Roundabout Theatre Company has announced that screen and UK stage star Luke Evans will lead the cast and make his Broadway debut in the role of “Frank-N-Furter” in the upcoming production of Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show, with direction by Tony Award-winner Sam Pinkleton.
Previews will begin on Thursday, March 26, 2026, ahead of an opening on Thursday, April 23, 2026 at Studio 54 on Broadway (254 West 54th Street). This is a limited engagement through Sunday, June 21, 2026. Additional cast members will be announced at a later date.
Roundabout has also announced the creative and design team for the production which will include: choreography by Ani Taj (Dead Outlaw, Untitled DanceShowPartyThing w/Sam Pinkleton), music direction and orchestrations by Kris Kukul (Beetlejuice, All In: Comedy About Love), set design by Tony Award-nominee dots (Appropriate, Oh, Mary!), costume design by Tony Award-nominee David I. Reynoso (Water for Elephants, Sleep No More), lighting design by Tony Award-winner Jane Cox (Appropriate, Macbeth), sound design by Tony Award winner Brian Ronan (Beautiful, The Great Gatsby) and hair & makeup design by Drama Desk Award-nominee Alberto “Albee” Alvarado (The Outsiders, Sumo).
Richard O’Brien said: “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. Break out the fishnets and let’s have a party.”
Sam Pinkleton said: “I’m giddy to crack this untamable classic open with the razor-sharp Luke Evans at the center. 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.”
Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show has been in continuous production throughout the world for the last 52 years, the only musical to have achieved this record. The show originally opened at The Royal Court Theatre in 1973, while the subsequent film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show premiered a few years later in 1975. The stage version has been seen by over 40 million people in some 15 languages. The legendary rock-‘n’-roll musical takes on new life as a guaranteed party at the legendary Studio 54 and will feature some of the most iconic musical show stopping classics of all time, including “Dammit Janet,” “Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a Touch Me,” “Hot Patootie” and of course, “Time Warp,” the party floor-filler. The Rocky Horror Show is the story of two squeaky clean college kids—Brad and his fiancée, Janet—on their way to visit their former college professor when by a twist of fate, their car breaks down outside a mansion. They meet the charismatic Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Riff Raff, Columbia, Magenta, Eddie, and Rocky. It is an adventure they would remember, for a very long time. Filled with fun, frolics and frocks, this is the show the Daily Telegraph calls “fresh. subversive, and essential.”
Richard O’Briend’s The Rocky Horror Show marks the final production of Roundabout’s 2025-2026 season which also includes Archduke by Rajiv Joseph, directed by Darko Tresnjak and now in previews; Chinese Republicans by Alex Lin, directed by Chay Yew; and Fallen Angels by Noël Coward, directed by Scott Ellis. Thisseason, Roundabout is also committed to renovating the Todd Haimes Theatre on Broadway and will welcome back artists and audiences to the updated theatre with Fallen Angels.
About Luke Evans
Luke Evans is a Welsh actor and globally renowned leading man across film, television, and theatre. Upcoming, Evans will serve as executive producer and appear as Brigadier ‘Mad’ Mike Calvert in the espionage thriller film Emergency from the UK-Malaysian label Sympatico. He will also co-star in the action-thriller film Bear Country, helmed by Derrick Borte, alongside Russell Crowe and Aaron Paul. Additionally, Evans joined the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series “Criminal” in a lead role alongside Emilia Clarke, and he will reunite with Milla Jovovich in the sci-fi action film World Breaker, directed by Brad Anderson.
Recently, Evans starred in Weekend in Taipei, and he made his return to the stage for the first time in 16 years in a new play entitled Backstairs Billy, directed by Michael Grandage and co-starring Penelope Wilton. The play ran from November 7, 2023, through January 27, 2024, at the Duke of York’s Theatre on London’s West End.
For television, his work includes: “The Way,” “Echo 3,” “Nine Perfect Strangers,” “Pembrokeshire Murders,” “The Alienist: Angel of Darkness,” “The Grand Tour,” and “The Great Train Robbery,” among others; and for film: 5 Lbs of Pressure, Good Grief, Our Son, Pinocchio, Crisis, Murder Mystery, Angel of Mine, Midway, Anna, MA, State Like Sleep, 10 X 10, The Fate of the Furious, Beauty and the Beast, Professor Marston and The Wonder Woman, The Girl on the Train, Message from the King, Hugh Rise, Fast & Furious 7, Dracula Untold, The Hobbit – The Desolation of Smaug, Fast & Furious 6, The Hobbit – There and Back Again, The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey, No One Lives, The Raven and The Three Musketeers. As a recording artist, Luke has released two studio albums: At Last, and A Song For You, which hit the top five in the UK charts in 2022.
