Musical Director Faked Threats Against Himself to Get Out of Working on ‘The Rocky Horror Show’

A community theater group in Vermont spent months believing someone wanted to shut down its production — but in a twist straight out of a thriller, it turned out the threat was coming from inside the cast.

According to Essex police via an official press release shared on August 3, Kenneth Grenier, 26, of Hyde Park, Vermont, admitted he sent a series of threatening texts to himself in April while serving as the musical director of the group’s upcoming The Rocky Horror Show. Those texts led the Essex Community Players to cancel their planned production.

The production had been scheduled to run from April 17 to May 2 at Essex’s Memorial Hall, but the theater group made their first announcement on April 3 that the production was canceled due to “unforeseen circumstances.”

On April 6, the production company shared another statement confirming that the threats had prompted the shutdown and that police were investigating.

Meanwhile, Grenier first reported the threats to police on April 7, telling them he had received harassing messages tied to the show.

Once investigators dug deep, they traced the messages, sent through subscriber-based cell phone apps, back to phone numbers registered at Grenier’s own home, Essex Police confirmed.

Confronted in a follow-up interview, he admitted the truth — he’d sent the texts to himself, using safety concerns as cover for what was really friction with the rest of the cast and crew.

He was issued a citation for a misdemeanor charge of false reports to law enforcement. The case was referred to the Chittenden County Community Justice Center, which handles resolution through mediation instead of jail or prosecution, according to the Boston Globe.

According to Seven Days, the nonprofit theater group lost more than $11,500 in expenses that couldn’t be recovered through ticket sales. However, executive producer Jane Healy told the Boston Globe the losses may be closer to $15,000.