The Rocky Horror Glee Show "Time Warp". When casting "Glee", series creator Ryan Murphy required that auditioning actors without theatrical experience demonstrate their ability to sing and dance as well as act. Mays, who was cast as guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury, auditioned with the song "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". In April 2009, Murphy told the "Los Angeles Times" that he would like to have Mays perform the song on "Glee". In October 2009, cast member Chris Colfer deemed "Time Warp" the song he would most like to perform on the show, and suggested a "Rocky Horror"-themed Halloween episode.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show Horror: From Concept to Cult", designer Sue Blane discusses the "Rocky Horror" costumes' influence on punk music style, opining "[It was a] big part of the build-up [to punk]." She states that ripped fishnet stockings, glitter, and coloured hair were directly attributable to "Rocky Horror". Some of the costumes from the film had been originally used in the stage production. Props and set pieces were reused from old Hammer Horror productions and others. The tank and dummy used for Rocky's birth originally appeared in "The Revenge of Frankenstein" (1958). These references to earlier productions, in addition to cutting costs, enhanced