Do the 'Time Warp' Again at the 'The Rocky Horror Drag Show' in St. Louis

Who doesn't love "The Rocky Horror Show," originally a Broadway smash in 1974 – or, if not the original stage musical, its 1975 film adaptation, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show?" The story follows Brad and Janet, two nice, young, Midwestern Americans who encounter a riotous band of aliens in a spooky mansion right out of a Hammer Horror movie and become embroiled in the mad plot of the uber-sexy (and uber-sexual) Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

The off-the-wall musical film (part gay burlesque, part sci-fi satire by way of Ed Wood, and full-on fun) has entranced and enchanted audiences with the movie playing midnight shows every weekend for decades at a time, drawing crowds that dress up as their favorite characters, scream the dialogue, hurl things at the screen, and generally give themselves over to a harmless (if somewhat Dionysian) catharsis of silliness with a dash of taboo sexiness thrown in.

Now the lucky folks of St. Louis, Missouri will get to love it even more, and just in time for Halloween, as the beloved musical transforms into a live drag show courtesy of Prismatic Events – namely, "The Rocky Horror Drag Show," which plays eight shows over two weekends at Tropical Liqueurs starting Friday, Oct. 13.

"The Rocky Horror Drag Show" is a modern take that – not unlike Dr. Frank-N-Furter's pieced-together stud muffin, Rocky – assembles something luscious and new: In this case bringing the musical play together with the energy and style of the modern live drag show. The Prismatic Events show stars trans drag performer Aiden Povis (he/him) as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in a unique take on the character made famous by Tim Curry in the movie.

Povis, who got his start as a drag king more than a decade ago, has performed in various iterations of "Rocky Horror." Now he gets to play his absolute dream role – and he tells EDGE all about his once-controversial style, his favorite song from the show, and why portraying Dr. Frank-N-Furter is a full-circle moment for him.

EDGE: Tell me a bit about yourself and your career in drag‚ and, of course, in this show.

Aiden Povis: When I first started doing drag about 11 years ago, I was a drag king - that's starting out as someone who is assigned female at birth, but performing as a man; presenting hyper masculine, all that kind of stuff. I did that for a while, and I started leaning more into the femininity of men as well - doing more Elton John, or Freddie Mercury, leaning into that feminine side of masculinity and playing with the idea of gender, playing with the idea of femininity and masculinity. I got a lot of backlash from other drag kings like myself.

It wasn't until I had been doing for a while that I came out as trans man, binding my chest and taking testosterone and all that, but still performing hyper-feminine, and even performing without having my chest bound - having this bra and big boobs, a corset, a tutu. I again got backlash from the trans community, people saying, "Well, you must be a poor representation of who a trans man is, because you're not binding your chest." And I said, "Well, this is who I am, and this is how my art is, and that's what I want to explore."

My drag has always been about exploring the idea of gender and idea of femininity and masculinity, blending the two. I just kind of ran with that.

You're playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Tell me about your approach to that role.

Aiden Povis: Oh, wow. Frank-N-Furter, honestly, is the reason I do drag, and why my drag is the way it is. I watched "Rocky Horror" with my mom as a kid, and I loved it. It was just so crazy and kooky. I didn't really understand a lot of the actual story or a lot of the undertones, but I just thought it was so fun and the songs are so vibrant. Even if I didn't understand what all the emotions were, I still felt the emotions; I still understood that this is something strong and means something.

As I got older, and I started to understand both myself as a person on the inside and the outside, I started understanding the story of the movie much more. When I started doing drag, my goal was I wanted to be the Frank-N-Furter of drag: I wanted to be this kind of amalgamation of gender and sexuality and fluidity.

I had had the pleasure of portraying other characters from "Rocky Horror" in previous drag versions of "Rocky Horror" in past years. Last year, the first time that we, as this particular group did "Rocky Horror," I was asked, "Do you want to play Frank?" I was nearly in tears and was like, "Oh my gosh, this is the role of a lifetime for me! This is my moment."

EDGE: There's quite a lot of audience participation in the movie. Is "The Rocky Horror Drag Show "something along the same lines?

Aiden Povis: Just like my drag is its own amalgamation, the way that we do "Rocky Horror Drag Show" is very much like that. It's a big open floor plan where everyone is seated at long tables for the audience and we have our stage, and you move around the whole floor. There's that crowd participation, but at the same time it's also still a live drag show. It's its own kind of creature, so it's really not for just any kind of performer to do. It's got to be someone who knows very much who their character is, and how that character would react to someone yelling back these lines, and act how they would act even when it's not a rehearsed or planned moment.

The old school [way of doing it is], like, midnight showings where they've got the movie playing up there and there's a cast of people kind of acting it out. This is more offering our own spin to these characters, with the music and all that.

EDGE: What is it about 'The Rocky Horror Show' that still attracts so many people?

Aiden Povis: I think it's the idea that our two main characters, Brad and Janet are very stuffy and conservative, prudish characters who are nervous about everything – and they see these bright, colorful, loud people who are so boisterous and so flamboyant, and they're like, "Oh, I could never! That's insane." But once they delve into it and let go, they're like, "Wow, look at this entire world, how beautiful it is! Look how much we're limiting ourselves." It's such a huge celebration of the fluidity of gender and sexuality. It's so freeing, while also being campy and fun and exciting. It's just that idea that you can be who you want to be and feel how you want to feel. You don't have to have these barriers.

EDGE: With the way that drag is coming under attack feels like this is the perfect moment for it to be a show that is about defiance and resistance and, especially, joy.

Aiden Povis: That's another reason why I feel so fortunate to be able to be the one who gets to portray Frank-N-Furter. In the movie it was Tim Curry, and in almost every stage production it's always been a cisgender man, and so being able to be a trans man who is also still hyper-feminine, and getting to play the same character in my own way, is an inspiration. I've had a lot of people come up to me and let me know how seeing someone like me in that role means so much for them.

EDGE: Is there a moment or a song that you perform or anyone else perform? In the room that you find particularly resonant for you?

Aiden Povis: "Sweet Transvestite." I've been performing that song even in regular drag shows for a decade now, because it's always so... what's the word?... striking or shocking for most people, especially in a regular show. People are doing their usual pop songs, and then you hear that opening to "Sweet Transvestite," and everyone's like, "Oh!" They think of Tim Curry and are expecting this man to walk out here with this [kind of look], and then I come out here, big ol' boobs out in the air and big hair, and they're like, "Wait, what? What am I watching?" Like, "I'm not sure what's going on," but I still give them the show of my life.

Every time I perform that song, people respond in so many different ways, but always positive ways. That song has always meant a lot to me. So I love that song much, but performing it in an actual production, as Frank, is even better.

"The Rocky Horror Drag Show" at Tropical Liqueurs St. Louis runs October 13th, 15th, 20th & 22nd. For show times and more information follow this link to Prismatic Events STL.