Academy Award nominee Amy Irving assays the leading role of Mrs. Alving in Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, opening Nov. 9 at Classic Stage Company. The classic drama, translated by Lanford Wilson (Burn This, Book of Days) for its New York debut, runs through Dec. 8.

Irving was Oscar-nominated for her role opposite Barbra Streisand and Mandy Patinkin in "Yentl." Her Broadway credits include the Roundabout's 1997 Three Sisters, Broken Glass, Heartbreak House and Amadeus. She was also featured in the film version of "I'm Not Rappaport."

Previews were delayed by one day (to Nov. 1) after a casting change, replacing Proof Tony nominee Larry Bryggman with Off-Broadway regular Daniell Gerroll as the Reverend Manders, the one-time lover of Mrs. Alving. A performer and director, Gerroll recently helmed Blithe Spirit at the Bay Street Theatre this summer and appeared as novelist and political insider Gavin in Manhattan Theatre Club's House and Garden. His many credits include An Experiment With an Air Pump, Scotland Road, Psychopathia Sexualis, Translations and High Society, netting him a Theatre World Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and an Obie.

David Patrick Kelly, a veteran of many Richard Foreman pieces including Pearls for Pigs, is the money-hungry Jakob Engstrand. Ted Schneider is Alving's son Oswald who returns from Paris with a destructive secret, a remnant of his father's past sins. Lisa Demont plays the illegitimate half-sister Regina whom Oswald seeks to marry.

Daniel Fish directs. His recent credits include Loot at the McCarter Theatre and True Love at the Zipper Theatre. Single tickets are $50-$35 with a half price discount for CSC members. Membership costs $30. Classic Stage Company is located at 136 East 13th St. and on the web at http://www.classicstage.com.

— By Christine Ehren