Video: Juliette Lewis on ROCKY HORROR Audience Callouts: 'It's Been a Navigation'
The production was recently extended with performances now scheduled through Sunday, November 29, 2026.
Juliette Lewis is making her Broadway debut as Magenta in The Rocky Horror Show, now running at Studio 54. During a visit to Late Night with Seth Meyers, the actress recalled her first experience with the material when her older brother snuck her into a screening of the movie at 11 years old.
"I was like, 'How do I get with them? Those are my people," Lewis remembered thinking about the eclectic cast of characters. "It was fantastical, otherworldly, and the music is just so good."
One of the distinctions of the Rocky Horror phenomenon is the call-and-response element from the audience. Go to nearly any screening of the film version and one will find audience members who loudly quote the movie's iconic lines and throw items at the screen.
For this new production, the tradition lives on, which Lewis admits has "been a navigation." "When it's done the wrong way, it comes off like heckling and it's not nice. When it's the right way, there's a sweet spot and you miss it if it's not there," she explained.
"We're bringing [Rocky Horror] back to its roots. And so we very much want people to enjoy the show... There's a sweet spot [when] you do those fun standard callouts that everybody knows and loves." Watch the full interview with the performer now, where she talks more about her character in the show.
Tony Award-winner Sam Pinkleton's revival of The Rocky Horror Show is now running at Studio 54. The production opened officially on Thursday, April 23, 2026 and was just extended with performances now scheduled through Sunday, November 29, 2026. Read the reviews for the production. The cast is set to make their late-night performance debut on The Tonight Show on Monday, May 4.
The cast includes Rachel Dratch as “Narrator,” Andrew Durand as “Brad,” Luke Evans as “Frank-N-Furter,” Amber Gray as “Riff Raff,” Harvey Guillén as “Eddie / Dr. Scott,” Stephanie Hsu as “Janet,” Juliette Lewis as “Magenta,” Josh Rivera as “Rocky,” and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez as “Columbia.” The cast also includes Renée Albulario, Anania, Boy Radio, Caleb Quezon, Andres Quintero, Larkin Reilly, Paul Soileau, and John Yi.
The Rocky Horror Show features choreography by Ani Taj, music supervision by Kris Kukul, set design by dots, costume design by David I. Reynoso, lighting design by Jane Cox, sound design by Brian Ronan, wig & hair design by Alberto “Albee” Alvarado and make-up design by Sterling Tull, with Bryan Bauer as the production stage manager.
The Rocky Horror Show is Richard O'Brien's cult rock musical that follows an all-American couple, Brad and Janet, whose car breaks down on a stormy night. Seeking help, they stumble into the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a flamboyant and unconventional scientist from another planet.
Inside, they encounter a bizarre cast of characters and witness Frank-N-Furter’s latest creation, Rocky, a physically perfect man brought to life. As the night unfolds, Brad and Janet are drawn into a surreal world of music, seduction, and self-discovery that challenges their ideas about identity, sexuality, and freedom.
Photo Credit: NBC
