Adam Lambert to Co-Star in Fox's 'Rocky Horror Picture Show'

Adam Lambert is returning to Fox.

The American Idol and Glee alum has been tapped to co-star in the network's rendition of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Lambert will take over the role of Eddie that was originally portrayed by Meat Loaf in the cult 1975 film. Eddie is the rock 'n' roll-loving ex-delivery boy who emerges at Dr. Frank-N-Furter's on a motorcycle and crashes the party.

“I grew up watching Rocky Horror, but could never imagine that I would be part of this new vision. Rocky Horror always made me feel like it was OK to celebrate my weirdness. Hallelujah, bless my soul! I love that old time rock-n-roll!” Lambert said in a nod to one of the film's musical productions.

Lambert's name was one of the first to surface for a role in Fox's Rocky Horror. Sources tell THR that he was originally considered for the role of Frank-N-Furter that was originated by Tim Curry. Orange Is the New Black actress Laverne Cox will take on the iconic role for Fox.

Lambert joins a cast that also includes Victoria Justice and Disney star Ryan McCartan as Janet and Brad, who stumble upon Frank-N-Furter's self-described "sweet transvestite" and the scientist's bizarre castle. The roles were originated by Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick. Penny Dreadful alum Reeve Carney will play Riff-Raff, and singer Staz Nair will portray Rocky Horror.

The two-hour Fox special, due in fall 2016, will be directed, exec produced and choreographed by Kenny Ortega (High School Musical) and filmed in advance. Ortega, Gail Berman and Lou Adler, who produced the original film, are attached as exec producers. The new Rocky will be produced by Fox 21 Television studios and Berman's The Jackal Group.

Lambert is repped by CAA and Direct Management.

Tim Curry Returning for Fox's 'Rocky Horror Picture Show'

Tim Curry is ready to do the time warp with Fox's The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The actor who originated Frank-N-Furter in the cult classic movie will instead take on the role of the criminologist narrator in Fox's two-hour musical, the network announced Friday at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour.

Curry takes over the same role portrayed by Charles Gray in the 1973 musical and subsequent 1975 film, which is still playing across the country in midnight shows filled with audience participation.

“I am very happy and excited to be a part of this new event,” Curry said.

Curry joins a cast that includes Adam Lambert as Eddie and Victoria Justice and Disney star Ryan McCartan as Janet and Brad, who stumble upon Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Orange Is the New Black's Laverne Cox), the self-described "sweet transvestite," and his bizarre castle. Justice and McCartan take on roles originated by Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick, respectively. Penny Dreadful alum Reeve Carney will play Riff-Raff, and singer Staz Nair will portray Rocky Horror.

The two-hour Fox special, due in fall, will be directed, executive produced and choreographed by Kenny Ortega (High School Musical) and filmed in advance. Ortega, Gail Berman and Lou Adler, who produced the original film, are attached as exec producers. The new Rocky will be produced by Fox 21 Television Studios and Berman's The Jackal Group.

Curry, who is still recovering from a stroke suffered in 2013, recently reunited with Sarandon and the rest of the cast for the film's 40th anniversary.

You may want to read up on Laverne Cox.

Fox's 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' Casts its Columbia

Fox's Rocky Horror Picture Show has cast its Columbia.

Masters of Sex actress and Tony Award winner Annaleigh Ashford has nabbed the role. She joins previously announced cast members Laverne Cox (Dr. Frank-N-Furter), Victoria Justice (Janet), Ryan McCartan (Brad), Adam Lambert (Eddie), Reeve Carney (Riff Raff), Staz Nair (Rocky) and Tim Curry, the original Frank-N-Furter, who is returning as the show’s Criminologist Narrator.

Kenneth Ortega (High School Musical) is directing, executive producing and choreographing the two-hour television remake of the 1975 cult classic. The story follows sweethearts Janet (Justice) and Brad (McCartan), who stumble upon Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s (Cox) bizarre abode. Frank-N-Furter, a sexually ambiguous, flirtatious alien mad-scientist is holding an annual Transylvanian science convention to showcase the birth of “Rocky Horror” (Nair), a fit and attractive man created solely to fulfill Frank’s desires.

Ashford recently starred in the title role of the revival of playwright A.R. Gurney’s Sylvia, opposite Matthew Broderick. She won a Tony for her portrayal of Essie Carmichael in the Broadway revival of Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman’s You Can’t Take It With You. Ashford will reprise her role as Betty DiMello on Showtime’s Masters of Sex this summer.

Ortega, Gail Berman and Lou Adler, who produced the original film, are attached as exec producers. The new Rocky will be produced by Fox 21 Television Studios and Berman's The Jackal Group.

Fox's 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' Taps 'Grandfathered' Star to Play Magenta

Fox is pulling from its roster of stars for its latest Rocky Horror Picture Show casting.

Grandfathered star Christina Milian has signed on to play Magenta, the castle maid, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

In the production, Magenta, along with her brother Riff Raff (Penny Dreadful's Reeve Carney), plots a secret plan to return to their native planet of Transsexual. Milian joins a cast that also includes Laverne Cox, Victoria Justice, Ryan McCartan, Adam Lambert, Staz Nair, Annaleigh Ashford and original film star Tim Curry, who will narrate.

Kenny Ortega (High School Musical) will direct, executive produce and choreograph the two-hour television remake of the 1975 cult classic. The story follows sweethearts Janet (Justice) and Brad (McCartan), who stumble upon Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s (Cox) bizarre abode. Frank-N-Furter, a sexually ambiguous, flirtatious alien mad-scientist is holding an annual Transylvanian science convention to showcase the birth of "Rocky Horror" (Nair), a fit and attractive man created solely to fulfill Frank’s desires.

Unlike Fox's most recent musical endeavor, Grease: Live!, The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be taped in advance of its broadcast premiere.

Milian, who got her breakthrough as a singer before moving into acting, also competed on Dancing With the Stars and stars in her own E! reality show, Christina Milian Turned Up.

Rocky Horror Picture Show is slated to bow in the fall.

Hey Fox: I already know all the words to the songs. Just sayin'.

Comic-Con: Fox’s ‘Rocky Horror’ Scares Up a New Take on the Cult Classic



Let’s do the Time Warp again — this time, on the small screen.

Fox is following up on the success of Grease Live! by reaching back into the 1970s to remake another beloved musical: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the raunchy 1975 cult classic that still manages to shock and titillate after all these years. (Can you believe audiences were singing along with a “sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania” four decades ago?)

And the show is getting a timely update, with transgender actress Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black) starring as the lascivious Dr. Frank-N-Furter. (Don’t worry: The original Frank-N-Furter, Tim Curry, is back as well, as the Narrator.) The new cast boasts music-industry cred (Adam Lambert as Eddie, Christina Milian as Magenta) and tween-TV star power (Victoria Justice and Ryan McCartan as Janet and Brad), and with High School Musical’s Kenny Ortega on board as director and choreographer, you can expect more than a few toe-tapping musical numbers.

The cast and crew behind the new Rocky Horror — debuting Oct. 20, just in time for Halloween — brought the party to San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday night, screening the first 25 minutes to a rowdy crowd of Rocky devotees (no, the production won’t air live; it was filmed in advance) and discussing the challenges of adapting one of the weirdest musicals out there.

Executive producer Lou Adler worked on the original film, and when he saw the crowd’s enthusiastic reaction to the new footage, he told the packed ballroom, “I think our biggest fear just went away.” He emphasized that the whole production was determined to “never lose the fact that the fans have carried this film for 40 years.”

There are a few noticeable tweaks to the Rocky Horror we know and love: A girl in front of a movie theater sings “Science Fiction Double Feature” rather than just a pair of lips. Frank-N-Furter enters on a giant crane rather than in an elevator. And Brad and his pal exchange a fist bump (!) at the opening-scene wedding. Plus, echoing Adler’s point about the fans, they even incorporate a movie-theater audience to replicate the call-and-response fun from the film’s famed midnight screenings.

But for the most part, this Rocky Horror sticks to the script: We get an appropriately chirpy rendition of “Dammit Janet,” an grandiose take on “There’s a Light” — during which the Comic-Con crowd dutifully lifted their illuminated phones into the air in tribute — an epic “Time Warp” (Penny Dreadful’s Reeve Carney is an early highlight as Riff Raff), and Cox’s grand entrance in glittery red lingerie with “Sweet Transvestite.” This is clearly a Rocky Horror made by fans, and made for fans.

Of course, there was some concern that the new take wouldn’t live up to the original. Ortega says they consulted the president of the Rocky Horror fan club; he even has a cameo in the film as the wedding photographer. Curry is obviously the link bridging the two versions; the Comic-Con fans cheered the loudest for his name in the credits. And Curry was happy to participate. In fact, he actually called up and requested to be a part of this production, Ortega revealed. Adler says Curry has already seen the new version and given it his blessing: “He said, ‘You betcha.’ He liked everything about it.”

Most of the cast wasn’t born when the original Rocky Horror hit theaters, but they all remember the first time they saw it. Justice says she first watched it in fifth grade, and then later went to a midnight screening in her teens with some famous pals (including Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson) “... and our moms.” McCartan first saw the stage version, and he had an awkward family connection, too: “My sister was in it… and I saw it with my mom.”

Given the sexually graphic nature of the material, it did put the cast members in a few… uncomfortable positions. Milian remembers that during rehearsals, “we all had to look each other in the eye and circle each other in… what can I call this? It wasn’t an orgy.” (Adler helpfully adds, “You were in the soup together.”) After a decade starring on squeaky-clean kids’ shows like Zoey 101 and Victorious, Justice laughs, “I think I can say with certainty after doing this that the Nickelodeon chapter of my life has closed.”

Watch the new "Time Warp"-themed trailer, above.

I'm in. I just hope that this isn't a word for word reproduction. Laverne Cox is very talented and I'm looking forward to the new portrayal. From what I've seen in these trailers, I'm intrigued enough to watch.

It's just another in a long line of performances of the show with different actors.