Rocky Horror Reopens Orpheum Theatre

FOXBOROUGH, MA — About 90 years after the first opening, Friday was opening night once again for the Orpheum Theater.

Under new ownership and the sign outside touting "a new beginning," the local landmark celebrated their reopening by doing the Time Warp again. The first show of the new era went to the RKO Army and their live performance of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show." The group, a former regular at the theater when it was under Bay Colony Productions ownership, returned to Foxborough for the first time in two-and-a-half years to help cut the ribbon.

The theater was recently sold to the newly formed the Foxboro Regional Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Bob Hickey as its executive director and Selectman Jim DeVellis as the president.

"We're coming together, this is the first show that we've had," DeVellis said after a successful opening night. "On a Friday after 10 p.m., people are walking around, you don't see that often. It's the beginning of something."

About 100 people came out for the show which was the classic midnight-showing style presentation of Rocky Horror, which included live performers acting out the movie while it's played on the big screen and rowdy fan interaction that's designed to humor and offend, but in a fun way that can only be experienced in person. The group is expected to bring more shows to the Orpheum, with a Rocky Horror showing planned for the first of each month and midnight showings of cult classics.

If the R-rated classic isn't for you, "The Nutcracker," "Mary Poppins," comedy shows, and the theatre's signature "Three Stooges" festival are all on the schedule. The Foxborough Downtown Business Association is planning on having weekly meetings at the theater and a brass band is set to make future regular appearances

While open, the theatre is still a work in progress, with planned renovations, including a revamped function area outside the theater and work on the balcony that would allow for children's birthday parties and movie viewings, DeVellis said.

Originally constructed in 1926 as a movie theater, the Orpheum was renovated in 1993 to accommodate live performances. Following the renovation, a reopening followed in 1994. In 2004, Bay Colony Productions purchased the theatre from the original Foxboro Regional Center for the Performing Arts.

Images: 1 - Members of the Foxboro Regional Center for the Performing Arts cut the ribbon to celebrate the reopening. 2- The Orpheum sign celebrating a new beginning. Credit: Dan Libon