Rosie O’Donnell Opens Up About the Deeply Personal Journey Behind COMMON KNOWLEDGE

Ready or not, here comes Rosie! Stage and screen superstar Rosie O’Donnell is returning to the New York City stage with her solo show, Common Knowledge, premiering Off-Broadway at the Daryl Roth Theatre on July 22. The eleven-time Emmy and Tony Award winner’s new show will reflect on her move to her newly adopted hometown of Dublin, Ireland, the culture shift, family life, and the humbling and hilarious realization that maybe she doesn’t have it all figured out.

“I tried about 10 years ago with Dick Scanlon to write this show… it was just, I was not ready,” she told BroadwayWorld’s Richard Ridge. “When I started to perform it, we did a couple readings, I would cry through it. So I wasn’t emotionally prepared yet, but I think moving to Ireland, leaving the country made me braver.

“It starts with the day my mother died… After that’s over I say, ‘I know what you’re thinking. Did I buy the wrong ticket? Isn’t this a Rosie O’Donnell comedy show? No, don’t worry. The comedy is coming.’ But I had to lay the groundwork first for the tragic Irish beginning.”

Following its debut in Dublin, Sydney, and a celebrated run at the Edinburgh Fringe, Common Knowledge arrives Off-Broadway after playing to sold-out houses and earning standing ovations. Now living in Dublin, Rosie shares unfiltered reflections on leaving the US, raising and learning from her fiercely bright youngest child, Clay, and adjusting to a new yet familiar culture.

“You learn in an Irish family that emotions are not really welcome, but humor is… ,” she added. “You could laugh about it, but crying about it was not allowed. And so now I’ve done a show that makes people laugh and cry.”

An eleven-time Emmy Award winner and Tony Award recipient, O’Donnell is known for her sharp wit, heartfelt storytelling, and fearless opinions. Common Knowledge blends her trademark humor with moments of reflection, exploring topics from pop culture to politics with honesty, warmth, and her unmistakable spontaneity A past host of the Tony Awards, Rosie O’Donnell made her Broadway debut as ‘Rizzo’ in Grease in 1994. She has also been seen in Seussical as ‘The Cat in the Hat’ in 2001 and in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ as ‘Golde.’ She was also lead producer of the 2003 musical Taboo.