'Rocky Horror' is 50! We propose a toast. (You know what to do)

"At midnight, they flock to an old art deco movie palace in the Detroit suburbs. A glow-in-the-dark dragon mural lights up one of the screening rooms at the State-Wayne Theater in Wayne, Mich. There, twice a month, the Michigan Rocky Horror Preservation Society holds court, its members arrayed in corsets, feather boas, ripped jeans and lovingly detailed costumes that evoke their favorite movie's main characters."

""We are the original immersive 3D movie experience," says Becky Milanio Koupparis, the chief operating officer and director emeritus. She first dressed up in goth glam to attend a screening at age 16, in Berkeley, Calif. That was 44 years ago. Now she's a well-known member of the national community. Koupparis, who makes costuming a speciality, is among the most senior members of this group, which first numbered about 15 people when it was founded in 2013."

""We are trying to mimic every single small movement: lip-synch, turn, dance move, every single thing that they're doing," explains Moonbeam Albin-Frey, a founding member of the group. Back in the 1970s and '80s, Rocky Horror aficionados had to go to theaters over and over to nail down those details. Some theater owners would have special screenings with the lights on, so hardcore fans could take notes, says current director Jessica Harris. That was before the rise of VCRs and DVDs. "You couldn't rewind to rehearse your performance," she says. "You couldn't stop and pause to see costuming details.""

At midnight, fans gather at the State-Wayne Theater in Wayne, Michigan, where a glow-in-the-dark dragon mural lights a screening room for twice-monthly Rocky Horror events. The Michigan Rocky Horror Preservation Society members wear corsets, feather boas, ripped jeans and detailed costumes to embody favorite characters. Becky Milanio Koupparis is chief operating officer and director emeritus and first dressed in goth glam at age 16 in Berkeley 44 years ago. The group grew from about 15 founders in 2013 to roughly 60 active volunteers who perform as phantoms and shadowcast actors. Phantoms call out responses and throw props like toast while shadowcast performers lip-synch, mimic movements and act beneath the screen. Before home video, fans attended repeat screenings or special lit showings to rehearse and capture costuming details.

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