After quite a long wait, us fans of The Rocky Horror Show no longer have to shiver in anticipation: the full cast for the upcoming Broadway production has been revealed. The show opens March 26 at the legendary Studio 54 for a limited run, and Tony Award-winning director Sam Pinkleton is at the helm.
Much of the details of the revival have been kept under wraps, except for the announcement of Luke Evans’ casting as Dr. Frank-N-Furter last October. This will be Evans’ Broadway debut and he has big shoes (or should I say heels!) to fill. He has previously starred as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast (2017) as well as in Rent and Miss Saigon in London’s West End. This casting choice came as quite a surprise to me initially, but the new clip of Evans singing “I’m Going Home” in rehearsal gave me chills. We might not get the full vision until costume and makeup, but the voice is definitely there.
The rest of our creatures of the night are here to join Evans in the “Time Warp:”
- Rachel Dratch of Saturday Night Live fame is The Narrator. Dratch previously made her Broadway debut in POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive. I am sure Dratch will bring her esteemed comedy chops to this campy, faux-serious role. I do have to wonder if the famous “no-neck” costume and inside joke will prevail from the original movie, though.
- Andrew Durand is the certified assh*le Brad Majors. Durand recently received a Tony Award nomination for his performance in Dead Outlaw, and is finishing a run off-Broadway in Little Shop of Horrors. If this man can play a corpse onstage for 40 minutes, then Brad’s uptight nature will be a cakewalk.
- Stephanie Hsu is the iconic Janet Weiss. Hsu is returning to Broadway after an Academy Award nomination in the impeccable Everything Everywhere All At Once. I am so excited to see her top-tier talent in this silly, special show. Hsu was also in the original Broadway casts of Spongebob SquarePants the Musical and Be More Chill, so she is no stranger to an iconic musical comedy. Mei in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is another one of Hsu’s best roles, in my humble opinion, but it’s quite the departure from the (debatably) innocent and meek Janet.
- Amber Gray is Riff Raff y’all! Her acting credits are decorated, but probably most notably, Gray was the original Persephone in Hadestown on Broadway. Just her unique, raspy vocal style alone is going to kill in songs like the “Time Warp.” This is also the first time a woman will be playing Frank’s Transylvanian servant in a major Rocky production. Famously, creator and writer Richard O’Brien played Riff Raff in the film.
- Harvey Guillén is taking on the roles of both Eddie and Dr. Scott. Real ones know that in many “shadow cast” performances, this is common practice. Guillén is perhaps most well known for his six season run in the FX comedy What We Do in the Shadows. Very Rocky Horror, gothic core! He should fit right in. Guillén also has quite the extensive filmography in animation as well.
- Juliette Lewis is the housemaid Magenta. Lewis is a highly decorated, Oscar-nominated actress known for her dark, offbeat characters. Magenta can easily fit into that category. You may recognize Lewis from Martin Scorsese’s Cape Fear, or more recently the TV series Yellowjackets. She will be making her Broadway debut in this production, and wrote in an Instagram caption with the announcement: “Before I even had a career I found my people- I found my planet… after I snuck into The Rocky Horror Show at just 11 years old… NOW I’m gonna be in it! On Broadway…”
- Michaela Jaé Rodriguez is Frank’s tap-dancing groupie Columbia. Rodriguez is no stranger to the stage, but you might know her best from Ryan Murphy’s TV show Pose. She was the first transgender woman to win the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series- Drama, and snagged an Emmy nomination as well. Rodriguez has also explored the world of music, with multiple R&B projects. She should be no stranger to a world as glamorous and camp as Rocky Horror!
- Josh Rivera is the titular man-made monster Rocky. As the last character in the main cast, Rocky must be the masculine object of Frank’s desires, and Rivera is sure to deliver. With breakout roles in West Side Story, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez, Rivera is quickly making a name for himself in film. What some may not know, however, is that his professional career journey actually began as a swing in the original national touring cast of Hamilton.