Luke Evans said the most revealing outfit he has worn on Broadway did not leave him rattled. It left him feeling stronger. Playing Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, Evans said the corset, fishnet tights, seven-inch platform-heeled boots, wig and colorful makeup that come with the role gave him power rather than panic.
The timing matters because Evans is doing it now, on Broadway at New York’s Studio 54, and he is in the middle of a run that has already put him on the radar for the 2026 Tony Awards. The actor said he expected the costume to be the part that unnerved him most, but the reaction was the opposite. “None of that was even in my mind when I'm standing behind that door before my big reveal before Sweet Transvestite. I just feel power. I feel confidence. I feel strong,” he said.
That response did not happen by accident. Evans spent three months walking in heels before opening in the show, building up from lower shoes until the seven-inch boots felt as natural as trainers. He said he stopped watching the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show so he would not be overly shaped by Tim Curry’s performance, choosing instead to build his own version of the character for the stage.
His reading of Frank-N-Furter is not soft-edged. Evans described him as a rebel, dangerous, a risk-taker and “a train with no brakes,” a character who keeps moving until something stops him. That is part of why the revealing costume fits the role, even if it would not suit a more cautious performance. Evans said, in effect, that you do not take on Frank and expect to be covered up.
The contrast between what he expected and what he felt is what makes the performance land now. Evans went in braced for self-consciousness — worried about turning his back to the audience and aware that his butt cheeks are out — and instead found confidence in the exposure. With the 2026 Tony Awards set for Sunday in New York City, the bigger question is whether that bold take on Frank-N-Furter will carry him from a memorable Broadway turn to a trophy on one of the theater calendar’s biggest nights.
