Stage star and Polaroid pitchman Mariette Hartley will star as Eleanor of Aquitaine in a new production of James Goldman's The Lion in Winter at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts in La Mirada, CA. The production will run Nov. 6-22.
Though best known for her long series of Polaroid commercials with James Garner, Hartley has a healthy stage background. She has won Drama Logue Awards for her performances in The Sisters Rosensweig and The Trojan Women. Other recent stage role include the comedy Sylvia.
It1s a big season for Goldman1s historical drama. A New York production of Lion starring Laurence Fishburne as King Henry II, is scheduled for Feb. 1999 at the Roundabout Theatre Company, with Michael Mayer (Side Man) directing.
A Lion in Winter first opened on March 3, 1966 at the Ambassador Theatre, and closed May 21. It starred Robert Preston as Henry II and Rosemary Harris as his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. It was later made into a movie starring Peter O1Toole and Katherine Hepburn.
La Mirada1s schedule continues with A Tuna Christmas (Jan. 22-Feb. 7, 1999), Joe Sears and Jaston Williams1 yuletide look as the residents of Tuna, Texas; Always Patsy Cline (Apr. 9-25, 1999), the story of the friendship between late country singer Patsy Cline and Texas housewife Louise Seger; and the classic musical Guys and Dolls (dates and cast to be announced). For information, call (562) 944-9801.
* In other La Mirada news, McCoy Rigby Entertainment has signed an exclusive five-year contract with the City of La Mirada to continue to produce the professional theatre series at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. The new agreement extends their existing contract through the year 2004.
"The relationship between the city and McCoy Rigby Entertainment couldn't be better. They have exceeded our expectations in all areas and have proven they are the future of the La Mirada Theatre," said the theatre's executive director, Jeff Brown.
Last year's season opener of Peter Pan, which stars Cathy Rigby and was produced by McCoy Rigby Entertainment, La Mirada Theatre and the Nederlander Organization, continues its national tour to New York.
--By Robert Simonson and Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent
