Lois Smith plays the title role in G.B. Shaw's classic tale of prostitution and social hypocrisy, Mrs. Warren's Profession, at Baltimore's Center Stage. The production, directed by Irene Lewis, begins previews March 26, opens April 1 and runs through May 2.

Smith is best known for her performances in the Steppenwolf Theatre Company's Broadway production of The Grapes of Wrath and Buried Child. She was nominated for a Tony Award for both portrayals. Her most recent New York appearance was at the Roundabout Theatre Company in the premiere of Beth Henley's Impossible Marriage.

Smith's credits go back to the early '50s, when she made her Broadway debut opposite Melvyn Douglas in Time Out for Ginger. Since then, she has performed in The Young and the Beautiful, Orpheus Descending, Blues for Mr. Charlie, April Snow, Defying Gravity and Beside Herself. Film roles include "East of Eden," "Five Easy Pieces" and "Twister."

Smith has previously acted at Center Stage in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. Mrs. Warren's Profession will be the theatre's final production in the Pearlstone Theatre this season.

* In the Head Theatre, the season continues with Gum (through March 28), by Karen Hartman. The drama, which contains explicit language and sexual content, is about two religious, adolescent sisters facing the rite of circumcision. Tim Vasen directs.

The Center Stage season will conclude with Dianne McIntyre's musical (with songs by Kysia Bostic), I Could Stop On a Dime and Get Ten Cents Change (April 30-June 13). McIntyre also directs.

For subscriptions ($66-$214), tickets and information on the Center Stage season, please call (410) 332-0033.

With 13,600 subscribers in tow (up a full thousand from last year), Baltimore's Center Stage attracts more than 110,000 patrons over the course of a season.

-- By Robert Simonson