Luke Evans and Stephanie Hsu on performing in ‘The Rocky Horror Show’

[0:00] Welcome back. A new incarnation of the Rocky Horror Show opens tonight on Broadway. [0:05] We had a chance to sit down with two of the show's stars, Luke Evans and Stephanie Hsu. [0:10] If you were a misfit teenager, as many of us were, you probably saw Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon in the Rocky Horror Picture Show and more than once. [0:19] Well, it turns out the Rocky Horror Show at Studio 54 here in Manhattan, like your hometown movie theater, is also an excellent venue where you can liberate your inner freak while singing along to the Time Warp. [0:30] You'll know actress Stephanie Hsu, who plays Janet from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. [0:40] And actor Luke Evans, who plays Frankenfurter, you'll recognize as Owen Shaw from many Fast and Furious films and from Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy. [0:50] And joining us now, Luke Evans and Stephanie Hsu, welcome to the show. [0:54] Thank you. [0:55] Thank you. [0:55] So the show really starts off with a bang right from the beginning. [0:59] You enter the theater. [1:01] Some of the audience members are finishing your lines. [1:03] I imagine it's safe to say that you all have never been a part of anything like this before. [1:08] Definitely not. [1:10] It's a brand new experience. [1:12] And I think one that will never get replicated again outside of this experience. [1:16] This show is very unique. [1:19] I don't think there's another musical where the audience plays such an integral part of the show, whether we like it or not. [1:25] For the uninitiated, explain Rocky Horror premise. [1:30] Ooh, Rocky Horror is about a young couple that just gets engaged, Janet Weiss and Brad Majors. [1:40] And on a stormy night out, they stumble upon a castle where their lives are forever changed. [1:48] And they meet the Frankenfurter and they go through a sort of not only sexual, but a sexual awakening, a life awakening, a freak awakening. [2:02] And they come out having had a taste of forbidden fruit. [2:08] You talk about that idea of that sexual liberation, that personal liberation. [2:14] Why do you think that that line, don't just dream it, be it, still resonates today from the original production back in 1973? [2:23] Well, I think it's, well, it's such a beautiful phrase, firstly, isn't it? [2:28] Because dreams are usually positive. [2:30] When you say the word dream, it's something wonderful, right? [2:32] Oh, that's a dream. [2:33] I'd love to make that a reality. [2:35] But how often do we turn our dreams into functioning, realistic moments? [2:40] And I suppose Frankenfurter, my character, lives a hedonistic but liberated and joyous existence in this castle. [2:51] And everyone around him, he wants to experience the same as what he experiences. [2:55] And so this mantra of his, which is very present throughout the whole show, and then he creates a song about it, [3:02] is about, you know, not just going through life thinking, oh, what if I, what if I'd have done that? [3:09] Or I wish I'd done these things, but don't wish it, but to make them become a reality. [3:13] And I think that can be from anything in life, you know, it's, um, I don't think that has ever changed. [3:18] It's everybody, you know, you go through life hoping that you try something instead of saying, I wish I tried something. [3:26] I don't want to give too much away, but neither of you are really wearing too much on stage. [3:32] Do you ever get used to that and doing it all, by the way, in six-inch platform heels? [3:38] Seven. [3:39] Seven? [3:40] Oh, I'm like six foot eight in costume. [3:44] And I'm like five one. [3:46] It's absolutely brilliant. [3:47] I mean, the aesthetic of our silhouettes next to each other on stage is something that I never get bored of. [3:53] And I think the audience really enjoy it too. [3:55] Have you gotten used to being in your underwear? [3:57] This has basically been the most cathartic, liberating, confidence-building, just going out. [4:04] For you personally. [4:05] Personally, yeah. [4:06] Even though I'm playing a character, you know, I'm still, you know, wearing next to nothing and go out every night. [4:11] And it's a lovely feeling. [4:13] I feel more comfortable in my skin. [4:15] Frank has given me this, um, I don't know, this kindness about myself, weirdly. [4:19] Yeah, I feel truly the same way. [4:23] I mean, I feel like the weird magic of the show and perhaps why it's been such a phenomenon for over 50 years is getting to do it. [4:31] It's like you're receiving the message and the medicine, like in real time. [4:36] You're romping around with people that you love in your underwear and you're having to tell the story of giving yourself over to absolute pleasure. [4:46] And you yourself as an actor or performer have to really believe, you know, don't dream it, be it. [4:52] And to have to really conjure that for yourself and do that eight times a week is like such a, it works on you too. [5:00] You know, you're not just projecting it, but it's also happening onto us. [5:03] Electrifying for those on stage as well as those who are attending, I would imagine. [5:10] Congratulations to you both, Luke. [5:11] Stephanie, thank you so much for joining us. [5:14] Roundabout Theater Company's production of the Rocky Horror Show opens tonight on Broadway. [5:19] Besides Evans and Shu, it also stars Rachel Dratch and Juliette Lewis and has already been extended by popular demand through July 19th. [5:27] And that is our show for this hour. [5:29] I'm Lindsay Davis. [5:30] Be sure to stay tuned to ABC News Live for more context and analysis of the day's top stories. [5:35] Thanks so much for streaming with us.