Australian theatre lovers will be keenly watching the reception given to the play Honour soon to open on Broadway. It is hoped local playwrite Joanna Murray-Smith may be the first to find major success on the Broadway stage. Sharing the excitement is Melbourne's Playbox Theatre,which commissioned and produced the play in 1995. The comedic drama, about a woman coming to terms with her life after being deserted by her husband, won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Drama.

The play was well recieved eighteen months ago in a workshop presentation that featured Meryl Streep.The prestige of a full Broadway staging is enhanced by the casting of Tony Award-winnerJane Alexander, whose welcome return to the stage comes after four years as chair for the National Endowment for the Arts. Murray-Smith has also selected Tony-winning director Gerald Gutierrez to stage her work,which will open at the Belasco Theatre on April 26.

--By Peter Ford
Australia Correspondent