Things are looking up for Tim Curry. The veteran actor, who suffered a stroke that left him wheelchair-bound in 2012 and has made only a handful of public appearances since, is returning to his campy, cult classic roots: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Curry has been cast as the criminologist narrator in Fox’s remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Fans of Rocky Horror, and people who have heard innumerable Rocky Horror references at parties and nodded carefully as not to expose themselves as confused, will recall that Curry was the star of the original 1973 musical and 1975 film, playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a sexually ambiguous, bisexual scientist from “the planet Transsexual, in the galaxy of Transylvania.” Frank-N-Furter acts as a ringmaster of sorts, hosting the convention that serves as the sexual awakening for the virginal Midwesterners Janet (Susan Sarandon) and Brad (Barry Bostwick) and the debut of the titular Rocky, a tanned man-toy (Peter Hinwood) created for Frank’s pleasure. Fox’s version of Rocky will see Orange is the New Black‘s transgender star Laverne Cox in Curry’s role, and Victoria Justice and Ryan McCartan as Janet and Brad, Adam Lambert as Eddie (the “rock-‘n’-roll-loving ex-delivery boy” played originally by Meatloaf), Reeve Carney as handyman Riff-Raff, and Staz Nair as Rocky.
Charles Gray, who originated the role of the narrator in both the musical and the film, played the role as sort of an arch, British Rod Sterling, surrounded by mahogany bookcases as he described the events of the film with a wry remove. It’ll be fun to see what Curry does with it, and/or whether he will insist on sporting a bustier throughout.
The two-hour Fox special will be directed by High School Musical’s Kenny Ortega and premiere in the fall.
