Rosie O’Donnell to Return to Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof

It has just been announced that 12-time Emmy Award winner Rosie O’Donnell is set to return to Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof beginning September 20. O’Donnell will play Golde opposite Harvey Fierstein as Tevye.

“As a twenty year friend of Rosie’s, I couldn’t be happier that we will finally share a stage together,” said Fierstein in a press statement. “With her understanding of Fiddler‘s important place in theatrical history, I am positive she will uphold that tradition excitingly.”

The show, directed by David Leveaux, opened at the Minskoff Theatre on February 26, 2004 with Alfred Molina as Tevye and Randy Graff as Golde. Andrea Martin recently portrayed Golde, but left the cast on Sunday, July 31 and was replaced by her understudy, Lori Wilner.

O’Donnell made her Broadway debut in 1994 starring as Rizzo in Tommy Tune’s revival of Grease. She last performed on Broadway in 2001 as The Cat in the Hat in the musical Seussical. She was also the producer for the 2003 Broadway production of Taboo. For six years, O’Donnell was the host and executive producer of the critically acclaimed, nationally syndicated talk/variety series The Rosie O’Donnell Show. Film credits include A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, and The Flintstones.

The Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof recently announced a closing date for January 8, 2006. By that time, it will have played 817 performances.