"Rosie's Variety Show" to Air Thanksgiving Weekend
By Andrew Gans
02 Oct 2008
 |
 |
Rosie O'Donnell
|
Actress, stand-up comic, producer and talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell will try her hand at reviving the variety show genre.
Variety reports that "Rosie's Variety Show" will make its debut Nov. 26 at 8 PM ET on NBC. The one-night special, the industry paper says, will likely precede a weekly O'Donnell variety show that would begin in 2009.
Celebrity guests, comedy skits, musical acts and contests will be part of "Rosie's Variety Show," which will air live from Manhattan. O'Donnell will executive produce the show with David Friedman ("Last Comic Standing").
Craig Plestis, NBC Entertainment's executive vice-president for alternative programming, development and specials, told Variety, "We want to show people that variety can be done in a new and inventive way for 2008. We hope to do it in ways you haven't seen before. It's going to be the YouTube of variety shows..."
A repertory cast will likely be part of "Rosie's Variety Show," although details have yet to be announced.
O'Donnell told Variety that the upcoming show is a "a dream come true — old-time variety, live from New York, with a nod to Ed Sullivan, Carol Burnett and memories of Sonny and Cher."
Rosie O'Donnell made her Broadway debut as Rizzo in the 1994 revival of Grease!, played a limited engagement as the Cat in the Hat in the Ahrens-Flaherty musical Seussical, and portrayed Golde in the recent revival of Fiddler on the Roof. The performer also spent some time on the other side of the footlights as producer of the Broadway version of Boy George's Taboo.
O'Donnell rose to fame as a stand-up comic before landing roles in such films as "A League of Their Own," "Sleepless in Seattle," "The Flintsones" and "Exit to Eden." Her Emmy-winning talk show, "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," ran from 1996 to 2001, and her more recent TV credits include appearances on "Will & Grace" and "Queer as Folk" as well as the made-for-television movie "Riding the Bus with My Sister" and the cable series "Nip/Tuck." She also spent a year as co-host of ABC-TV's "The View."
O'Donnell is married to Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell; the couple has four children. O'Donnell's autobiography is titled "Find Me"; her newest book is "Celebrity Detox."
Contact Us | Advertise | Privacy Policy
Send questions and comments to the Webmaster
Copyright © 2009 Playbill, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|