The legacy of Tim Curry returned to the Broadway stage Wednesday night in one of the most emotional tributes yet to the actor who made Dr. Frank-N-Furter an unforgettable cultural icon.

Following the August 26 performance of The Rocky Horror Show at Studio 54, current Frank-N-Furter Paul Soileau stepped forward during the curtain call to remember Curry, who died at 80 earlier that day. The tribute became even more poignant when Soileau was joined by Luke Evans and Jake Shears, bringing together Broadway’s present, past and future Frank-N-Furters for a performance of I’m Going Home, the character’s emotional 11 o’clock number.

For Soileau, there was no separating Frank-N-Furter from the performer who originated the role.

He reflected on the character’s ability to continue appearing through generations of actors, describing those performers as vessels carrying Curry’s creation forward. But when tracing the character back to its beginning more than five decades ago, Soileau said there was only one true home for Frank-N-Furter: Tim Curry.

Curry first portrayed the flamboyant alien scientist in the original 1973 London production of Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show at the Royal Court Theatre. He brought Frank-N-Furter to Broadway in 1975, then reprised the role in the film adaptation, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, that same year.

That performance transformed Curry into the face of one of cinema’s most enduring cult characters.

Soileau also reflected on how Curry took the foundation created by O’Brien and turned it into a character that allowed generations of audiences to recognize something of themselves. In doing so, Curry made Frank-N-Furter far more than a role on a page or stage.

The current Broadway production’s tribute also challenged the idea that Curry left behind no family simply because he did not have children. Soileau emphasized the enormous community of performers and fans who considered themselves part of Curry’s legacy.

The emotional moment continued when Luke Evans, who had played Frank-N-Furter in the current revival and performed his final show just three days earlier, returned to the stage. Jake Shears, who is scheduled to take over the role on September 11, joined Evans and Soileau.

Together, the three performers represented different chapters of Frank-N-Furter’s Broadway history while honoring the man who created the role.

The production also shared footage of Soileau’s tribute and the performance on social media, while a separate message from The Rocky Horror Show expressed heartbreak over Curry’s death and gratitude for the legacy he left behind. A memorial shrine honoring Curry was also placed in the theater lobby.

Curry’s influence, of course, extended far beyond Rocky Horror. Across a career spanning decades, he earned three Tony Award nominations for Amadeus, My Favorite Year and Spamalot, and famously headlined the national tour of Me and My Girl in 1987.

His film career was equally memorable, with appearances in Annie, Clue, Legend, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and Muppet Treasure Island. He also terrified television audiences as Pennywise in the landmark 1990 miniseries It.

Even after suffering a major stroke in 2012, Curry remained connected to Rocky Horror. In 2016, he returned to the franchise as the Criminologist/Narrator in Fox’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again, with Laverne Cox taking on the role of Frank-N-Furter.

His final years included continued connections with fans and the Rocky Horror community. Curry made his final public appearance in November 2025 at a 50th anniversary celebration of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, where he reunited with several of his longtime costars.

Meanwhile, the Broadway revival Curry inspired continues its own run at Studio 54, where the production is directed by Tony Award winner Sam Pinkleton. The revival began previews on March 26 and officially opened April 23, earning nine Tony Award nominations and breaking the theater’s house record in June. The official production site currently lists performances and ticket availability through February 28, 2027.

For one night, however, the focus was not on the future of Rocky Horror. It was on the man who started it all.

More than five decades after Tim Curry first stepped into Frank-N-Furter’s corset, Broadway’s Frank-N-Furters came together to sing him home — a fitting farewell to an actor whose creation continues to live through every generation that dares to embrace it.

Source: Compiled from various sources.