Additional casting will be announced for the production, to play May 8-June 2 on the Claire Tow Stage in the C. Newton Schenck III Theatre in New Haven, CT.
Ripley won the 2009 Tony Award as Best Actress in a Musical for her role in Next to Normal. She also received a Tony nomination for her role in the musical Side Show.
Here's how Long Wharf bills the play, which won the 2012 Tony Award as Best Play: "In 1959, we meet a nervous group of neighbors trying to talk their friends out of selling their home to a black family. Sixty years later, hilarious sparks fly as a white family attempts to move into the now predominantly African-American neighborhood. Racism rears its head through an ostensibly polite veneer. This provocative and funny Pulitzer Prize-winning play delves into America's complicated relationship with race with sharp humor and deep perception."
Ripley will play a mother and wife trying to keep her family's emotional balance in check in Act One. She's a digressive real estate agent in Act Two.
For more information, visit LongWharf.org.