When director Sam Pinkleton began envisioning a Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show, he drew up a list of qualities he believed the lead, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, needed to have.
“He had to be a truly tremendous actor. He had to be a real comedian, like a clown. He had to have a killer voice. He had to be terrifying, and also tender,” Pinkleton said. “We had to be scared of him, and we also had to want to fuck him. I also really felt strongly that it needed to be somebody who carried some kind of queerness with them, whatever that means.”
At first, Pinkleton was unsure who could embody all of that and provide a new take on the role made famous by Tim Curry. But when he met Luke Evans, an onscreen action star with a background in musical theater, he found a fit in an actor who happily contains his own contradictions.
Standing at 6 feet 8 inches in heels, Evans towers above cast members including Stephanie Hsu, Juliette Lewis, Harvey Guillén and more, as the mad scientist and head of a paranormal household that has welcomed in two hapless strangers during a rainstorm. Evans is Tony nominated for his Broadway debut in the role, in which he straps on those platform-heeled boots, a corset, a wig and a jock strap to play the pleasure-seeking icon.
