The Rocky Horror Show directed a benefit performance of "Rocky Horror" to celebrate the musical's 35th anniversary. The show was staged as a one-night only event at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, and featured Julian McMahon as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Matthew Morrison as Brad Majors, Lea Michele as Janet Weiss (during the first act), Nicole Scherzinger as Janet Weiss (during the second act) and The Usherette, Evan Rachel Wood as Magenta, Lucas Grabeel as Riff Raff, Melora Hardin as Columbia, Jorge Garcia as Eddie, George Lopez as Dr. Scott, Mike Breman as Rocky Horror, and Jack Nicholson and Danny DeVito sharing the role of
The Rocky Horror Picture Show was able to talk distributors into midnight screenings, starting in New York City on April Fools' Day of 1976. The cult following started shortly after the film began its midnight run at the Waverly Theater in New York City., then spread to other counties in NYC, and to Uniondale, L.I. "Rocky Horror" was not only found in the larger cities but throughout the United States where many attendees would get in free if they arrived in costume. The western division of the film's release included the U.A. Cinemas in Fresno and Merced, the Cinema J. in Sacramento, California, and the