Tony Award winner Carole Shelley (Wicked, The Odd Couple, The Elephant Man) plays Marilyn Monroe's assistant and confidante in the play by Mark Hampton and Michael Sharp that is based on the book "The Secret Letters of Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy" by Wendy Leigh.

The run continues to Dec. 10. Leonard Foglia (Master Class, On Golden Pond) directs.

According to PPT notes, the play — billed as "a seductive mix of history, gossip and fiction" — depicts "a friendship between the two most glamorous women on the planet. As the paparazzi close in on them, Jackie and Marilyn cling to each other for solace and salvation, and two lives fated for glory careen towards disaster."

Heather Tom, of "One Life To Life," plays Marilyn Monroe. Tom recently announced she's leaving daytime television to go to Los Angeles, but her first stop is Pittsburgh Public.

Stage and television actress Gretchen Egolf plays Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. The Secret Letters design team includes scenic designer Michael McGarty, costume designer David C. Woolard, lighting designer Howell Binkley and sound designer Zach Moore.

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The play is PPT's first of two world premieres in 2006-07.

As previously announced, PPT will present the world premiere of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens' new musical The Glorious Ones, directed and choreographed by Graciela Daniele, in spring 2007.

The resident Equity theatre launched its current season Sept. 28 with Sophocles' Oedipus the King, directed by PPT producing artistic director Ted Pappas.

For more information, visit www.ppt.org.