Inside Broadway’s Star-Studded New Revival of ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ at Studio 54
When Roundabout Theatre Company announced that The Rocky Horror Show is returning to Broadway March 26 through June 21, 2026 at Studio 54 in NYC, it wasn’t just the title that turned heads. It was the extraordinary convergence of talent attached to the production — a cast drawn from the top echelons of prestige television, Oscar-nominated cinema, and Tony-winning Broadway shows, all guided by one of the most exciting young directors working in New York theater today.
For anyone tracking Broadway’s current creative moment, this revival demands close attention.
Sam Pinkleton Steps Into the Driver’s Seat
Tony Award winner Sam Pinkleton, who earned industry-wide acclaim for his direction of Oh, Mary!, is set to direct the show. It’s a pairing that signals serious artistic ambition. In a detailed interview with Broadway.com, Pinkleton laid out his vision for the production in terms that should excite anyone hungry for a revival that honors the source material’s unruly heart rather than simply polishing it into respectability.
“It’s made out of everything that I love, which is like weirdos and trash and a kind of strange earnestness,” Pinkleton said. “I know that when many people think about Rocky Horror, they think about going to the movies and dressing up and getting a V on your forehead and throwing sh** at the screen. All of that’s true and fun. But it also is for so many people [about] survival. Studio 54 heightens this, that something can be ridiculous and trashy and messy and queer and also like dead serious and so big-hearted. Rocky Horror is known as a film obviously, but it was created as a stage show and it is an undeniably live experience. I think it’s like theater that insists on being theater.”
That phrase — “theater that insists on being theater” — is telling. It suggests Pinkleton intends to lean into the raw, participatory energy that defined the show from its earliest incarnation, rather than delivering a sanitized Broadway package. The choice of Studio 54 as the venue only reinforces that intention, with its storied history as a space designed for spectacle and communal experience.
The Cast: A Who’s Who of Stage and Screen
The cast of the show is stacked with well-known celebrities of the stage and screen, and the credits behind each name tell a story of deliberate, ambitious assembly.
Frank-N-Furter: Luke Evans Makes His Broadway Debut
Luke Evans (Beauty and the Beast, High-Rise, Backstairs Billy) makes his Broadway debut as Frank-N-Furter. Evans is no stranger to the stage, however, having been in a number of West End theater productions, including Miss Saigon, Piaf, and Rent. Evans stepping into this role for his first Broadway outing is a major casting event — and placing a performer of his profile into the production’s most iconic part immediately elevates the revival’s visibility.
The Core Ensemble
Rachel Dratch (POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, Saturday Night Live) takes on the role of Narrator, bringing her comic precision to a part that serves as the audience’s guide through the show’s gleefully chaotic world.
Andrew Durand (Dead Outlaw, Shucked, Little Shop of Horrors) plays Brad. Durand’s résumé marks him as a performer deeply embedded in the current Broadway ecosystem, with credits spanning recent acclaimed productions.
Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, Be More Chill) plays Janet. Hsu’s trajectory from downtown and Off-Broadway musical theater to Oscar-nominated film performance and back to the stage makes her one of the most closely watched performers in the industry right now.
Amber Gray (Eureka Day; Hadestown; Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) takes on Riff Raff. Gray’s Broadway pedigree speaks for itself — her work in Hadestown and Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 established her as a performer uniquely capable of inhabiting immersive, genre-bending theatrical worlds, which makes her a natural fit for Pinkleton’s vision.
Four Broadway Debuts Worth Watching
Beyond Evans, three more members of the revival’s cast are also making their Broadway debuts — and the names are striking.
Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows, Companion, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) makes his Broadway debut as Eddie/Dr. Scott. Guillén bringing his screen profile to Broadway for the first time in a show steeped in horror-comedy camp feels like inspired casting.
Juliette Lewis (Yellowjackets, Cape Fear) makes her Broadway debut as Magenta. Lewis is a performer whose career has always carried an edge of theatrical intensity, and placing her inside this particular production marks a fascinating collision of sensibilities.
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (Loot, Pose, Rent) plays Columbia. Rodriguez’s credits span prestige television and musical theater, and her casting adds another layer of depth to an already formidable ensemble.
Josh Rivera (American Sports Story, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, West Side Story) makes his Broadway debut as Rocky. Rivera has emerged as one of the most in-demand young performers working across film and television, and his arrival on Broadway adds yet another marquee name to the production.
A Show That Has Always Insisted on Being Live
The Rocky Horror Show first emerged as a scrappy 1973 London stage production before evolving into the cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which redefined midnight movie culture. Few productions have traveled from fringe theater experiment to cult film to Broadway revival while retaining their outsider spirit the way Rocky Horror has.
Nostalgia surrounding the revival operates on multiple levels, spanning memories of the original stage run, late-night screenings, and decades of shadow casts. Hearing iconic songs like “Time Warp” performed live again instantly transports many audience members back to dorm rooms, independent theaters, or their first daring costume.
But what makes this particular revival compelling for serious Broadway watchers isn’t just nostalgia. It’s the combination of creative forces at work. Pinkleton’s directorial approach, as articulated in his own words, positions this as a production that intends to honor the material’s raw, transgressive energy while harnessing the resources of a major Broadway staging at Studio 54.
What This Revival Signals for Broadway
The Broadway revival is set to bring fans’ fond memories to life again, with extravagant costumes, polished choreography, and modern production design amplifying the show’s signature camp.
The revival reinforces Rocky Horror’s place in pop culture history as a living, evolving experience rather than a relic of the 1970s. With a cast this deep — four Broadway debuts from performers with major film and television profiles, anchored by seasoned stage veterans like Gray and Durand, and helmed by a Tony-winning director fresh off one of the most talked-about productions in recent memory — the 2025-2026 season just got significantly more interesting.
Performances run March 26 through June 21, 2026 at Studio 54 in NYC.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
