CarlosAlberto said: "QueenAlice said: "I suppose there is a small niche audience who still sees ROCKY HORROR as cutting edge and / or embraces the show as a symbol for weirdopride that lives in us all - but - to get real - the show is 50 years old and as much a popular staple at regional and community theatres as Rodgers and Hammerstein is.
The show, like Grease was written in the 70s as a nostalgic parody of the 1950s -in the case of The Rocky Horror Show, the popular "B" horror movies that played the drive in movie circuit. As such, it doesn't work to update the core aesthetic of the show or morph it into something it's not. The character of Frank-n-Further is not a celebratory trans character. The piece is not about discovering non-binary identity as we now identify it. Frank-N-Furter is a transvestite - as defined by the period in which the show was written - a man who enjoys dressing in female clothes for the sensual experience. The characters learn to 'let loose' at the end and step out of the constrictive traps of 1950s conservatism; this is not necessarily translatable to the idea of euphoria through multi- gender expressionism.
A commercial musical being produced for the Roundabout is going to be considering an aesthetic that appeals to their typical buyer -- likely people 50 and older who have nostalgic affection (different than fan obsession) with a show that has long been in the lexicon. Those of you worrying that people will be shouting along with the musical should fear not, most people have little idea of the culture of the late night movie experience, and I doubt many will be paying $300 a ticket to see this. Luke Evans is a sexy British actor - very in the vein of a young Tim Curry and seems like a good get to me. There are plenty of other ways in which the show can be 'outrageous' and still honor the intention of what the creatives have written."
Nope. Frank-N-Furter doesn’t enjoy dressing in female clothes for the sensual experience.
He is from another planet: Transexual - and on that planet that is just how they dress.
"
Tim Curry says this, too.
Honestly, I disagree. If that were the case, why does Riff wear men's clothes for most of the show, only donning stockings when he usurps Frank's place? And why is Frank flaunting and identifying his clothing choices to Brad and Janet as his most salient quality, if they are simply the norm where he comes from? Why is the line "I wanted to be dressed just the same" immediately followed by "Give yourselve over to absolute pleasure" if there is no connection between how he dresses and "sensual daydreams beyond any measure"? And, taking the movie into account, why are none of the Transylvanians crossdressing?
I think it is a fetish for Frank. I think it's part of the "too extreme lifestyle" that Riff condemns him for (in the original costuming, Riff keeps his stockings partially hidden under his spacesuit--to me signifying he has similar urges but believes they miust be repressed to some extent). I think, given that sexual pleasure is central to the show, even if everyone on his home planet does dress that way, it's an indication that the fetish is shared by those on his planet. It doesn't make sense for it to mean no more to him than wearing jeans does to us.
I get there's no "real" answer here. It can be however the actor or director sees it. And audiences are free to interpret it as they like. But that's my interpretation based on the script and typical costuming.
Updated On: 10/31/25 at 10:37 PM
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