Sandra Hardy, professor of theater at the University of Maine, never saw “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” the cult movie that came out in 1975. It belonged to another generation, she thought, like hip-hop or bell-bottoms. It just was not a part of her scene. She had no idea about midnight showings of the movie all over the country. She didn’t know that hard-core groupies in the audience throw rice and toast at the screen, shout out scripted expletives, and wear wild costumes to participate in the weirdo plot about an innocent couple that stumbles upon an orgy of carnal experiences in the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

So earlier this year, when the theater department asked if Hardy would consider directing the original musical version of “Rocky Horror” for the stage, she rolled her eyes dismissively and agreed. She did know that a 25th anniversary Broadway version had been immensely popular, and that a local production would be, at the very least, a commercial success. While Hardy’s area of scholarly expertise is Ibsen, her musicals have become boisterous highlights of the UM performing season. So she saw “Rocky Horror” as another directorial project.

Then she read Richard O’Brien’s script. For all the hullabaloo about the show, Hardy found the story banal, adolescent and not particularly important.

“It made no sense and it took me weeks to string together all of the intentional fallacies,” said Hardy. “I thought: I can’t do a piece just for the sensationalism of it. I am obliged to teach something. I try very hard when I direct to make a show have some social or psychological significance. Superficially, ‘Rocky Horror’ is the most frivolous thing I’ve ever done. When I said I’d do it, it struck me that I’d be out on a limb with this one. But I’ve been out there before, so what the hell?”

What the hell, indeed. With a hobbled budget, a diminished faculty because of a leave of absence and a slow pace in replacing another full-time position, plus last year’s near erasure of the department by the administration, Hardy is justified in feeling that she might as well get comfortable out on that limb. It is challenging, she said, to mount shows under such taut circumstances. But, when it comes to the students, the show must go on, and Hardy is determined to

continue the work of educating young actors, directors, dancers, singers and designers.

It’s a good thing, too, because students turned out in record numbers to audition for “Rocky Horror,” which opens Thursday, Nov. 7, at Hauck Auditorium. Others sent e-mail and left phone messages expressing interest and excitement about the show. Hardy’s goal was to keep the cast number below 20 people because the show is demanding physically and technically, and requires outrageous costumes and extensive makeup.

During pre-audition workshops, however, she found it impossible, if not unthinkable, to trim the cast back from 25. The students, she noticed, were unusually enthusiastic and well-prepared.

In addition to on-campus participation, one of Hardy’s former students – Joseph Ritsch, an actor and dancer based in New York City – jumped onboard as choreographer. The pre-audition workshops snagged him, too, and he ended up taking the lead role of Frank-N-Furter, which was popularized in the film version by Tim Curry. Ritsch saw the Broadway production last year and described the UM production as “grittier” and “more truthful to the piece.”

“We’re going much deeper into some of the issues,” said Ritsch. “For me, it’s about a journey of self-discovery through sexual identity. I think Sandra felt Frank-N-Furter’s role is very difficult and poses a triple threat of acting, singing and dancing. And, even though two students were called back for the role, that element of pansexuality was difficult for someone their age to grasp. He has to be sexy to everybody.”

Collegiality and connection among cast members was instant, said Ritsch. Even by the end of the pre-audition workshops, the cast spirit and character had begun to form.

“Now I’m getting worried,” Hardy jested. “You know that expression: You’re toast? Well, it looks like there’s going to be toast.”

She means the toast that fans sometimes throw at wild midnight screenings of the movie, but she suspects that if students from all academic studies showed up for auditions, the show has a good chance of selling out the theater – especially during two midnight performances on Saturdays.

Hardy has also slightly reformed her take on the show. She is emphasizing the status of “aliens,” or those people who remain on the periphery of mainstream culture, and she is exploring the parameters of personal freedom. In her version, the show pointedly asks: Where do misfits find a place in society? The answer is embedded in the peculiar allure of gurus, cult leaders and charismatic figures.

“I think everyone is looking for a guru,” said Hardy, “and that’s how I’ve looked at this piece. As long as you don’t take these characters and situations literally, then the social significance may be that we are so locked into what we are that our fantasies and most private thoughts need some expression. Of course, nobody really wants to think about this piece. They just want to sing along and throw toast. Fine. Throw toast. But it has to have significance. You have to ask: What does it mean?”

The question has reverberations far past the entertainment factor onstage. At a time when the theater department has been threatened, the students rallied once again to show the muscle they are willing to put into the program. At least one musical refrain in the show will echo in their minds long after the show closes: Don’t dream it; be it.

The University of Maine School of Performing Arts will present “The Rocky Horror Show” 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at midnight Saturdays, Nov. 7-16, at Hauck Auditorium. Audiences may wear costumes but, for the safety of the actors, no outside props will be permitted in the auditorium. Production-approved prop kits may be purchased before the show. For tickets, call 581-1755.