Lauren Bacall is the first star to be signed for the upcoming Broadway production of Noel Coward's Waiting in the Wings, due to begin previews on Dec. 3 after a Boston tryout. Bacall will play one of several retired actresses living in an old age home for performers. Producer Alexander H. Cohen said additional names would be announced within the next week.

Waiting in the Wings has never been produced in America. The show's Broadway opening, on Dec. 16, will coincide with the 100th birthday of its author, playwright-composer-singer-actor-bon vivant Noel Coward. Coward, who died in 1973, is the author of such works as Private Lives, Hay Fever, Present Laughter, Design for Living and The Vortex.

Bacall has occasionally graced Broadway, most notably in the musicals Woman of the Year and Applause. She won Tony Awards for both. She is still best known, however, for her early film roles opposite Humphrey Bogart, including "To Have and Have Not" and "Key Largo."