Two gay actors star in ‘Fiddler’ on Broadway

new york (ap) | Rosie O'Donnell will join Harvey Fierstein in the Broadway revival of the musical "Fiddler on the Roof" on Sept. 20, the show's producers said this week.

Fierstein plays Tevye the milkman, and O'Donnell will play his wife, Golde, according to a statement. The show is running at the Minskoff Theater.

According to The New York Times, this is a particularly bold move, since it casts two openly gay actors as husband and wife, in a play whose central theme is about breaking of tradition.

"As a 20-year friend of Rosie's, I couldn't be happier that we will finally share a stage together," Fierstein said in the statement. "With her understanding of Fiddler's important place in theatrical history, I am positive she will uphold that tradition excitingly."

The Irish-American O'Donnell, 43, made her Broadway debut in 1994, starring as Rizzo in a revival of "Grease." In 2001, she returned to Broadway to star as the Cat in the Hat in "Seussical."