Rosie O'Donnell's Broadway Revolution

By Christopher Moore, Broadway Magazine

There are many accomplishments in the career of Rosie O'Donnell. As a personality, performer, producer, and host, she has achieved an enduring celebrity status and sustains continued public attention. However, her greatest accomplishment this year could well be taking place beyond the glare of the spotlight as Rosie continues her work to bring the experience of theater to students across New York City.

This week, The Dramatists Guild Fund benefit gala honored Rosie O'Donnell and her organization Rosie's Broadway Kids. The event featured a who's who of Broadway A-listers including Lynn Ahrens, Jane Alexander, Lynn Cohen, Christine Ebersole, Stephen Flaherty, Dan Foster, John Guare, Julie Halston, Tina Howe, David Henry Hwang, James Earl Jones, John Kander, Michael Korie, David Ives, LaChanze, Angela Lansbury, Nathan Lane, James Lapine, Warren Leight, Jefferson Mays, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Terrence McNally, Idina Menzel, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marsha Norman, Peter Parnell, Rosie O'Donnell, Karen Olivo, Jill Paice, Stephen Schwartz, David Shire, Joseph Stein, Alfred Uhry, John Weidman, Lanford Wilson, B.D. Wong, Doug Wright. All the stars were shining on Rosie, and Broadway.tv and Broadway Magazine were there to capture the excitement before the show.

"Rosie's done incredible work this year. She did what's almost impossible to do in New York City, which is to establish a new, viable theatre space for her group and its really fantastic," reflects Tony Award winning writer and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creative force behind the Broadway hit In The Heights.

"I'm lucky that I grew up in Long Island where I had access to ten dollar standing room... Musical theatre was the thing that did it for me, and I wanted to give back. So we started a program five years ago where we go to the poorer schools and it was 7 week program of musical theater," recalls Rosie O'Donnell when thinking about Rosie's Broadway's kids.

"What Rosie is doing is making it available to kids who wouldn't otherwise have that opportunity, for economic reasons or cultural reasons, to see theater," explains the esteemed Stephen Schwartz, creator of Broadway's Wicked

"Live theatre is a unique experience, particularly for young people today... It's quite a revelation for youngsters when the see it for the first time," says Angela Lansbury, who is starring in Blithe Spirit.

"If it wasn't for my parents taking me to theatre and to different culture events growing up, I wouldn't have the appreciation and inspiration... I think it's so important for young kids that have been through a lot to have a place to express themselves," says Broadway favorite Idina Menzel.

"Just for me, specifically, if I didn't have the arts in my life, I really don't know where I would be," considers West Side Story's star Karen Olivo, who has rapidly become one of the most electrifying actresses of the current Broadway season.

"That's why we started at the first school that we did, right in the heart of the theatre district because it was so sad to me that these kids walk by the theatres every night and they never get to go in. The first show we took them to was Aida and I had 200 tickets in my hands, and parents and teachers and the kids. A little boy said to me, 'Rosie where do we sit?' and I said, 'how about those empty seats.' And he said, 'You mean, in the velvet?!' He couldn't believe that he could sit in the velvet. I thought that's what every kid deserves - to sit in the velvet at least once."

With the success of Rosie's Broadway Kids, it is safe to say that there will be plenty of kids sitting in velvet for generations to come. Watch the entire Rosie O'Donnell and Rosie's Broadway Kids video coverage right here on Broadway.tv.