The former talk show host is set to take the stage next month, briefly replacing Rachel Dratch.

Rosie O’Donnell joins The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway after successful gig guest-hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live

The former talk show host is set to take the stage next month, briefly replacing Rachel Dratch.

By Shelby Stivale

Shelby Stivale

Shelby Stivale is a senior writer at **. She has been working at EW since July 2026. Her work has previously appeared on Us Weekly and J-14.

EW's editorial guidelines

September 16, 2026 12:04 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Rosie O’Donnell; Rachel Dratch. Credit:

Kristina Bumphrey/Getty; Manoli Figetakis/FilmMagic

- Rosie O’Donnell is set to return to Broadway.

- The former talk show host will briefly replace Rachel Dratch in *The Rocky Horror Show*.

- O’Donnell’s new gig comes after she guest-hosted *Jimmy Kimmel Live *last month.

Rosie O’Donnell is stepping in for Rachel Dratch.

*Playbill* announced on Wednesday that for a nearly two-week stint next month, O’Donnell will play the Narrator in *The Rocky Horror Show** *on Broadway. Tony nominee Dratch, who has been playing the role since the show kicked off previews in March, will be taking a brief hiatus from the stage. O’Donnell will take over on Oct. 6 with Dratch returning on Oct. 20.

“Could not be more thrilled #broadway is the place show biz lives up to its dream - can’t wait to be there !!!” O’Donnell captioned an Instagram post on Wednesday, sharing the news with her followers.

Rachel Dratch as the Narrator in ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ on Broadway.

Theo Wargo/Getty

O’Donnell’s *Rocky Horror Show *role will kick off two months after she completed a limited run of her one-woman show, *Common Knowledge*. The retired talk show host’s production took the stage at The Daryl Roth Theatre in New York City, from July 22 to Aug. 8.

What happened to the cast of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’? Inside the stars’ lives after the cult classic

Kathy Griffin reveals where she stands with Rosie O’Donnell after ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ mix-up

The *A League of Their Own** *star, who famously moved from the United States to Ireland in January 2025, discussed her “glorious and overwhelming” return to New York in an interview published this summer.

“New Yorkers are very bold and forthright and they tell you to your face what they think. That’s why I do that—I lived my whole life here and I’m a New Yorker through and through,” O’Donnell told *Broadway Direct* at the time. “There’s a bluntness to us that some people find obnoxious and others find refreshing. When I got here, I stopped at the first bagel store I saw and got a bagel, and then I got a hot dog on the street, and was very happy about both.”

Rosie O’Donnell hosting ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ last month.

Randy Holmes/ABC/Getty

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

This is hardly the three-time Tony Award winner’s first foray into musical theater. O’Donnell made her Broadway debut in 1994, when she originated the role of Betty Rizzo in *Grease*, and occasionally returned to the Great White Way through the early 2000s, serving as a replacement for The Cat in the Hat in *Seussical* and Golde in *Fiddler On the Roof*.

O’Donnell’s *Rocky Horror Show *appearance also comes after she guest-hosted *Jimmy Kimmel Live* for four nights last month, nearly 25 years after *The Rosie O’Donnell Show* went off the air. Her brief late night stint received rave reviews, even from guest Shawn Hatosy.

“I think back to when I moved to New York in 1996, you had just started your show. I used to watch that show,” *The Pitt** *star said during the Aug. 21 episode. “It was amazing. If you don’t mind me saying, it is really nice to have you back here.”

O’Donnell is set to appear as the Narrator in *The Rocky Horror Show *from Oct. 6 to Oct. 18.

- Theater & The Arts

- Theater Industry

- Theater Reviews & Recommendations

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Broadway”