The screen and stage star will make his Broadway debut in Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of the cult classic musical directed by Sam Pinkleton.
The anticipation is over! Roundabout Theatre Company has announced that Luke Evans will star in The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway as Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Performances run from March 26 to June 21 at Studio 54, with an April 3 opening.
Evans makes his Broadway debut after building an stage extensive career in London’s West End, having starred in musicals like Rent and Miss Saigon and plays like Backstairs Billy and Piaf. He is best known for his roles in films like Clash of the Titans, Beauty and the Beast, and The Hobbit trilogy and TV shows like Nine Perfect Strangers.
Additional casting for The Rocky Horror Show has yet to be set.
“It is music to my ears to hear that a cast of very fine actors is on its way to NYC in order to play let’s dress-up and make-believe, sing and dance and uplift the hearts of all those who enjoy the gift of free-thinking and the pleasure of love,” Richard O’Brien said in a statement. “Break out the fishnets and let’s have a party.”
Richard O’Brien’s cult classic musical follows an innocent young couple who gets stranded outside the house of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a scientist who brings the pair into his world of mad, transgressive creations. The show both premiered on Broadway and got a now-beloved film adaptation in 1975, and this revival is directed by Tony Award winner Sam Pinkleton (Oh, Mary!).
The Rocky Horror Show also features choreography by Ani Taj, music direction and orchestrations by Kris Kukul, set design by dots, costume design by Tony David I. Reynoso, lighting design by Jane Cox, sound design by Brian Ronan, and hair & makeup design by Alberto “Albee” Alvarado.
“I’m giddy to crack this untamable classic open with the razor-sharp Luke Evans at the center,” Pinkleton said in a statement. And I hope to do at Studio 54 what The Rocky Horror Show has done for people around the world for decades — open a dimension to another possible reality. It seriously is the honor of a lifetime to bring the freakiest people I’ve ever met into the freakiest theatre I’ve ever been in to revisit the freakiest show there’s ever been. No pressure, of course.
Rocky Horror is, to me, a sublime, ridiculous, giant-hearted act of love – a trashy little musical that means so many things to generations of tender weirdos with mascara streaming down their faces. I hope we can make something joyous, unfathomable, straight from outer space and I can’t wait to welcome, really WELCOME you into the slimy tentacles of Studio 54.”
Check back for information on The Rocky Horror Show tickets on New York Theatre Guide.