David Lindsay-Abaire's new comedy, Wonder of the World, may have "Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker as its star when Manhattan Theatre Club presents the New York premiere later this season.

MTC spokesman Chris Boneau confirmed a Variety report that said Parker (whose stage credits include Broadway's Annie, How to Succeed... and Once Upon a Mattress) is in talks with MTC about starring as Cass, a woman who flees her marriage and heads to Niagara Falls. The absurd comedy had its world premiere in May-July 2000 by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington DC.

To accommodate Parker's shooting schedule on HBO's popular "Sex and the City," MTC is mulling bumping the Wonder of the World dates to summer 2001, when Parker is available (her program reportedly shoots between March and June 29).

Armed with a "to-do list" that includes "learn Swedish, eat venison, witness an execution, wear a large wig," the new play's heroine, Cass, meets Lois, a suicidal alcoholic with a pickle barrel perfect for the falls. A romantic boat captain, a psychotic helicopter pilot and a bickering couple disguised as detectives complete the world of the play.

Lindsay-Abaire's Fuddy Meers had its world premiere at MTC in late 1999 and moved to a brief commercial run Off-Broadway in 2000. It's quickly becoming a regional theatre favorite. Lindsay-Abaire's other plays include A Devil Inside and The Kitchen Sink Drama. He was nominated for the John Gassner Playwriting Award by the Outer Critics Circle for Fuddy Meers. His new play, Jiminy Christmas, was written with comedian-actress Janeane Garofalo in mind.

The run of Wonder of the World at MTC is currently set to begins previews May 1 and open May 22.

— By Kenneth Jones