Tim Curry Honored by Rocky Horror’s Past, Present and Future Frank-N-Furters with Emotional ‘I’m Going Home’ Encore on Broadway

Luke Evans, Paul Soileau and Jake Shears came together for the moving tribute to the man who originated the iconic role in 1973

By

Dave Quinn

 

 

Published on August 27, 2026 07:45AM EDT

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Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’; Three of Broadway’s Dr. Frank-N-Furters — Jake Shears, Paul Soileau and Luke Evans.Credit :

20TH CENTURY FOX / Album via Alamy; The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway/Instagram

NEED TO KNOW

• Tim Curry was honored at Broadway’s The Rocky Horror Show following his death at age 80
• Current Frank-N-Furter Paul Soileau remembered Curry as the character’s original “home” and “mothership”
• Soileau was joined by Luke Evans and Jake Shears to perform Frank-N-Furter’s emotional “I’m Going Home”

Tim Curry is being remembered at the place where one of his most iconic characters is still coming alive eight times a week.

Following the Wednesday, Aug. 26 performance of Broadway’s The Rocky Horror Show, Paul Soileau — who is currently starring as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the role Curry originated more than five decades ago — stepped forward after the curtain call to pay tribute to the late actor, who died earlier that day at age 80.

“The role of Frank-N-Furter is a marvelous beast,” Soileau told the audience at Studio 54. “Frank-N-Furter inhabits spaces and sneaks in spaces and places and old theater houses and old theaters like this, movie theaters, teenagers’ bedrooms...

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Soileau, who is known for his performance personas CHRISTEENE and Rebecca Havemeyer, went on to describe the many actors who have played the alien mad scientist over the years as “vessels” through which Curry’s creation has endured.

“The way Frank-N-Furter survives is that he finds vessels and he goes into them and he takes them over and he keeps moving and moving and moving all around,” he said. “And many people in this room, on this stage, have been a vessel for Frank-N-Furter over the years. But if you trace it all back, 53 years ago, there’s one home and one vessel. One mothership that Frank-N-Furter could actually call home, and it’s Tim Curry.”

Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’.

Movie Poster Image Art/Getty

Curry first played Frank-N-Furter in the original 1973 London production of Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show at the Royal Court Theatre. He brought the role to Broadway in 1975 and immortalized the character onscreen that same year in the cult classic film adaptation, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Reflecting on the character’s lasting impact, Soileau credited Curry with taking what O’Brien had written and creating something in which generations of fans could recognize themselves.

“53 years ago, Richard O’Brien laid a piece of paper in front of Tim Curry with ingredients on it,” he said. “And he took all those ingredients and he created this beast that everyone found something within it and could see a piece of themselves inside of it.”

“And this beautiful piece — just as Richard O’Brien created Rocky Horror to find something more about himself — you can also say that Tim Curry created Frank-N-Furter to express and find something deeper about himself,” Soileau continued. “And somehow, it resonated for this long with this many people in this room here now.”

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Soileau then pushed back on one detail he said he had seen repeated in obituaries about Curry following news of his death.

“Obituaries always say that he didn’t have children. And that’s bullshit,” he said. “Because he has so many children in this world. So Tim Curry has more family than I think any of us can even imagine.”

The tribute didn’t end there.

Soileau then welcomed Luke Evans, who originated Frank-N-Furter in the current revival and played his final performance just three days earlier, back to the stage. They were joined by Jake Shears, who is set to take over the role beginning Sept. 11. Together, Broadway’s past, present and future Frank-N-Furters performed “I’m Going Home,” Frank’s emotional 11 o’clock number from the musical.

The production shared video of both Soileau’s speech and the performance on its official Instagram account Wednesday night.

“Remembering the legendary Tim Curry, who first brought Frank-N-Furter to life,” The Rocky Horror Show wrote in a separate tribute. “We are heartbroken by his passing and grateful for the unforgettable legacy he leaves behind.”

“Thank you, Tim, for giving the world a little more freedom, a little more fearlessness, and through the tears in our eyes, the courage to BE IT,” the message continued. “We love you.”

A shrine in Curry’s honor was also erected in the theater’s lobby. “For Tim Curry, a forever light in the darkness.,” the production wrote on Instagram.

Luke Evans in ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ on Broadway.

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times/Redux

Curry died Wednesday in Los Angeles, his longtime manager and friend Marcia Hurwitz confirmed. He was 80.

Though Frank-N-Furter would become one of Curry’s defining stage roles, the actor had a wide breadth of credits. He earned three Tony Award nominations over the course of his career — for Amadeus, My Favorite Year and Spamalot — and famously led the national tour of Me and My Girl in 1987.

On screen, Curry would be just as prolific. He appeared in films including Annie, Clue, Legend, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and Muppet Treasure Island. He also memorably terrified a generation as Pennywise in the 1990 television miniseries It.

And Curry eventually found his way back to Rocky Horror. In 2016, more than four decades after first playing Frank-N-Furter, he appeared as the Criminologist/Narrator in Fox’s television remake, The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again, starring Laverne Cox as Frank. The appearance came four years after Curry suffered a major stroke that impaired his mobility.

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The current Rocky Horror Show revival, directed by Tony Award winner Sam Pinkleton, began previews March 26 and officially opened April 23 at Studio 54. It received nine Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical Revival, and in June broke the theater’s house record.

In addition to Soileau, the musical currently stars Lorna Courtney as Janet, Kevin McHale as Brad, Amber Gray as Riff Raff, George Salazar as Eddie/Dr. Scott, Jimin Moon as Rocky, Sherie Rene Scott as Magenta, Valentina as Columbia and Rachel Dratch as the Narrator.

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