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Rosie O’Donnell and Kristin Chenoweth led the cast in a reading of The Pyramid: An Unauthorized 'Dance Moms' Musical in New York City on Monday.
Dance Moms was the reality TV show that aired on Lifetime for eight seasons from 2011 to 2019.
It followed the young competitive dancers of a Pennsylvania dance studio and the notoriously demanding owner and choreographer, Abby Lee Miller, who put enormous pressure on them and their mothers.
O'Donnell, 64, who recently shared that she had reconnected with her imprisoned daughter, teased the project in a TikTok video without mentioning what it was before the details were spilled in Variety later in the day.
The former talk show host, who just completed a limited two-week run as the narrator in The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway, played the harsh and controversial Miller, according to the outlet.
After Dance Moms ended, Miller, 61, went on to face serious legal, health and career woes, including an eight-month stint in federal prison after pleading guilty to bankruptcy fraud.
Rosie O’Donnell and Kristin Chenoweth led the cast in a reading of The Pyramid: An Unauthorized 'Dance Moms' Musical in New York City on Monday. O'Donnell, left, and Chenoweth, right, seen on June 7 at the Tony Awards in New York City
Chenoweth, 58, who originated the role of Glinda in the Broadway musical Wicked, took on the role of dance instructor Cathy Nesbitt-Stein, who butted heads with Miller constantly on Dance Moms.
Nesbitt-Stein has continued to run her Ohio-based dance studio, Candy Apples Dance Center, after the series wrapped.
In her Monday TikTok update, O'Donnell told followers: 'I’m getting ready to check out of my hotel and do this reading of a new musical.
'I don't know what I'm allowed to say yet. I really wasn't supposed to say what I've said, but I'm saying it, so I will let you know all about it after the reading, and I'll tell you how it went down and what I think.
'I'm just very excited. I love doing Broadway,' O’Donnell said, adding: 'I loved doing Rocky Horror so much. Cast and crew are delightful, absolutely delightful. Producers threw a little goodbye for me and Larkin (Reilly, who played Phantom), who's so talented and she's going on to do the Dolly Parton musical.'
The fan feedback to O'Donnell and Chenoweth's involvement in the reading was exceedingly favorable.
'Wow! I was skeptical when I heard the rumors but this is pretty cool!' one Reddit user wrote while another simply commented: 'OMG.'
'Rosie as Abby Lee is a necessary casting choice and I hope she continues with the project. Also, a parody musical with the budget to get Rosie & Kristin at THIS stage? Wild,' one follower shared on Official Broadway World’s Instagram page.
O'Donnell played the notoriously demanding owner and choreographer, Abby Lee Miller, who put enormous pressure on the kids and their mothers. Above, Miller and her dance students on Dance Moms in 2014
Chenoweth took on the role of dance instructor Cathy Nesbitt-Stein, who butted heads with Miller constantly on Dance Moms. Above, Nesbitt-Stein on Dance Moms
O'Donnell, 64, teased the project in a TikTok video without mentioning what it was before the details were spilled in Variety later in the day.
O'Donnell just completed a limited two-week run as the narrator in The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway. Above, the former talk show host in Rocky Horror character on October 6
'This headline is a fever dream,' another shared.
'This is the musical we want and NEED right now,' yet another commented.
One excited Instagram follower posted: 'Wow. I'm kinda gagged in the best way.'
While O’Donnell and Chenoweth signed on for just the reading, there are plans to expand The Pyramid: An Unauthorized 'Dance Moms' Musical into a full-scale stage production on Broadway.
The creative team led by producer Logan Clark and creative producer Tye Blue launched a Kickstarter campaign in August 2026 to fund the stage production.
The project was originally conceived by James Stryska and Isabel Grace and began as a social media concept, per Variety.
Meanwhile, O’Donnell recently revealed that she found shooting her And Just Like That... sex scene with Cynthia Nixon 'horrifying.'
O’Donnell made a guest appearance in the third season of the Sex and the City spin-off as Sister Mary, a nun who breaks her vow of chastity to lose her virginity to Nixon's character Miranda Hobbes, and the comic admitted she was 'so nervous' about filming the intimate moment with her good friend.
Speaking to Amy Poehler on her Good Hang podcast, she said: 'I was so nervous. The kissing wasn't hard, but the laying in bed and the wanting us to act like we had just done it. I was like, "Uhh." But I'm a little immature when it comes to that.'
'It's a skill. It really is,' O’Donnell added.
And Just Like That... was canceled in 2025 after three seasons.
English (US) ·