Prentiss and Benjamin — Mother and Daughter — Star in Mrs. Warren's Profession in MI

By Kenneth Jones
22 Aug 2007

Paula Prentiss and Prentiss Benjamin star in Mrs. Warren's Profession
Paula Prentiss and Prentiss Benjamin star in Mrs. Warren's Profession
Photo by Trumpie Photography

Complete casting has been announced for the BoarsHead Theater staging of Bernard Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession that will star previously announced stage and screen actress Paula Prentiss opposite daughter Prentiss Benjamin.

James Glossman, the associate director of Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, directs the staging at mid-Michigan's major Equity house, in Lansing. Prentiss will be starring as the title character Kitty Warren and daughter Benjamin will play daughter Vivie. Previews begin Sept. 5.

The small-cast drama, about a wealthy, well-bred Victorian daughter who learns that her mother's fortune is derived from a chain of brothels, has been a hot title in resident theatres in recent years, more than 100 years after it was first seen.

(Collaborators Glossman, Prentiss and Benjamin are graduates of the respected theatre program at Northwestern University in Evanston.)

The cast will also include Chicago talent Gary Huston as Crofts, Lansing favorite Ken Beachler as Praed, Jack Moran as Frank and Paul Murphy as Rev. Samuel Gardner.

Paula Prentiss appeared in Broadway's The Norman Conquests and Off-Broadway's Power Plays, as well as such films as "Catch-22," "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" and "The Stepford Wives." She's married to actor-director Richard Benjamin, who is Prentiss Benjamin's dad.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Prentiss Benjamin trained at Northwestern University, from which she graduated in 2000. She appeared regionally at The Fulton Opera House, The Alley Theatre, The Cape Playhouse and at Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey. She was also seen Off-Broadway in How to Build a Better Tulip at the Acorn Theatre.

Opening is Sept. 7. Performances continue to Sept. 30.

BoarsHead Theater is at Center for the Arts, 425 S. Grand Avenue, Lansing, MI.

For more information, call (517) 484-7805, or visit www.boarshead.org.