Rosie O'Donnell on Appearing in a Broadway Revival of Funny Girl: 'It Is the Truth'

Theater fans geeked out about a recent rumor started by Rosie O'Donnell that she would soon return to Broadway in a revival of Funny Girl starring Lady Gaga. While O'Donnell's rep confirmed to Broadway.com that she was simply dream-casting the musical's star, it turns out that half of what the Broadway alum shared is true. O'Donnell said in a recent interview with NowNowNext that she will, indeed, appear as Fanny Brice's mother in a new main-stem staging of the 1964 classic musical.

"It is the truth," said O'Donnell. "Michael Mayer is doing it. He's already got the rights from the estate. I'm going to play Rose Brice."

O'Donnell is, of course, referencing a transfer of Mayer's acclaimed West End staging of Funny Girl, featuring a revised book by Harvey Fierstein (adapted from Isobel Lennart's original), which will appear in cinemas globally on October 24. A Broadway transfer has yet to be officially announced.

If true, this would be the first Broadway revival of the musical that catapulted Barbra Streisand to stardom in the role of Fanny Brice (Sheridan Smith starred in Mayer's London staging).

O'Donnell is no stranger to Broadway, having taken on roles in Grease, Seussical and Fiddler on the Roof; she also served as lead producer on the Boy George musical Taboo. O'Donnell received a 2014 Isabelle Stevenson Award from the Tonys to honor her work with the nonprofit Rosie's Theater Kids.

Funny Girl tracks the rise of Fanny Brice's career as one of Broadway's biggest stars by way of the Ziegfeld Follies. The score by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill features such iconic show tunes as "People," "Don't Rain on My Parade" and "I'm the Greatest Star."