PARKER, Colo. (KDVR) — Chances are you’ve seen the cult classic movie “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” but an ordinance in one central Colorado town says no time-warp allowed.
The Parker Arts, Culture and Events Center, located in Parker, plans to show the 1975 musical this Halloween, but concerns arose that it would violate a city ordinance prohibiting “lewd and indecent display.” The particular scene of consideration features a brief glimpse of a woman’s breast.
Now, Parker Town Council is considering changing that ordinance to allow movies that may inadvertently fall under the category to be shown.
“They don’t actually have to do any changes,” said civil rights attorney David Lane, of Kilmer, Lane & Newman, LLP, in Denver.
Lane said a federal appeals court already paved the way for the “horror” to continue, regardless of Parker’s archaic ordinances.
“The law is defined by the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in a case called ‘Free the Nipple v. City of Fort Collins,'” said Lane.
As explained by Boston College Law Review, the court upheld a previous ruling that public nudity ordinances prohibiting female public toplessness but not male public toplessness were in violation of the Equal Protection Clause.
The town of Parker is looking into the ordinances. Meanwhile, “the Rocky Horror Parker Show” will go on as planned.
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is based on the earlier 1970s science-fiction/horror stage musical “The Rocky Horror Show,” which also starred actor Tim Curry as the cross-dressing mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Over the years, the film, also starring Susan Sarandon, developed a devoted fanbase due to showings at midnight screenings that encouraged audience participation.
Among the movie’s best-known songs are “Science Fiction/Double Feature,” “Sweet Transvestite” and “Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me.”
The film has been referenced in several TV shows and movies, and in 2016, the Fox network produced both a tribute and a remake called “The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again.”