Tony-winners Cherry Jones and Elizabeth Wilson, and "NYPD Blue"'s Sharon Lawrence star in the Public Theatre production of Ellen McLaughlin's Tongue of a Bird, which began performances March 16 and will officially open April 4 for a run through Apr. 18.

Jones repeats her Mark Taper Forum performance as a search and rescue pilot in Tongue of a Bird. Her co-stars at the Taper were Marian Seldes (now covering for an ailing Irene Worth in Ring Round The Moon) and Diana Venora. Jones won acclaim last season in Pride's Crossing. She is expected in New York next season in a Broadway revival of O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten. Jones said (Feb. 4) the O'Neill is still in the works and no theatre or cast have been selected.

Lawrence is best known for her Emmy-nominated role on television's "NYPD Blue." Her Broadway credits include such landmark shows as Cabaret and Zorba.

Wilson won a Tony and Obie for her performance in David Rabe's Sticks and Bones. Other credits include Threepenny Opera, Solonika, Morning's at Seven and Ah, Wilderness.

Also in the cast are Melissa Leo (TV's "Homicide") and pre-teen actress Julia McIlvaine, who played opposite Jones in Lincoln Center Theatre's production of Tina Howe's Pride's Crossing. Taper resident director Lisa Peterson stages the drama, which tells the story of an ace pilot (Jones) hunting for an abducted young girl (Johnson). The Taper is co-producing with the Joseph Papp Public Theatre.

The drama is described as being "rich in poetic text and stunning imagery," and as defining "a quest that transcends time itself as it soars toward its haunting, inexorable climax."

Bird was originally commissioned by the Taper and developed in the Taper's 1995-96 New Work Festival. It had its world premiere at the Intiman Theatre in September, 1997 and was subsequently produced at the Almeida Theatre in London.

Call (213) 972-0790 for more information.