The Broadway production of “The Rocky Horror Show” offered a heartfelt tribute to Tim Curry on Wednesday night, honoring the late actor who first portrayed the memorable Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
During the curtain call at Studio 54, current cast member Paul Soileau, who plays Frank-N-Furter, spoke of Curry’s enduring legacy. Curry, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 80, originated the role of the “sweet transvestite” in the 1973 London theater production and the 1975 cult-classic film.
“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 all around,” Soileau told the audience. “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.”
The crowd responded with applause and a chant of “Tim! Tim! Tim!”
Soileau reflected on Curry’s performance, stating, “Just as Richard O’Brien created ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ 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. And somehow it resonated for this long with this many people in this room here right now.”
Addressing Curry's obituaries, Soileau added, “Obituaries always say that he didn’t have children. And 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.”
Following his remarks, Soileau invited Tony Award nominee Luke Evans, who plays Frank in the current revival, and Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears, who is set to take over the role, to the stage. The cast, including “Saturday Night Live” alum Rachel Dratch, then performed a rendition of the song “I’m Going Home.”
A memorial display for Curry, featuring a picture of him as Frank-N-Furter surrounded by electric candles, was also present in the lobby of Studio 54.
Curry originated the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter on Broadway in 1975 at the Belasco Theatre. Jim Sharman, director of that original production and the film, commented from Australia, “He was a unique talent, a lovely person and a tough cookie.” Sharman added, “Lipstick traces of him remain in the movies that will outlive him.”
