The first photographs of Rosie O'Donnell as the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show are out, with a little over a week of her engagement left: she plays the role at Studio 54 through October 18, covering for Rachel Dratch, who returns on October 20.
The pictures, by Jenny Anderson, show O'Donnell in the Narrator's smoking jacket, in one shot walking the audience through the dance steps of The Time Warp with a pointer and a floor chart, and in another seated in a high-backed chair beside a bronze statue.
Her casting was announced last month as a two-week stand-in rather than a change of cast, and the dates have held: she began on October 6, and the role goes back to Dratch the following Tuesday. That makes this a short window for anyone who wants to see it, and one that falls in the production's busiest stretch, a month of Halloween events in and around the theater.
O'Donnell's earlier Broadway credits include Grease and Fiddler on the Roof. She has hosted the Tony Awards three times, winning an Emmy for it, and received the Isabelle Stevenson Award in 2014. Most recently she played twelve sold-out performances of her solo show Common Knowledge at the Daryl Roth Theatre.
The rest of the company is unchanged around her. Jake Shears plays Frank-N-Furter, with Lorna Courtney and Kevin McHale as Janet and Brad, Amber Gray as Riff Raff, Sherie Rene Scott as Magenta and Jimin Moon as Rocky. Sam Pinkleton directs the Roundabout Theatre Company revival.
The Rocky Horror Show runs at Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street, Tuesday to Friday at 7pm, Saturday at 3pm and 8pm and Sunday at 2pm and 7pm. O'Donnell's last performance is on October 18, and the production is on sale through February 28, 2027.
