T. Scott Cunningham and Zak Orth have been cast in Nicky Silver's latest, The Eros Trilogy , due to bow at the Vineyard Theatre Jan. 21 for a Feb. 4, 1999 opening and a run through Feb. 27, 1999. They will join musical diva Betty Buckley.

The role represents a departure for Buckley, best known for her glitzy Broadway turns in Cats , Sunset Boulevard and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Buckley will play mother to both Cunningham and Orth, though not necessarily the same mother. Act one of the play consist of two solo pieces, one for a mother, the other for a son. Act two is a duet between another mother and her son. According to Silver, the four characters are "trying to figure out whether physical or emotional connection offers them greater refuge in this world."

Cunningham is an old hand at Silver, having starred in Pterodactyls at the Vineyard and Fit to Be Tied at Playwrights Horizons. Orth made a splash last season as a nervous, would-be assassin in Misalliance at the Roundabout Theatre Company.

Eros will be directed by longtime Silver interpreter, David Warren. Warren has previously piloted the Silver works Fit to Be Tied , Raised in Captivity and Pterodactyls. His other credits include Holiday at Circle in the Square and Minutes from the Blue Route at the Atlantic Theatre Company.

Meanwhile, Buckley continues to show an interest in the upcoming Broadway revival of Sondheim's A Little Night Music. Sullivan said if the central role of Desiree Armfeldt was offered, the actress would definitely take a strong interest in doing the show. The musical was originally scheduled to play Broadway this spring but has been postponed until the fall. Margo Lion, the producer of Little Night Music , worked with Buckley last season on the musical Triumph of Love. -- By Robert Simonson