Rosie O’Donnell has booked a major Broadway gig after her highly successful stint as a guest host for Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The 64-year-old actress and talk show veteran has announced that she’s joining the cast of The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway. O’Donnell will be filling in for Saturday Night Live alum Rachel Dratch over a nearly two-week stint starting on October 6th.
“Could not be more thrilled #broadway is the place show biz lives up to its dream - can’t wait to be there !!!” O’Donnell wrote on Instagram, adding that Dratch will be “taking a vacation” during that time.
The official Rocky Horror Show account also celebrated the news, calling O’Donnell’s part a “special two-week only engagement.” O’Donnell will play the Narrator in the cult production.
O’Donnell’s latest project comes after her week-long special on Kimmel’s ABC show, during which she quietly took down her longtime nemesis, President Donald Trump. After several episodes without naming Trump explicitly, O’Donnell ended her guest rotation with a scathing musical performance dedicated to the president.
Kimmel said he brought in O’Donnell, an outspoken Trump adversary, as “a special treat for our commander-in-chief.”
“Oh, Donnie boy, it’s Rosie, Rosie calling from Hollywood, the Jimmy Kimmel show. Drop that Big Mac that we all know you’re holding, because, my dear, I worry for you so,” she belted out.
“Poor Donnie boy, your polls, your polls are falling / Your Reflecting Pool is green as Mountain Dew / Your wig’s a mess. Your ballroom is appalling / And with Iran, you bit off more than you can chew.”
The star finished her song by singing, “Come on, resign and make this country great again!”
O’Donnell has displayed her musical talent throughout her career, making her Broadway debut in 1994 as Betty Rizzo in Grease at the Eugene O’Neill Theater. She has appeared in productions like Seussical, Fiddler on the Roof, Love, Loss, and What I Wore, and The Music Man. The comedian also hosted the Tony Awards three times and won the honorary Isabelle Stevenson Award in 2014 for her nonprofit work advocating for children in theater and the arts.
