Cindy Williams, Shirley from TV's "Laverne and Shirley," will open the Munster, IN., Theatre at the Centre's 1999-2000 season with Robert Harling's Steel Magnolias, beginning performances May 27.
Northlight Theatre (Chicago) associate artistic director Cecilie D. Keenan will direct.
Best known for her six years spent on "Laverne and Shirley," Williams has appeared on television in "Happy Days," "Touched By An Angel" and "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" as well as in the films "American Graffiti," "More American Graffiti" and "The Conversation."
In a roundabout way, Williams is actually recreating the mother role of M'Lynn in the comic tearjerker: She played the role in the short-lived TV series based on the hit off-Broadway play and movie.
Williams is a member of the Actors Studio. Her recent theatrical credits include Calgary and Toronto productions of Moon Over Buffalo and the U.S. tour of Deathtrap. The rest of the cast will be announced at a later date. For tickets ($20- $22), call (219) 836-0422.
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The rest of the Theatre at the Centre's season includes Little Shop of Horrors by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (June 24-July 18), the area premieres of Swinging on a Star -- The Johnny Burke Musical (July 22-Aug. 15) and Stephen Sondheim-George Furth's Getting Away With Murder (Sept. 16-Oct. 18), plus Some Like It Hot -- The Musical featuring Dale Benson and Marc Robin (Aug. 19-Sept. 12) and Meet Me in St. Louis (Dec. 2-Jan. 16, 2000).
-- By Christine Ehren
and Kenneth Jones.
