2001 Tony Award nominee Polly Bergen will open the Orange County Performing Arts Center's 2002-2003 Elvin and Marjorie Shane Klein Cabaret series with five-performances at the Costa Mesa, California venue Oct. 1-5.

Bergen was nominated for the 2001 Tony Award for her stirring performance of "I'm Still Here" in the Roundabout Theatre's revival of Follies. Her other Broadway credits include Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret at Studio 54 and Love Letters. Bergen won an Emmy Award for "The Helen Morgan Story" and was nominated twice for her roles in "Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance."

Theatre veterans and vocalists will follow Bergen: two-time Grammy winner Jack Jones plays Nov. 12-16; Tony winner Christine Ebersole plays Jan. 28-Feb. 1; Welsa Whitfield plays Feb. 18-22, A Chorus Line's Tony-winning star Donna McKechnie plays March 25-29 and Maureen McGovern completes the series April 15-19.

Tickets are $49. The Orange County Performing Arts Center is located at 600 Town Center Drive. For reservations, call (714) 556-ARTS. Orange County Performing Arts Center is on the web at http://www.ocpac.org.

— By Christine Ehren