The cast of the Rocky Horror Show on Broadway gave an emotional farewell to Tim Curry hours after his death. Curry, who starred as Dr Frank-N-Furter in the 1975 cult classic film, died aged 80 at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday, August 25. His cause of death has not been confirmed, but the actor suffered a major stroke in 2012, which left him partially paralysed on one side of his body. He faced serious health issues in the years since.
Special performance on Broadway
The science fiction musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show was Curry's breakthrough film role and made him a household name. At the Broadway show's Wednesday night performance, Luke Evans, Jake Shears, and Paul Soileau joined the ensemble on stage to sing 'I'm Going Home'. The track is the last song sung by Frank-N-Furter in the show, the opening lines of which are: 'On the day I went away (goodbye) Was all I had to say.'
Evans had recently finished playing the iconic role, with Soileau taking over while Scissor Sisters star Shears is set to step into those high heels in September. 'Honoring Tim Curry. ❤️🖤,' the official account wrote on Instagram. 'Paul Soileau, Jake Shears, and Luke Evans perform a special rendition of "I'm Going Home."'
Tributes from cast and co-stars
Evans, who was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance, took the lead as the cast joined him in the final emotional 'I'm going home'. Addressing the cheering crowd, Soileau told them to 'get out there and celebrate Tim'.
Curry had previously shared how proud he was that Rocky Horror was embraced so enthusiastically by the LGBTQ+ community, saying that it 'means a lot'. At the 50th anniversary, he said: 'I think the message of the film — don't dream it, be it — is very important. One of the things that the movie does, I think, is give anyone permission to behave as badly as they really want, in whatever way and with whom. And I'm proud of that.'
In a longer speech, Soileau – who also performs under the drag name Christeene – paid tribute to the 'beautiful' impact Curry had in originating the role. 'Frank-N-Furter is a marvelous beast and Frank-N-Furter inhabits spaces and sneaks in spaces and places and old theater houses, like this, movie theaters, teenagers' bedrooms,' 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.'
He added: '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.'
Remembering Curry's legacy
While he thanked creator Richard O'Brien for the spark, he acknowledged that without Curry's talent in creating characters, Frank wouldn't be the icon of counter-culture that he is. 'Tim Curry created Frank-N-Furter to express and find something deeper about himself,' Soileau continued. 'And somehow it resonated for this long with this many people in this room here right now.'
Separately, in a tribute, Evans – who did a seven-month run in The Rocky Horror Show – called Curry 'a force, a bright fierce flame, an exquisite charm'. Rocky Horror co-star Susan Sarandon wrote: 'What a funny, sexy, original he was. But what I loved about him most was his heart. Even wheelchair bound he continued to be so sweet and generous with his fans. Thank you Tim for meaning so much to so many people.'
O'Brien recalled Curry as a 'good egg and a class act', having met while performing together in the original London cast of Hair in 1968. 'Tim Curry was a wonderful man by nature who was also a wonderful performer and understood the difference between such delightful achievements,' he wrote on Instagram. 'He never sought attention and never put himself before the roles that he played.' The Phineas and Ferb voice actor added he had 'an exceptionally sad heart and misted-up eyes' over the loss of his long time friend.
