Affair’s Missy Stricklett explained. Stricklett, who’s been with the troupe for twenty-six years, currently manages the Affair’s merchandising, finances, booking and theater relations, costuming, and training new cast members, as well as playing. She joined the group immediately after seeing them perform and has been with them ever since.
“That night, I was like, ‘I have to do this,’” Stricklett said.
To say that The Denton Affair attracts a devoted crew would be an understatement. Anjali Alm-Basu, who can be found tutoring and teaching when not in front of the Esquire’s silver screen, has been a troupe member for sixteen years. In that time, they’ve played every character in the Show’s ten-person cast, as well as coordinated many of the same things Stricklett now handles.
“I saw Melissa playing Brad, and I was like, ‘Wait! Girls can do drag?’ I have to do that,” Alm-Basu said.
The inherent queerness of the production attracted many to the shadow-cast; after all, what can you expect from a musical whose show-stopper is called “Sweet Transvestite”?
“I just love how my cast-mates are so brave. They don’t ask anyone’s permission to be themselves, and it kind of shocks me a little bit,” said John Wysong, who’s been with the troupe for three years.
One particular highlight of a shadow-casted Rocky Horror Picture Show is the call-backs; moments where the audience is expected to participate with the cast and film. That participation can look like everything from yelling in-jokes at the screen to covering your head with a newspaper to keep your hair wet from the “rain” your seat neighbor is spraying with a water gun. In the case of the Denton Affair, the newspaper, the water gun, and more are all provided with the cost of your ticket.
“The Denton Affair, in particular, is known for having a lot of call-backs,” Alm-Basu said. “We’re yelling like, basically the entire movie.”
Call-backs change from cast to cast and city to city, and members of the Denton Affair have a few that they’re particularly fond of.
“I have one where I say, ‘Hey Frank, what does my wife do after I fall asleep?’, and he says ‘Come’,” said Wysong. He plays the Criminologist and uses the character’s fuddy-duddy nature to deliver perhaps the Denton Affairs’ most memorable gag: during an overly long monologue, Wysong performs a solo dance number that often lampoons a recent piece of pop culture.
“I’ve done ‘I’m Just Ken’, Taylor Swift, even Chappell Roan’s Grammy dress once,” Wysong explained.
For a movie that came out in 1975, splashes of contemporaneous-ness like Wysong’s song and dance, or new call-backs inspired by Vines and TikToks, keep the theater-going experience fresh. They also keep it safer.
“We’ve had lots of conversations as a cast about phasing out certain call-backs,” Alm-Basu said. While the edgy and risque crowd dynamics that made the movie a cult classic are still ever-present, the Denton Affair and their dedicated fans have worked hard to make it the boundary-pushing space that isn’t truly dangerous.
That work has had an effect on the audience as well. When they first started to perform, Alm-Basu said, some audience members took the show’s socially laissez-faire attitude as a chance to hurl abuse at the cast and other participants.
“I think we got some people who were treating it like the queer zoo,” Alm-Basu explained. “These days, the audience are coming with more of an understanding of what we’re about; so we don’t really get the people who are super excited to yell slurs,” they added.
“My hope for the future is that it continues being a safe space for younger queers, especially those that haven’t had an outlet until now,” Alm-Basu concluded.
“We help them on their journey to becoming who they are,” agreed Stricklett.
Those who wish to join the Denton Affair are more than welcome. There’s no audition process; simply visit the troupe’s website, fill out a brief form, and wait to hear back. They’re always happy to have new cast members, whether wrangling props or bringing the house down with the time-warp.
Alright, you’ve been very patient. I know it’s been killing you throughout the article. Alright, alright…
…pation!
