Rosie O’Donnell To Join Broadway’s ‘Rocky Horror Show’ As Temporary Fill-In For Rachel Dratch

Rosie O’Donnell is headed back to Broadway, however briefly: She’ll join The Rocky Horror Show for two weeks in October as the “Narrator” while current star Rachel Dratch takes a short leave.

O’Donnell’s engagement, announced today by the show’s producers, will begin Tuesday, October 6, and run through Sunday, October 18.

The former co-host of The View and, more recently, guest host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, was last on Broadway in 2005 when she joined the cast of Fiddler on the Roof as Golde opposite Harvey Fierstein’s Tevye. She produced the Broadway musical Taboo in 2003, appeared in Seussical as The Cat in the Hat in 2001 and played Rizzo in the 1994 revival of Grease.

Most recently, O’Donnell staged her one-woman show, Common Knowledge, in July at Off Broadway’s Daryl Roth Theatre.

In addition to Dratch, The Rocky Horror Show cast currently includes Lorna Courtney as “Janet”, Amber Gray as “Riff Raff,” Kevin McHale as “Brad”, Jimin Moon as “Rocky”, George Salazar as “Eddie/Dr. Scott”, Sherie Rene Scott as “Magenta”, Jake Shears as “Frank-N-Furter” and Valentina as “Columbia.”

The Rocky Horror Show is directed by Sam Pinkleton (Oh, Mary!, the upcoming Annie revival) began previews on March 26 and opened officially on April 23 to favorable reviews. The revival received 9 Tony Award nominations, and broke the house record at Studio 54 in June with a weekly box office take of
$1,215,225.