Denver's Oldest Rocky Horror Show Shadow Cast Returns With Award-Winning LGBTQ+ Theater

Two Cent Lion Theatre is closing out its first residency year at the People's Building with a bang (and plenty of fishnets) by presenting its first musical, The Rocky Horror Show. The cult classic is an ideal fit for the emerging company, which has made a name for itself through LGBTQ+ stories, inventive staging and a fearless approach to  unconventional productions.

“This is a dream production of mine,” says director Tamarra Nelson. “I’m a big fan of horror movies, musicals and campy things, and this is right in the intersection of all my favorite things. As I read the script over and over, it's funny and silly, but Rocky also has a darker underbelly, about people who don't fit into mainstream culture, which feels relevant today."

The upcoming production of The Rocky Horror Show, which will run from September 21 through October 5, is a symbol of how far Two Cent Lion has come since its founding in 2022. The musical also wraps up a whirlwind year at the People's Building, where the group will return for three more shows next season as a returning resident. Two Cent was able to secure an initial contract after the building's former resident troupe, PopUp Theatre, disbanded because its artistic director failed to pay artists in a disastrous production of Corpus Christi last year.
"I knew the People's Building was looking for a queer resident company, and I had a hunch that they had some dates available in 2024," says Kevin Douglas, Two Cent's executive, marketing and education director. "I emailed a pitch to [curator] Aaron Vega, and he called me later that day and offered us three slots, an amazing ticket-split deal and a huge sandbox that we could play in." 

Taking over the coveted residency was both an opportunity and a significant challenge, which the young company has met with determination and creativity. Two Cent was founded in 2022 by University of Denver alumni and friends Douglas, Gracie Jacobson and Izzy Chern to fill the local theater community's lack of opportunities for queer artists.

“It's been a bit of a trial by fire as we go because we haven't done it before," says Jacobson, Two Cent's managing director, resident producer and associate artistic director. "Besides the experience we've had in college, we’re learning everything on the job. We're really lucky to have a community that we can learn from, but I think one of the biggest things for me is what we keep hearing from people: ‘Be careful the amount you grow, how fast you grow and in which direction you grow.’ We've been thinking about that a lot because it's just the three of us, and the fear is that we'll take on more than we can handle before we can hire more people to help us out, so we're being mindful of that."

Since its inception, Two Cent has produced six successful productions, establishing a reputation for powerful queer-centric storytelling. The company's first season in residency at the People’s Building, which began in January, has seen Two Cent expand its ambitions, taking on larger productions and refining its craft.
The year began with a more fully realized remount of Clink, Clink: A Love Story, a nostalgic queer coming-of-age story about the 1990s and early 2000s written by Douglas that cost $7,100. Then, in June, Two Cent presented the immersive Josie's Diner, about a haven for the LGBTQ+ community, as part of the Denver Fringe Festival at the Butcher Block Cafe in RiNo and its home base, the People's Building, for $5,900.

Perhaps the most exciting news of the season for Two Cent came just days after the successful opening of Josie's Diner on June 16: The company had been nominated for six Henry Awards (aka the Colorado Tony Awards) for its production of Clink, which tied it with much larger institutions such as the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and Miners Alley Playhouse. The Colorado Theatre Guild presented Two Cent with two Henry Awards in July, for sound and lighting design Tier 2, cementing its place among Denver's rising theater companies.

"It meant the world to me to be recognized by the Henrys," says Maxwell O'Neill, who won for his lighting design. "And to be nominated six times alongside my college friends? An absolute dream. ... I fully convinced myself that I was not going to win against the much bigger theaters — both in budget and literal size. When the first syllable of my name was called, my friends next to me screamed so loud that it took me a second to really process that my name was called."

Riding high on its Henry wins, Two Cent is now gearing up for its most ambitious project to date. The Rocky Horror Show is the company's first musical production, with the largest creative team it's had and a $22,000 budget, which is three times larger than that of previous productions.
The story begins with sweethearts Brad and Janet, who find themselves stuck with a flat tire during a storm. Seeking shelter, they stumble upon the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, where their innocence is lost and they encounter wild characters, elaborate dances and rock songs as Frank unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named Rocky.

"This project has been over a year in the making," notes Churn, Two Cent's artistic and technical director. "Tamarra brought the idea to do Rocky last July or August, and we were thinking about doing it last fall. But as we thought about it, we realized that if we were going to do Rocky, we wanted to do it right."

Part of that included securing a collaboration with Colorado's Elusive Ingredient, the state's largest and longest-running Rocky Horror Picture Show shadow cast, which performed at the Esquire Theatre's monthly screenings for 24 years until the movie theater closed in July. Two of the eight performances will be special late-night “Midnight Madness” shows, during which audience members will receive special bags with props, play pre-show games and interact with the performance using traditional call-and-response that fans of the film screenings know and love.

"Our partnership with Colorado's Elusive Ingredient has been one of our biggest advantages," Douglas says. "They've been really great at publicizing us, and we've helped publicize for them. They're lending us certain set pieces and props. We will have some of their people with us for our Midnight Madness performances, which will make it much easier for audiences to participate in the musical and has been a huge help with marketing." But Two Cent isn’t just re-creating the iconic movie experience. Nelson has made it a priority to focus her directorial approach on the script itself and bring fresh ideas to the table.

“Re-creating the movie just didn’t excite me,” Nelson explains. “I wanted to explore what the script had to offer. By letting go of the expectations tied to the film, we were able to open up creatively, and my designers came up with so many interesting, original ideas that we wouldn't have if we had been trying to focus on creating a replica of the film."

Nelson and the creative team have leaned into the campy, horror-movie elements of the show while also drawing inspiration from 1950s B-movies, John Waters films and drag culture.

“This whole musical is a love letter to horror movies from the ’50s to the early ’70s,” Nelson says. “We’re leaning into that dramatic Vincent Price style while also paying homage to the world of drag queens and John Waters. I watched Paris Is Burning like five times, thinking about Frank and the world that he might have been creating in the castle. Our Rocky Horror lives at the intersection of The Day the Earth Stood Still, old Frankenstein movies and RuPaul's Drag Race.”

For Nelson, the show can be summed up in a single line: "Don't dream it, be it." The Rocky Horror Show, she says, is about creating a safe space with no limits or boundaries, where the audience and performers can feel comfortable being whatever they want to be.

“Similar to Brad and Janet, you may enter the show thinking you’re one way and then realize, when you see Frank and Rocky, that you’re a little bit more fluid than you thought you were,” Nelson says. “Anybody who’s looking to have a really fun, silly time is welcome, and they might just discover something new about themselves along the way.”

The Rocky Horror Show, Saturday, September 21, through October 5 at the People's Building, 9995 East Colfax Avenue, Aurora. Learn more at twocentlion.com.