Halston will play both Miss Cratchit and the twinkling stripper Electra in the Sam Mendes-directed revival, and Burtka will portray Tulsa, Louise's boyfriend who sings "All I Need Is the Girl." A spokesperson for the production confirmed the casting of the musical, which begins previews at the Shubert Theatre March 31, 2003, prior to an official opening May 1.

An actress and comedienne, Julie Halston received an Outer Critics Circle nomination for her solo show, Julie Halston's Lifetime of Comedy. She has also appeared on the New York stage in The Man Who Came to Dinner, Saved or Destroyed, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told and the City Center Encores! presentation of The Boys from Syracuse. A four time MAC Award winner, Halston is a founding member of Charles Busch's Theatre-in-Limbo, and she has been seen on screen in "Small Time Crooks," "The Juror," "Addams Family Values," "Law & Order" and "Sex and the City."

David Burtka starred in the Off-Broadway production of Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby as the Boy, a role he created at the Alley Theatre. He has appeared in the New York productions of Bad Boy Johnny and Beautiful Thing and in the national tour of Beauty and the Beast. Burtka's regional credits include roles in Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Children of Eden and The Music Man.

Gypsy — starring two-time Tony Award winner Peters in the role of Rose — will play Broadway's Shubert Theatre on West 44th Street. Others in the cast include John Dossett as Herbie, Tammy Blanchard as Louise, Kate Reinders as Dainty June and Kate Buddeke as Mazeppa. The last Broadway mounting of the famed musical cast "Cagney & Lacey" star Tyne Daly in the role created by Ethel Merman. The 1989 Daly revival won a Tony for Best Revival of a Musical as well as one for its leading lady.

Gypsy features a score by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim and a book by Arthur Laurents. Academy Award winner Mendes will helm the production with choreography by Hairspray's Jerry Mitchell.