Jake Shears and The Rocky Horror Show’s New Cast Bring 'Sex and Danger' To Broadway

The hit Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show has introduced a new cast of “Super Heroes," with Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Glee star Kevin McHale as Brad Majors, Tony nominee Lorna Courtney as Janet, two-time Tony nominee Sherie Rene Scott as Magenta, RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Valentina as Columbia, Broadway.com Audience Choice Award winner George Salazar as Eddie/Dr. Scott and Jimin Moon as Rocky. Broadway.com caught up with the Time Warping septet at a recent press event.

“If you were to ask me, 'What is the one thing you want to do in your life?' It's this,” says Shears of performing in the cult classic musical. “I've been a Rocky Horror nerd since I was 13. It’s my favorite piece of art. There'd be no Scissor Sisters without Rocky Horror.” Shears revealed that his mother will be attending an upcoming performance, which is ironic considering she once barred him from seeing Rocky Horror in his youth. “She knew it was going to crack it wide open and lo and behold, flash forward 30 something years later, and here we are."

Scott was drawn to Rocky Horror's free-wheeling spirit after a period where she considered stepping away from musical theater. “I’m being a teenager again in a way that I never could before,” she says. “I get to be the naughty kid I could never be. It’s really, really fun for me personally and it’s a ‘Time Warp’ of life to be back on Broadway and seeing it move forward and advancing.” 

Playing Columbia has been an affirming experience for Valentina. “Growing up as a trans person studying performing arts—but always in the boy clothes and in the boy roles—I never had my moment for protagonism to shine because I wasn't in the right roles and the right element,” she shares. “‘I’ve grown into a multifaceted, complex artist. I'm really honored and really challenged and really happy, because after this, with the star training that I've gotten, I'm prepared for anything.”

“I admit I only knew ‘The Rocky Horror Glee Show.’ I didn't know The Rocky Horror Picture Show. So yeah, I'm a Gleek down,” confesses Moon, who broke out earlier this year as Shane Hollander in Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical. “What I love so much about Rocky Horror is that while it is this big, campy, funny, sexy, chaotic show, at its heart, it's deeply personal and deeply emotional. What I think is so gorgeous about our production is that we pay equal respect to both sides of that.”

Speaking to director Sam Pinkleton’s vision, Courtney says, “When I saw it, my jaw was on the floor. I was awestruck, amazed at what Sam and this group of very talented people created. It was fun, it was sexy, it was invigorating. There's genius in all of it. The lighting design, the sound design, the costumes, the choreography—I noticed everything. I hoped that I could be a part of it. I believe we are honoring everything that they created.”

“Everyone cares so deeply about the show and the legacy of Rocky Horror, where it came from to now,” says McHale of the creative team. “This show should be a little Party City. It's on the Broadway stage, but let’s honor Rocky and be glamorous and be a little cheap. It's fun to be trusted in what they built and get to play within that every single night.” Joking about the forthcoming revival of Annie, which Pinkleton will also helm, McHale cracks, “I’m playing the dog.”

Salazar echoes McHale’s sentiments, saying, “[The creative team has] kept the analog nature of Rocky Horror, but they've injected it with sex and danger. This production is really not afraid to show off a little bit, but still feel scrappy and underground and downtown. And it’s at the most iconic New York space ever, Studio 54. So I think it's a mixture of all those things that just is a recipe for a great night at the theater.”

Watch below!

Get tickets to The Rocky Horror Show!