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Stephanie Hsu Got Susan Sarandon's Blessing for Her Rocky Horror Show Role

Stephanie Hsu, starring in the Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show, revealed on TODAY that original film star Susan Sarandon gave her a 'soft, little blessing' for taking on the iconic role.

·May 26, 2026·via BroadwayWorld
Stephanie Hsu Got Susan Sarandon's Blessing for Her Rocky Horror Show Role

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Hsu has received a Tony nomination for her performance as Janet in the hit revival.

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Stephanie Hsu is taking on one of musical theater's most iconic roles in the hit Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show . The actress is currently impressing audiences as Janet Weiss in the Sam Pinkleton -directed production, earning her first Tony nomination in the process.

During a visit to TODAY, she also shared that she received a "soft, little blessing" from perhaps the most famous Janet of all, Susan Sarandon , who played her in the film version. "I met her at a play and I went up to her and I was like, 'I'm so sorry, I never do this but I'm Stephanie and—' and before I even finished my sentence, she cut me off and was like, 'You're about to be me,'" Hsu recalled, calling Sarandon a "legend."

In honor of API Heritage Month, Hsu noted her inspirations growing up, citing actors Lucy Liu and Sandra Oh and playwright David Henry Hwang . Also during her morning show appearance, the performer taught the hosts one of the show's callbacks, a fan-favorite tradition that remains integral to Rocky Horror's identity as a cult classic. Check out her interview now.

Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show has received nine Tony nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Choreography, and Best Scenic, Costume, Lighting, and Sound Designs, and Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical for Hsu, Best Actress in a Featured Role for Rachel Dratch , and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for Luke Evans . Check out the full list of nominations here .

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 extended with performances now scheduled through Sunday, November 29, 2026. Read the reviews for the production.

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.

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Cast members from The Rocky Horror Show will take a strange journey to Good Morning America next week for a performance from the Tony-nominated production.

Watch in this video as 2026 Tony Award nominee Rachel Dratch chats more about being invited to the Tony Awards party, what an honor it is to be in this Broadway season, and so much more.

A new episode of Stagebound has debuted, spotlighting Tony-nominated performer Luke Evans, who currently stars as Frank-N-Furter in Broadway's The Rocky Horror Show. Watch the episode, following Evans on his journey to opening night.

Watch in this video as Tony nominee Luke Evans chats more about this once in a lifetime experience in The Rocky Horror Show, how the audience has such a big impact on every performance, and so much more.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Video-Stephanie-Hsu-Received-Susan-Sarandons-Blessing-for-ROCKY-HORROR-Role-20260526)._

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This story is summarized from coverage by BroadwayWorld.

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