BWW Q&A: Rosie O'Donnell Talks About Monday's Special Event, Broadway Thursdays on Rosie Radio & A Special Offer

Rosie O'Donnell will be hosting A Broadway Extravaganza, a benefit for Rosie's Broadway Kids at 8PM on Monday, November 23. BroadwayWorld.com chatted with Rosie this morning about the special event, Broadway Thursdays on Rosie Radio and more...

This years celebration includes a star-studded tribute performance honoring the one and only Queen Latifah at the world famous Palace Theatre. The evening will feature unforgettable performances by Nikki Blonsky (HAIRSPRAY Movie), Gavin Creel (HAIR), Melinda Doolittle (AMERICAN IDOL), Montego Glover (MEMPHIS), Norm Lewis (LITTLE MERMAID), and special performances by Judy Gold, The Cast of Jim Henson's Emmet Otter and of course - Rosie's Broadway Kids.

To start things off, what can you tell us about Monday's very special event at the Palace Theater?

Well, it's the 12th gala that we've had for my foundation and the focus this year is on Rosie's Broadway Kids and the brand new school that we just opened up on 45th Street. It's at the Palace Theatre and we're honoring Queen Latifah.

Nikki Blonsky, Gavin Creel, Melinda Doolittle, Montego Glover, Norm Lewis, Judy Gold and all of the kids from my school and the cast from Jim Henson's new show Emmet Otter will be performing.

Also, I've asked a few 'friends' to stop by which are going to be some VERY special surprises that we're not billing...

Any hints? How long will the concert be? 

No hints! But, it'll be a big hour and a half show and then afterwards we have a reception upstairs for the high-rollers who bought the big expensive tickets and they'll get to hang with all the people that they got to see perform as well as to hear more about the school and what we're doing.

How do you pick Queen Latifah as this year's honoree? 

She's an amazing advocate for children and her mother is a school teacher and she is an unbelievably talented performer. We asked alot of the kids at our - who would you like to see? who inspired you the most? She was one of the top names on the list and because I know her and I'm friendly with her, I called her and said "would ya?" and she said yes right away.

Kids have seen her in movies like Hairspray and Chicago, and she sort of represents the life of musical theatre for children under the age of 20 because they don't really remember going to the movie theatre and seeing any musicals before those two, both of which Queen Latifah stars in. I thought that she was the perfect choice and I know that she has a foundation of her own that honors her brother and that deals with inner-city kids and their educational needs and I know that this speaks to her and to her mission and to her life.

So, I thought that she'd be the perfect person, and she is!

Is she going to be taking to the stage?

She'll be there and we'll have a little performance for her and the kids are going to do a couple of her songs - a little medley and she will get her award and I'm sure that she'll hug and kiss all those kids, which is what she does always whenever she's around children. She's been an unbelievably infectiously happy life-spirit and she's going to come and get an award and hang with the kids.

Can you tell us about what songs people are performing?

That's a secret, Bobby told me not to tell you, but I can hint that if you've got Nikki Blonsky there, chances are that it's going to be something from HAIRSPRAY, but ... I can tell you that people are going to be singing things that they're known for.

We covered the opening of the wonderful new arts center in midtown for Rosie's Broadway Kids, how are things going with them?

It's wonderful, the new building is really gorgeous and the program is great. This economy is difficult for everyone though. It's difficult for most people to survive and to feed their children and the people that we serve, and the groups that we serve are kids, the vast majority of them are the kids who are getting 'free lunch.'

The vast majority or almost all the kids in our program live below the poverty level so it's especially time for them and for their families but it's also a difficult time for fundraising so although the school is up and running and the program is thriving, it's still a hard economy to raise money because people are suffering.

We're going to carry on and to do the best we can like everyone else and hopefully we'll get through to the other side and this storm will pass and on we'll go.

 

I know many BroadwayWorld.com readers are enjoying Rosie Radio on Sirius XM because they've been missing on TV. How are you going to bring Broadway onto the new show?

We are, every thursday! Every Thursday is going to be Broadway day and Bobby (Pearce) will have people on every Thursday and we'll also talk about it every week. We had Montego Glover on already and tomorrow we'll have on Alice Ripley and every Thursday will be a Broadway star and featuring a Broadway musical and we'll give away Broadway tickets.

So, for your audience - tune in Thursdays! I promise that there will be enough Broadway for everyone.

We'll be listening! I know you're seeing shows all the time, what was the last one that you caught on Broadway?

I saw the Starry Messenger, the Matthew Broderick play and it was absolutely brilliant. I loved it and thought it was so absolutely beautiful and moving. It's two hours and forty-five minutes, which on the way in gave me a nervous headache -- what was I seeing? Nicholas Nickleby? How am I going to get through this? But it totally flew by and totally carries your interest.

On the whole, I'm a much bigger fan of musicals than plays because I need shiny dazzley bright things to distract me, but this one really I loved and I was thrilled and highly recommend seeing it.

And lastly, I've been told that you're going to be extending a special offer for Broadway fans to come see some of their favorite stars on Monday night? 

The show is this Monday and we have about 50 tickets left and as a thank you to MY Broadway fans, we're going to offer special HALF-PRICE prIce Tickets while they last JUST on Friday and JUST from 1-3 pm. So,  for tickets or more information go to: www.rosie.com/gala.aspx or call Buckley Hall Events at 914-579-1000.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.