Lace yourself up into that corset, paint on those patent-leather jeans, shimmy into those seven-inch platform shoes, and don’t forget your whip. Rocky Horror is in town.

Whidbey Island Center for the Arts presents Richard O’Brien’s cult classic rock ’n’ roll musical “The Rocky Horror Show,” opening at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30.

This famous story of creation, love, hate, adventure and erotic experimentation begins in the velvet darkness of the blackest night in Denton, Ohio, where two unsuspecting clean-cut kids, Brad Majors and Janet Weiss, get a flat tire and end up at the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, an alien transvestite. They soon discover they have arrived on a special night when Frank’s newest creation is about to be born.

“The Rocky Horror Show” stage musical first opened in London in 1973 at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs. It was hugely successful, running in various venues in London for 2,960 performances through 1980.

When the film adaptation hit screens in 1975 and flopped, and then found its midnight movie audience in 1976, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” turned into a cult phenomenon and has played continuously to midnight audiences for more than 30 years.

From its mad songs such as “The Time Warp” and “Sweet Transvestite,” to the ethereal “There’s a Light” and “I’m Going Home,” the show has a little bit of guilty pleasure in it for every kind of audience member.

So what was WICA thinking when it decided on a transvestite-luring cult classic?

Executive director Stacie Burgua said she and her staff decided to shake up the season and offer the community a surprising bit of campy fun.

“Theatre-going is usually a passive experience — you sit in your seat and things unfold around you. ‘Rocky’ is interactive — the audience gets to participate if they want to. The community loved ‘Cabaret.’ Will they love ‘Rocky’ even more? We think so.

“At least they will get to see more corsets and shiny underpants,” she added.

Shimmering skivvies aside, director Jason Dittmer delved into the referential side of the show which proved a veritable gold mine of creative inspiration.

“The show is a spoof of and tribute to science fiction and B-films,” Dittmer said.

“The lyrics to ‘Science Fiction Double Feature’ were written in 1972 by a man (O’Brien) who grew up watching the films of the ’50s and ’60s. The song is packed with references to films that were as familiar to audiences in the early ’70s as ‘Let the force be with you’ or ‘Beam me up’ are to our audiences today.”

Dittmer and his design team took advantage of the sci-fi element of the play and had fun creating set pieces, sound effects and costumes that call back iconic TV programs such as “Star Trek,” “Dr. Who” and “Stargate.”

The lighting designers, Jake Ewing and Josh Stayskal, also had fun incorporating some old-fashioned stage technology into their design, while combining that with modern elements.

This production also wins the most-or-first-ever-at-WICA prize for the biggest fog machine and the most fog (built by master stage technician Tyler Raymond), the most fishnets (22 pairs), the most exposed corsets, the most genderbending, the first rocket launch, the most choreography per minute, and the first (“we want you to”) audience participation.

The performance team, too, has left nothing to chance on this one, and the actors have worked hard to pull this ambitious piece together.

Some cast members were challenged by musical director Rob Prosch and conductor Robert Marsanyi to let go of their impersonations of the film’s actors and other recordings, and make the songs their own.

The mother-and-son choreography team of Susan and Graham Vanderwood never let up on the demands of both the principal players and the “Transylvania Corps,” who’ve been put through their paces with a collection of speedy and complex dance numbers.

But ultimately, production director Deana Duncan said, the whole thing has been just plain fun.

“Choosing ‘Rocky’ was a group decision. We really thought about what would stretch our designers and actors, be fun for the patrons and really offer something different at this time of the season. Plus, we thought it would make a great Halloween show,” Duncan said. “We’re having a blast producing this one.”

The producers want the audience to have a blast, too, and so have encouraged the audience to do as the multitudes of midnight “Rocky” movie fans do and dress the part. It is a long-held tradition of “Rocky Horror Show” viewers to dress up like the characters in the play, whether it be as a towering transvestite after Frank-N-Furter or as the meek-and-mild Janet.

The production features Brian Plebanek, Savannah Randall, George Henny, Gwen Jones, Terry Rose, Ryan Saenz, Sam Cass, Katie Woodzick, Charles Simpson, Rainey Lewis, Addelle Dierking, Caitlin Goldbaum, Gail Liston, Adam Shults and Carrie Whitney.

The show is directed by Jason Dittmer, with musical direction by Robert W. Prosch, orchestral direction by Robert Marsanyi, choreography by Graham Vanderwood and Susan Vanderwood, lighting design by Jake Ewing and Josh Stayskal, sound design by Brian Olson, properties by Becky Duthie, and Rob Scott is the stage manager.

Tickets range in price from $12 to $16, with discounts available for students and groups, and are available at the Web site;click here or call 221-8268 or 800-638-7631.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays, Oct. 30 through Nov. 14 (except for the Saturday, Oct. 31 Halloween show, which is at 9 p.m.)