Luke Evans and Jake Shears pay tribute to Tim Curry on Broadway after his death
The cast members performed ‘I’m Going Home’, Dr Frank-N-Furter’s final song in the show
By Aaron Sugg
Broadway’s The Rocky Horror Show cast paid tribute to original star Tim Curry following his death on 25 August, with Luke Evans, Jake Shears and Paul Soileau paying a heartfelt tribute.
Curry passed away at his home in Los Angeles following long-term health issues after suffering a stroke in 2012. He is best known for his breakout role as Dr Frank-N-Furter in the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which was first staged in 1973 and is currently running at Studio 54 in New York City.
Luke Evans, Jake Shears and Paul Soileau play Dr Frank-N-Furter
Evans made his Broadway debut as Dr Frank-N-Furter in Rocky Horror Show on 26 March, with Soileau succeeding him and Shears set to take over the role on 11 September.
Last night (26 August) the three Frank-N-Furters performed ‘I’m Going Home’, the character’s final song in the show.
Soileau spoke about Curry’s lasting impact on the character, telling the crowd: “Frank-N-Furter is a marvellous beast and Frank-N-Furter inhabits spaces and sneaks in spaces and places and old theatre houses, like this, movie theatres, teenagers’ bedrooms.”
Frank-N-Furter’s legacy
Explaining Curry’s character’s legacy, he said: “The way Frank-N-Furter survives is that he finds vessels and he goes into them and takes over and he keeps moving and moving and moving all around.”
Soileau emphasised Curry’s unique place in the character’s history: “And many people in this room on this stage have been a vessel for Frank-N-Furter, and 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. It’s truly beautiful.”
While crediting creator Richard O’Brien with inventing Frank-N-Furter for the stage musical, Soileau said Curry transformed the character: “and he created this beast that everyone found something within it, and could see a piece of themselves inside of it.”
Luke Evans pays tribute to the late Tim Curry
Following Curry’s death, Evans paid tribute to the late actor on social media, sharing a letter he had written to Curry three weeks before his death.
“Although we’ve never met, you’ve been part of this journey from the very beginning. Every actor who puts on Frank inevitably walks into a conversation that started with you, and ive ffelt that every single night,” penned Evans.
He concluded the letter with: “I hope, wherever you are, you’d approve of one more Frank having the time of his life in those heels.”
Evans is Attitude’s latest cover star
Evans is the latest star to grace the cover of Attitude magazine. In his cover interview, he spoke fondly about playing the role, admitting that it had boosted his body confidence.
“That feels such a strange thing to say when I’m talking about a character that wears fishnet stockings, heels, a thong, a jockstrap, a corset, a harness, a wig and drag makeup,” he said.
“But doing this in front of over a thousand people every night – so that’s a few hundred thousand people now – has been such a self-asserting, amazing thing for my sense of confidence.”
He continued: “As an actor who’s mostly known for playing these very masc-presenting action roles, and also being a gay man, to come and do this role, it really meant quite a lot to me personally.
“I think it also was a really strong message we were sending to the audience: this is a person who’s comfortable with who he is and has just loved spreading his wings and doing something really outside of his comfort zone that I’ve lived in and thoroughly enjoyed.”
Evan’s Full interview appears in the September/October 2026 issue of Attitude, available on digital platforms from 6pm on Wednesday 26 August and in print from Thursday 27 August. Print copy available for pre-order here.