PLYMOUTH, Mich. (WXYZ) — Out of a park full of scarecrows in downtown Plymouth, one disappeared.
Police say someone stole the life-size display of a character from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", a scarecrow depicting Dr. Frank-N-Furter that had been proudly displayed in Kellogg Park for the annual community fundraiser.
See the full story from Plymouth Reporter Christiana Ford in the video below
The theft happened just days after the design drew criticism. Now, after an outpouring of community support, a rebuilt version of the scarecrow is back up in its rightful place.
Plymouth Canton PFLAG, an LGBTQ advocacy group, says the display was meant to honor a queer icon and the life of the late Tim Curry.
While police search for who took it, the group says it didn't let the theft stop them.
"You think that you understand your community, and then you're like, wow, some people are really upset and some, you know, some people really don't get it," Laurie Mayers, past president of Plymouth Canton PFLAG, said.
Plymouth police say they are investigating.
"A big reason why some people are offended is because, you know, Frank is a man dressed in women's clothes, and he's transgressing the gender binary, right? So that, you know, that seems to threaten some people and I'm sure that's why the scarecrow was stolen," Mayers said.
But Mayers says in the world of Rocky Horror, the show must go on.
Artist Patrick Cox and his daughter immediately got to work on Frank-N-Furter 2.0.
"It's like the show has to go on, we can't let this in. So, yeah, there was not even a second thought about it," Patrick Cox said.
And this time, there was a lot of community support.
"We just got this outpouring of people wanting to help, wanting to donate things like this I had here was donated by somebody that is a hairdresser," Cox said.
Thanks to that outpouring of support, the Frank-N-Furter scarecrow is now back up in its rightful place.
PFLAG will host a parade and celebration on Saturday, Oct. 24. Anyone interested can meet at the scarecrow in Kellog park at 6 p.m.
"We're gonna hopefully we're going to have some Franks in costume, and we're gonna march around the block of, you know, Main Street and come back to the park and do the Time Warp dance again," Mayers said.
One last "Time Warp," keeping the spirit of Frank-N-Furter alive.
"It's a symbol that, you know, LGBTQ people are here and we're part of the community and we want to be represented, and we have a right to. We have a right to be here," Mayers said.
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