Jean Stapleton, the beloved stage and screen actress who played Edith Bunker on TV's long-running hit "All in the Family," will portray first lady Eleanor Roosevelt in the world premiere of Rhoda Lerman's Eleanor. The play will be performed from Feb. 20-Mar. 8 at the Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center in Nyack, NY. The director is John Tillinger (who is currently represented on Broadway by The Sunshine Boys).

Future productions at the Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center include Tom Zeigler's Grace and Glorie, with Bonnie Franklin and Pat Carroll, from Mar. 13-29, and Nunsense, starring Dody Goodman, from May 1-17.

The theatre's season will close with another world premiere, Elliott Taubenslag's Millions of Miles, about a widower and the elderly prostitute he picks up in a bar, which will co-star Milo O'Shea and Gloria DeHaven. Millions of Miles is scheduled to be performed from June 19-July 5.

The Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center is located at 117 Main St. in Nyack. For tickets, call (914) 358-6333.

-- By Rebecca Paller