Victoria Justice (Victorious) and Ryan McCartan (Heathers The Musical) have been cast in the upcoming television broadcast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show Event – set to take the roles of Janet Weiss and Brad Majors respectively, originally made famous by Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick. The pair will join Emmy Award nominee Laverne Cox, who leads the cast in the iconic role of Frank-N-Furter, originated in the cinematic version by Tim Curry.
The two-hour television event will air on Fox later this year and is characterized as a modern re-imagining of the beloved classic movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which has been celebrating its 40th anniversary. This milestone is all the more remarkable, given that the 1975 film also holds the record for longest-running theatrical release in history – still being on a limited run, four decades after its premiere.
The 1975 film is based upon the 1973 stage musical, The Rocky Horror Show, which was written by Richard O’Brien. Co-writing the film adaptation with director Jim Sharman, Richard O’Brien played the role of handyman Riff-Raff in the big screen version. For this television update, the premise is expected to remain largely the same – with young couple, Janet and Brad, becoming stranded on a dark, rainy night when their car breaks down. They subsequently find themselves at an intimidating, gothic castle, seeking assistance. Here they meet Frank-N-Furter – an alien scientist of ambiguous sexuality, who is building a man in his laboratory.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show Event will be directed by Kenny Ortega (High School Musical), who will also executive produce, alongside Lou Adler (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) and Gail Berman (Buffy The Vampire Slayer). Reeve Carney (Penny Dreadful) will also feature in the cast as handyman Riff Raff, while relative newcomer Staz Nair (from the yet-to-be-released Bazodee) has been cast as Rocky Horror – the man being constructed in the laboratory of Frank-N-Furter.