On Wednesday night, “The Rocky Horror Show” on Broadway took a moment to honor the late Tim Curry, who passed away at the age of 80 on Tuesday.
Curry, a British actor, was best known for his iconic role as the “sweet transvestite” Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the 1975 film “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and the original 1973 London production.
During the curtain call, Paul Soileau, the actor portraying Frank, expressed his deep admiration for Curry’s memorable performance.
“The way Frank-N-Furter survives is that he finds vessels and he goes into them and takes them over, and he keeps moving and moving all around,” Soileau shared with the audience at Studio 54.
“But 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.”
This heartfelt sentiment sparked a wave of applause, with the crowd chanting “Tim! Tim! Tim!”
Soileau continued, reflecting on how Richard O’Brien, the writer and composer, presented Curry with a piece of paper containing the ingredients for the character, which Curry transformed into something unforgettable that resonated with many. He noted, “Just as Richard O’Brien created ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ to find something about himself, you could say Tim Curry created Frank-N-Furter to express something deeper about himself. And somehow, it has resonated for this long with so many people in this room.”
Soileau emphasized a point that often gets overlooked: “Obituaries always say that he didn’t have children. And that’s nonsense because he has so many children in this world. Tim Curry has more family than I think any of us could ever imagine.”
He then welcomed to the stage Luke Evans, a Tony Award nominee who was the first actor to play Frank in this revival, along with Jake Shears from the band Scissor Sisters, who is set to take on the role on September 11. The entire cast, including “Saturday Night Live”’s Rachel Dratch, joined in to perform the song “I’m Going Home.”
In the lobby of Studio 54, a memorial featuring a picture of Curry as Frank set amongst electric candles provided a poignant reminder of his legacy.
Interestingly, Curry had originally taken on this role on Broadway in 1975 at the Belasco Theatre.
Jim Sharman, the director of both the original production and the film, commented from his home in 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.”
