O'Donnell takes Taboo to Broadway

A colourful Boy George helped O'Donnell promote the show

Former US talk show host Rosie O'Donnell has announced she is producing Boy George's musical Taboo on Broadway.

She will be sole investor in the $10m (£6.3m) show which opens in New York on 13 November.

It tells the story of Boy George's rise to fame and descent into heroin addiction during the 1980s.

The show had a 15-month run in London's West End, with Euan Morton playing the part of George.

Morton will resume the role on Broadway, with George playing performance artist and designer Leigh Bowery.

O'Donnell, 41, said she had decided to become involved after seeing the play in London.

"Taboo is a legitimate, knock-'em-down, leave-'em-screaming, worth-a-$100-a-seat Broadway show," she said.

She has hired Charles Busch, author of The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, to rewrite the book for a US audience.

It begins preview performances on 24 October at New York's Plymouth Theatre.

O'Donnell, who appeared at a press conference alongside 42-year-old George to promote the show, said she believed it would win next year's Tony Award for best musical.