No, Not Like In Bosom Buddies

By Rebecca Winters

Now that gays are as ubiquitous on television as Law & Order spin-offs, actor-playwright HARVEY FIERSTEIN is set to break new gender-bending ground. Fierstein, who won a Tony Award for his performance as a plus-size hausfrau in Broadway's Hairspray, has signed on to play a divorced mother of two in an ABC pilot. More Roseanne than Will & Grace, the show will include "no acknowledgment that this is a man playing a woman, no winking at the camera," says Craig Zadan, who is developing the project with Neil Meron, his co-executive producer on the film Chicago. Fierstein will sport wigs and makeup for the role and may have romantic encounters.