It's no secret that Rich Little is a funny guy who can do impressions, but one of his biggest challenges is to incorporate that stand-up talent into a full evening of theatre. He's getting that chance by starring in The Presidents, a new comedy that premiered in Michigan in August, now followed by a major staging in upstate New York.

Written by Ron Nessen, who was Gerald Ford's press secretary, and Loren Paul Caplin, The Presidents had its world-premiere tryout at the Cherry County Playhouse in Michigan, Aug. 8-10. That production, somewhat expanded, comes to the Helen Hayes Center for the Performing Arts Sept. 23-Oct. 8, officially opening at the Nyack, NY venue Sept. 30. Cherry County artistic director Bill Castellino is directing both mountings. Little has apparently expressed serious interest in taking the play to Broadway.

In Presidents, Little plays eight U.S. chiefs, starting with John F. Kennedy up through Bill Clinton. Unlike the one-man stand-ups Little's been doing on TV and in Vegas for years, Little is accompanied by an actress playing all the first ladies, plus second bananas playing such politicos as Henry Kissinger, James Carville and Billy Carter. Structured as a play, the piece is narrated by a man who lived through this whole period, from Vietnam to the current era. "It's an overview of modern U.S. history," a Hayes spokesperson told Playbill On-Line. "And you can totally see how Little will be magnificent it it."

Before serving under President Ford, author Nessen was an NBC News correspondent during the Johnson administration. Co-author Caplin is a screenwriter who teaches screenwriting and creative writing at Columbia, New York University and The New School.

Expected to repeat their roles from the Michigan staging are a supporting cast of Elaine Bromka (playing the First Ladies and a character named Cindy Kostka), Herb Downer (who plays Franklin Delano Washington, a fictional character), David Green (who plays Bobby Kennedy, Robert McNamara, James Carville and others) and William Selby (who plays John Dean, Billy Carter, Dan Quayle and others). *

The rest of the 2000-01 mainstage season at the Hayes Center will include:

Nov. 4-19: The Odd Couple (the female version).
Dec. 2-23: Annie, the musical.
March 17-April 1, 2001: a world premiere, probably of a musical.
April 21-May 6, 2001: Alfred Uhry's Tony-winning drama, The Last Night of Ballyhoo.
June 2-17, 2001: A Chorus Line.

For tickets and subscription information ($149-$208) to shows at the Hayes Center, 117 Main Street, Nyack, NY, call (845) 358-6333.

*

In other Hayes Center news, stage actress Hayes, whose career spanned roughly eight decades, would have been 100 years old this coming October 22. To celebrate her career and spirit, the Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center is launching a celebrity-filled gala on that night, with her son, James MacArthur, serving as honorary host.

Scheduled to pay homage are Barry Bostwick, Betty Buckley (Triumph Of Love), Zoe Caldwell, producer Robert Whitehead, Arlene Dahl, David Shire and Elaine Stritch (Company). Further notables are expected to be announced shortly, though some previously-announced stars (including Loni Ackerman, Julie Harris and Bernadette Peters) have since had to cancel owing to other commitments.

Film and audio clips will be shown at the centennial celebration at the Hayes Center, which will be followed by a champagne and dessert reception. A pre-gala cocktail party at Hayes' scenic and historic estate, "Pretty Penny," opens the evening, which ranges in ticket price from $100 (show only) to $150 (show and dessert reception) to $1,000 (cocktail party included; room for 50 couples only) per person. For information call (914) 358-6333.

Hayes made her stage debut at age five and starred in such Broadway hits as To The Ladies, Victoria Regina and Mary of Scotland. In 1958 she starred in Eugene O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet at what had been the Fulton Theatre but was newly christened "The Helen Hayes Theatre." That theatre was destroyed in 1982 to make way for the Marriot Marquis Hotel, and a neighboring theatre was re-named the Helen Hayes. The comedy Dirty Blonde now plays at the Broadway Hayes venue.

According to press materials from the Hayes Center, Hayes once said, "I hope some day to have a little theatre in Nyack named after me -- the place where I have been happiest."

-- By David Lefkowitz
and Kenneth Jones