Halloween in Happy Valley is better than a bucket filled with Candy

This weekend made me realize how incredibly lucky I am.

This was my fourth Halloween in State College, a college kid’s Disney World. This was also my last Halloween in State College — and I planned on making it worth it.

I spent Thursday night at “The Rocky Horror Show,” presented by the Thespians. Most shows, I’m required to go because one of the leads is a friend. This time around, every lead character was a friend of mine, but it never once felt like a requirement.

The show was phenomenal and completely broke Thespians out of its normal happy-go-lucky family fun musicals. Instead, with every character clad in scandalous underthings and multiple sex scenes, it was entertainment perfectly fit for a college-aged audience.

Then on top of the stage antics, the show carries with it a certain cult following that encourages audience members to dress up like characters in the show (I have never seen that many combinations of corsets, fishnets and heels — on both males and females). “Rocky” fanatics are also privy to an alternative audience participation script. The most G-rated example: every time the character name Janet was mentioned, the audience yelled “slut.” The correct shout-out for Brad was “asshole.” Why? I’m not really sure. But it was fantastic.

On Friday, Halloween hilarity ensued. After being approached by two incredibly convincing ticket scalpers, I watched The Fonz lose a one-on-one five-cup flip-cup tournament to a gangster. And like any Mafia transaction gone wrong, he paid for the loss by loosing a finger. His thumbs remained duck-taped to his palms for the rest of the night. Dressed as a Girl Scout myself, I met two other scouts (a couple, how cute) who shared their Girl Scout cookies with me. It was a night of costumes, complete with role-playing. Or as one passer-by (dressed as Quailman) put it: “That’s commitment man, freaking commitment.”

Saturday, I teased my hair to the fullest and partied with a “Snakes on a Plane” victim, Jane Smith (of the Mr. And Mrs. variety), a dirty nurse, an 80’s prom queen, a chick magnet (a.k.a., a magnet with chickens stuck to it), Ace Ventura, a “walk of shame,” a dude dressed as a sorority girl and a Jay Bundy look-alike, appropriately accompanied by a cop.

And that’s why I’m lucky. I go to Penn State, where acting like a five year old and dressing like a freak is encouraged. Next October I might have to grow up, but luckily, that’s a whole year away.