The Derrick Sanders-directed staging began previews Feb. 20 with an official opening March 11 at Signature Theatre Company's Peter Norton Space (555 W. 42nd St.).

Tickets for the extension week are $65. Tickets to the main run were $15 each (which helped fuel the audience rush for seats), a price made possible by the lead sponsorship of Time Warner Inc.

"Set in a backyard in the decaying Hill District of Pittsburgh, King Hedley II follows the characters created by August Wilson in Seven Guitars," according to Signature. "A woman is tormented by a secret she has kept for 36 years, while her only son returns home after serving time for murder to find a neighborhood riddled with crime, poverty and broken families. King's epic struggle to survive is at the center of this poetic portrayal of life in the inner city during the 1980s."

The cast features Cherise Boothe as Tonya, Lynda Gravatt as Ruby, Stephen McKinley Henderson as Elmore, Russell Hornsby as King, Curtis McClarin as Mister and Lou Myers as Stool Pigeon.

For single ticket information call (212) 244-PLAY (7529) or visit www.signaturetheatre.org.