Jackson Free Press logo

This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

Blake Dailey (left) plays Brad and Chad King (right) plays Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Show” this year at Hal & Mal’s. Kyle Henderson

You’ve heard of it, but maybe you’ve never been curious enough to find out more. “The Rocky Horror Show” is a fall must-see with its lovey-dovey couple, monsters and a transvestite from Transylvania, all of whom can sing and dance you to shame. Whether you’ve never seen it, or it’s a part of your year every year, the time has come again, and Kyle Henderson, 31, the director for this year’s stage production, is helping make it happen.

Henderson says one of the best things about the show is the fact that it is a live production. “It’s the original staged script,” he says. “That’s not something that gets done often. Usually it’s a film or they’ll have a cast re-enacting the film.”

Having recently finished the spring production of “Cabaret,” Henderson says since he’s been in Jackson (he moved here from Austin, Texas), he’s been impressed with the theater community in Jackson.

“It’s grown since I was last here,” he says. And the scene, he admonishes, is “going to go away,” if it’s not supported.

That won’t happen anytime soon, though, thanks to the Fondren Theater Workshop, which is responsible for staging the show and bringing Henderson in to direct it.

“You’ll see some familiar faces and some new ones,” Henderson says about this year’s production. “It’s a fun show; you never have problems getting people to act in it.”

“The Rocky Horror Show” will be staged in Hal & Mal’s Big Room Saturday, Oct. 30, at 7 and 10 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 and are available by calling 601-982-2217. Tickets will be available at the door but Henderson warns, “The show usually sells out pretty quickly.” A portion of the proceeds
benefits HeARTS Against AIDS.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.