Broadway's Rocky Horror Show honors Tim Curry at Studio 54
On Wednesday night, the Broadway cast of "The Rocky Horror Show" at Studio 54 paid an emotional curtain-call tribute to Tim Curry, who died Tuesday at 80. Paul Soileau, the current Dr. Frank-N-Furter, called Curry the "mothership" of the role he created in 1973 and 1975, and the audience chanted "Tim! Tim! Tim!" The moment capped a night of remembrance for the actor who defined one of theater and film's most enduring cult characters.
Key Takeaways
- Tim Curry died Tuesday at age 80; he originated Dr. Frank-N-Furter on stage in 1973 and in the 1975 film.
- Paul Soileau led a curtain-call tribute at Studio 54, joined by Luke Evans and Jake Shears, past and future Frank-N-Furters in the Broadway revival.
- The full cast performed "I'm Going Home," and a lobby memorial displayed Curry's portrait surrounded by electric candles.
- Director Jim Sharman remembered Curry as "a unique talent, a lovely person and a tough cookie."
Why did Broadway's 'Rocky Horror Show' honor Tim Curry?
Curry's death on Tuesday at 80 made the tribute at Broadway's celebrity breaking news circuit feel immediate and personal. The British actor did not merely play Frank-N-Furter — he invented the character's swagger, wit, and danger in Richard O'Brien's 1973 London production and again in the 1975 cult-classic film "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."
He even brought the role to Broadway at the Belasco Theatre in 1975. For a revival now running at Studio 54, honoring Curry was less a formality than a recognition that every Frank-N-Furter since traces back to one performance.
What did Paul Soileau say about Frank-N-Furter's legacy?
Actor Paul Soileau, who currently plays Frank, spoke to the standing crowd after Wednesday's performance. He described Frank-N-Furter as a spirit that "finds vessels" and moves through them — but one with a single origin point.
"If you trace it all back, 53 years ago there's one home and one vessel; one mothership that Frank-N-Furter can actually call home. And it's Tim Curry," Soileau said, according to Page Six.
He credited O'Brien with laying out the ingredients and Curry with creating "this beast that everyone found something within." Soileau also pushed back on obituaries stating Curry had no children: "That's bulls–t, because he has so many children in this world. Tim Curry has more family than I think any of us could ever imagine."
How did past and future Frank-N-Furters join the tribute?
Soileau called Tony Award nominee Luke Evans — the revival's first Frank — and Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears, who takes over the role on Sept. 11, to the stage. The three Furters stood alongside the full cast, which includes "Saturday Night Live" veteran Rachel Dratch.
Together they performed "I'm Going Home," one of the show's most emotional numbers. The audience responded with sustained applause and chants of Curry's name, turning a standard curtain call into a shared memorial.
What did fans see at Studio 54 after the show?
Outside the auditorium, a lobby display featured a memorial photograph of Curry in character as Frank-N-Furter, ringed by electric candles. It gave departing theatergoers a quiet place to reflect after the onstage outpouring.
Jim Sharman, who directed both the original Broadway production and the film, spoke from Australia: "He was a unique talent, a lovely person and a tough cookie." He added, "Lipstick traces of him remain in the movies that will outlive him." For fans of Broadway's "Rocky Horror Show," those traces were visible everywhere on Wednesday night.