RuPaul's Drag Race Star Valentina to Join Broadway Revival of The Rocky Horror Show

Valentina certainly won’t be lip syncing when she takes the stage to do the Time Warp next week.

via: Playbill

Don't dream it, be it. RuPaul's Drag Race star Valentina (RENT Live!) will make her Broadway debut as Columbia in the current Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show.

Valentina will make her Broadway debut as the regular Frankie Fan, taking over the role from understudies Caleb Quezon and Larkin Reilly, who have shared the role following the departure of Golden Globe winner Michaela Jaé Rodriguez earlier this summer. Valentina will begin performances in the role July 21.

This revival is directed by Tony winner Sam Pinkleton (Oh, Mary!). The production is led by Luke Evans (Beauty and the Beast) as Frank-N-Furter, Rachel Dratch (POTUS, SNL) as the Narrator, Andrew Durand (Dead Outlaw) as Brad, Amber Gray (Eureka Day, Hadestown) as Riff Raff, Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows) as Eddie/Dr. Scott, Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once, SpongeBob SquarePants) as Janet, and Josh Rivera (American Sports Story, West Side Story) as Rocky.

The cast also features Renée Albulario, Anania, Boy Radio, Quezon, Andres Quintero, Reilly, Paul Soileau, and John Yi.

The Rocky Horror Show features choreography by Ani Taj (Dead Outlaw), music direction and orchestrations by Kris Kukul (Beetlejuice), set design by Tony nominee dots (Oh, Mary!), costume design by David I. Reynoso (Water for Elephants), lighting design by Tony winner Jane Cox (Appropriate), sound design by Tony winner Brian Ronan (Beautiful), hair and wig design by Alberto “Albee” Alvarado (The Outsiders), and make-up design by Sterling Tull (No Glow, Love Island USA), with Bryan Bauer (Oh, Mary!, Mother Play) as the production stage manager.

The Rocky Horror Show premiered in London at the Royal Court Theatre (Upstairs) June 19, 1973. It moved to several other locations, ultimately running for a cumulative 2,960 performances before it closed in 1980. The musical follows a straight-laced couple, Brad and Janet, who stumble upon a spooky house on a rainy night, and become attracted to the strange denizens who live within—particularly Frank-N-Furter, a gender non-conforming mad scientist. The show's rock-influenced score includes the crowd-pleasing songs "Sweet Transvestite, "The Timewarp," “Dammit Janet,” and “Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a Touch Me."

After London, Rocky Horror played in Los Angeles in 1974, where it ran for nine months. Its 1975 Broadway debut was not as successful, receiving mixed reviews and running for only three previews and 45 showings.

But it was the film adaptation of Rocky Horror, called The Rocky Horror Picture Show, that truly propelled the musical into legendary status. Starring creator O'Brien as Riff Raff and Tim Curry as Frank-N-Furter (reprising his stage performance), as well as Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick, the film has been playing in movie theatres since 1975, with fans attracted to its message of sexual and gender acceptance. The property's cultural impact was recently explored in the new documentary Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror, created by Richard O'Brien's son, Linus.

The Rocky Horror Show had a Broadway revival in 2000 and a West End revival in 2023. It's also a favorite of regional theatres. The production estimates that the stage version has been seen by over 40 million people in some 15 languages.

The current production was nominated for nine 2026 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical.

Visit RoundaboutTheatre.org.