A Place, Where Nobody Dared To Go

Friday night around 11:30, CM and I made our way to the Art Theatre to catch the midnight showing of a filmdom classic: Xanadu. Christopher from the blog Clever Fool was gracious enough to join us, chatting in front of the theater while waiting for a few more friends to arrive. And while we chatted, a strange, tall man dressed in a bright neon blue cardigan kept inching his way closer to our conversation, nodding his head in agreement, and finally breaking in to ask about my Xanadu t-shirt. I politely told him that it was from the stage show in La Jolla and tried to return to CM and Christopher, but he kept asking odd questions with a constant nodding of his head. I offered quick answers and abruptly shouted hello to RG and SK as they arrived. "He was making me anxious," CM said after the Cardigan Man disappeared into the theater.

Thankfully, Cardigan Man was the oddest part of the night, even counting the roller derby girls and the drunken twink on roller skates who glided down the aisles. Our little group commandeered an entire row, with Christopher throwing his arm across the last empty seat as Cardigan Man passed by, looking for a vacancy.

Before the movie began, the theater held a raffle. CM practically climbed over us to reach the aisle as his number was called. His prize?: Olivia Newton-John's 2008 Christmas album with 23 songs!!! The lights dimmed to show a short reel about a new skating shop just opened in Long Beach and then, the movie began. Everyone roared and applauded as the mural of the Muses appeared at the end of the alley, magically coming to life and the Muses dancing away into the smog of Los Angeles. Audience members threw comments out about the movie, à la Mystery Science Theater 3000, sang along to almost every song, emphasized the gay undertones between Sonny Malone and Danny McGuire, laughed at the horrific clothing and hair styles (I swore one of the Muses had a penis attached to the top of her head). A few moviegoers even dressed as their favorite characters. Not quite Rocky Horror Picture Show, but it definitely had potential.

And as an added bonus, the owner of the roller skating shop served everyone a piece of roller skating cake as we left the theater. What more could you ask for: food, friends, and fun!!

Image from Jerry Roberts: A Working Portfolio.