Rocky legal landscape: Polk Theatre will still allow minors to campy horror tradition

Planning the entertainment lineup for the historic Polk Theatre now involves an additional duty for its director, Leslie Sikora: consulting with a lawyer.

As she anticipated the annual hosting of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show Experience,” a two-night extravaganza mixing the movie itself with raucous, live performances, Sikora had to consider the implications of a law the Florida Legislature passed in this year’s session titled “Protection of Children.”

The measure, informally known as the Anti-Drag Law, bars certain establishments from admitting children to “adult live performances.” The law defines those as exhibitions that depict or simulate nudity or sexual conduct, including the “lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts.”

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” released in 1975, is a camp classic and an homage to science fiction and trashy B-movies. The plot ushers a pair of naïve newlyweds into a castle overseen by Dr. Frank N. Furter, an alien transvestite from the planet Transsexual. Soon after its release, the movie generated audience participation, with moviegoers wearing costumes, shouting dialog and commentary at the screen and toting such props as rice, rubber gloves and toast to match elements of the story.

The movie has special appeal for LGBTQ audience members. The performances of the Lipstick Players, before and during the screening at the Polk Theatre in Lakeland, include cast members in drag, and their language and antics can be raunchy.

That is what prompted Sikora to consult with a lawyer, seeking to determine whether the Polk Theatre could admit minors to the screenings, scheduled for 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The movie itself does not start until midnight, leaving time for pre-show comedy, dancing and musical performances.

Sikora learned that the Florida law is on hold as the result of a recent ruling by a federal court. A panel with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta earlier this month upheld a lower court’s decision granting a preliminary injunction to halt enforcement of the law until a trial is held on a challenge to its constitutionality.

The owner of Hamburger Mary’s, a restaurant and bar in Orlando that regularly hosts drag shows, filed a challenge to the law, claiming it violates free speech rights.

Even after finding news coverage of that court action, Sikora said Monday that she was checking with a lawyer just to be safe.

All of Polk County’s six legislators voted for the law.

'But if parents bring their children ...'

It is not clear whether the law, if it survives legal challenges, would apply to a venue like the Polk Theatre. The measure addresses venues that receive licenses from the state’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants and bans the agency from issuing a permit or otherwise authorizing the forbidden performances. The agency could fine, suspend or revoke the license of “any public lodging establishment or public food service establishment” violating the law.

The owner of a venue that violates the law could face a misdemeanor charge.

The Polk Theatre, a restored movie palace that opened in 1928, serves snacks and drinks, including beer and wine. It holds a retail beverage license from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Because “Rocky Horror” is an R-rated film, Sikora said that the Polk Theatre will require anyone under age 17 to be accompanied by an adult. She said the pre-show performances are also adult-oriented.

“My personal opinion is there can be moments where it's over the top, the performances and some of the material,” Sikora said. “I think it's really for mature audiences only. But if parents bring their children, there's really not much I could do about that.”

The Polk Theatre first hosted “The Rocky Horror Picture Show Experience” in 2004 and has maintained the Halloween weekend tradition since then, skipping 2020 amid concerns about COVID-19.

'Young people really love to see'

Freddie De Jesus, founder of the Lipstick Players and producer of the live production, has long portrayed Dr. Frank N. Furter. De Jesus, creative artistic director of Ultimate Dance Center, said the troupe consists entirely of volunteers who begin rehearsing months in advance.

With the new legal uncertainly, De Jesus as of Monday afternoon expected that minors would not be admitted to the “Rocky Horror” events at the Polk Theatre. He said it would sadden him if that were the case.

“I mean, ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show Experience’ is definitely something that young people really love to see — the freedom and the sort of the liberation of being your authentic self,” De Jesus said. “The whole storyline is ‘Don't dream it; be it.’ And there's a lot of LGBTQ youth that don't really have anywhere to look for identifying themselves.”

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De Jesus emphasized that the Polk Theatre events draw plenty of heterosexual and cisgender people, but he said the evening has extra appeal for LGBTQ youth.

Sikora said “The Rocky Horror Picture Show Experience” is one of the Polk Theatre’s most important fundraisers of the year, bringing in more money than most other events. The venue charges $22 for general admission and offers prop bags for $5. (The theater advises against props sometimes taken into “Rocky Horror” screenings, including water pistols, toilet paper and toast.)

The Lipstick Players interact with audience members during the screening of the movie.

“The Lipstick Players are phenomenal,” Sikora said. “They do a wonderful job. They spend many, many hours rehearsing, and they do a great job. But there's nothing like hearing the crowd yell the lines (during the movie). I mean, it's all about that. You go in there, and they really know that show. And it's fun. The audience becomes the show.”

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Drag law on hold. Minors allowed at 'Rocky Horror' events in Lakeland