33 years after first playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in ‘The Rocky Horror Show,’ Eric Gilliom is ready for his last run
Eric Gilliom vividly remembers the first time he played Dr. Frank-N-Furter — the lead character in “The Rocky Horror Show” — at the ‘Iao Theater in 1992. How could he forget after getting hit in the face by a flying hot dog?
“There’s a song towards the end of the show where the cast singles me out … for being not a nice guy,” Gilliom said Wednesday before rehearsal. “And they start singing, ‘You’re a hot dog, but you better not try to hurt her, Frankfurter.’ “
It was at that moment that Gilliom, a 1981 Baldwin High School graduate, fell in love with the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
“Somebody from the back of this theater threw an actual hot dog,” Gilliom said. “It just slapped me in the face and the audience gasped and the hot dog hit the floor.”
Gilliom’s reaction: “I picked that hot dog up and I ate it.”
It is those kind of moments that stand out in a remarkable career for Gilliom, who at age 62 is set to perform the lead role in “The Rocky Horror Show” for the eighth and final time. This show will run from Oct. 17 to Nov. 2 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at the ‘Iao Theater.
Gilliom has played Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the cult classic that satirizes B-movies and is known for audience participation in 1992, 2000 and 2001 during performances at ʻIao Theater. In 2005, he performed the show at Hapa’s nightclub in Kīhei with legendary performer Willie K, who died in 2020 after a battle with cancer. In 2014, Gilliom did a concert version of “The Rocky Horror Show” at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center before returning to ʻIao Theater for runs in 2022 and 2023.
“And now here we are,” Gilliom said as he sat in the middle of the theater.
Gilliom also has had movie roles in Get a Job (2011), Hoosiers (1986) and Trout Fishing Afghanistan (2010). He is the brother of Amy Hanai‘ali‘i Gilliom, a six-time Grammy Award-nominated singer, and was also one half of the popular Hawaiian recording duo “Barefoot Natives” with Willie K.
Gilliom appears to have plenty of energy left in his deep gas tank. Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac called Gilliom “Hawai‘i’s greatest showman.” Oscar winner Jamie Foxx said: “Eric is one of the funniest guys I know.”
“It just feels like this is a good time,” Gilliom said of the decision to hang up his Dr. Frank-N-Furter role. “Like all great athletes that want to go out on top, I don’t want to embarrass myself. I certainly don’t want people to come see the ninth version of it thinking, ‘Man, that guy should have gave up after the eighth one.’ “
Gilliom still brings the vibrant personality that has defined his career. Even as he wore a protective mask for much of the rehearsal on Wednesday because he felt slightly ill, his aura jumped off the stage during rehearsal.
The current “Rocky Horror Show” has 19 cast members, 6 band members and 10 off-stage people coordinating the production. All appear to feed off Gilliom’s vibe.
Kevin Peer plays the character Riff Raff in the production and had never met Gilliom prior to getting the part after auditions in August.
“My wife knew who he was,” Peer said Tuesday. “Everybody else knows who he is, but I had no idea.”
Peer was quick to warm up to Gilliom once they met a couple months ago: “Oh, he’s a blast. His energy is out of control.”
Gilliom said there is “no sadness” in leaving Dr. Frank-N-Furter on the sideline after he finishes this run.
“In the end it’s about bringing the community together,” Gilliom said. “It’s about bringing people into this space and letting them laugh and dance and just have a great time.”
Brian Kohne, the Maui film commissioner, was one class behind Gilliom at Baldwin High School and has seen Gilliom perform Dr. Frank-N-Furter numerous times. Kohne said Gilliom is comparable to Tim Curry playing the part in the movie version, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Dr. Frank-N-Furter uses he/him pronouns but does not have a fixed gender and is best understood as a gender non-conforming character.
“Eric can sing the hell out of this role,” Kohne said. “To me, he’s always been right there on par with anything Tim Curry did on film or any other versions of Rocky Horror that I might have seen, because I’ve seen many others.”
Gilliom is currently performing or preparing for three different shows. He plans to hang up his seven-year, one-man musical “White Hawaiian” after he finishes the run for that show at ProArts Playhouse in Kīhei on March 1, 2026. That will be the 150th time he will perform the musical he created.
Lin McEwan, executive director of ProArts Playhouse, said she will miss “White Hawaiian,” which began its current run in August.
“When I saw him perform it at the MACC (in 2019), I had just started here and I remember thinking that I thought it would fit beautifully in our space and that I hope that one day he would consider bringing it here,” McEwan said. “He did and we are just so fortunate.”
Gilliom’s other current show, “Mele: The Hawaiian Music Experience” that is playing on Tuesdays in the Maui Sphere at the Maui Ocean Center, does not have and end date at this point.
“We’re going to keep that one going indefinitely,” Gilliom said.
Luana Whitford-Mitchell, the 57-year-old stage manager for “The Rocky Horror Show” and executive director for ʻIao Theater, has known Gilliom for more than 50 years, when they were both children. She is prepared to be emotional in the final run with Gilliom as Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
“I’m going to be sad at some points, but definitely we’re trying to send him out with a bang, which is what he wants for this,” Whitford-Mitchell said.
The next big project on Gilliom’s plate is a Christmas movie that is set to be filmed completely on Maui. The likely release is 2027; it has been in the works since 2010.
“It’s called ‘Aloha Santa,’ ” Gilliom said. “We’re shooting the whole thing here, man. It finally looks like it’s a go.”
Gilliom said the lead role was originally written for Jack Black, but it is likely that Gilliom will end up playing the lead that could start shooting in 2026 in conjunction with one of his creative partners, Jonathan Yudis, who pitched it to Gilliom in 2010.
“The newly appointed Santa is a complete screw up,” Gilliom said of the plot. “He takes his sleigh out for a test drive and crashes on Maui. And he’s stuck here without his magical powers. And Christmas is doomed, as we know it, until he figures out how to get his magical powers back.”
Gilliom said he has a special connection to ʻIao Theater, especially now that he does not know what his next role there might be. He was one of the leading forces to get the theater designated as a historical landmark in the early 1990s when it was in danger of being torn down.
“It’s very emotional, man,” Gilliom said. “I have a really strong connection to this theater. I love the smell of this building. It’s very specific when you walk in here. It feels like home to me … It’s the jewel of Wailuku.”
