It is shaping up to be an extremely busy year for Alice Ripley, who recently completed a critically acclaimed stint as Amy, the not-getting-married-today bride, in the Kennedy Center mounting of Company.

Ripley, who is currently starring Off-Broadway in The Vagina Monologues through Sept. 29, has been offered the role of Audrey in the upcoming Broadway mounting of Little Shop of Horrors, the Alan Menken-Howard Ashman musical that debuted Off-Broadway in 1982. Ripley's agent confirmed to PBOL on Sept. 6 that the former Side Show actress has been formally offered the role, although negotiations are still in progress. The revival of the musical is scheduled to play the Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, May 7 to June 15, prior to Broadway previews on July 22, with an official opening set for Aug. 14 at a theatre to be announced.

Ripley, as previously announced, will also headline a production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Tell Me On a Sunday at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theatre beginning Dec. 17. The month-long gig (through Jan. 12, 2003) will feature Ripley as Emma, an English hat designer who moves to America to find love and success. The one-woman song cycle by Lloyd Webber and Don Black features such tunes as "Take That Look Off Your Face," "Unexpected Song" and "Tell Me On a Sunday."

And, the talented singer-actress-songwriter will perform in concert with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra from Oct. 11-13.

Alice Ripley earned a Tony nomination for her performance as conjoined twin Violet Hilton in the musical Side Show. She has also appeared on Broadway in The Rocky Horror Show, James Joyce's The Dead, Sunset Boulevard, The Who's Tommy, Les Misérables and in the City Center Encores! production of Li'l Abner as well as the concert run of King David. Ripley's non-show recordings include two discs with Side Show co-star Emily Skinner — "Duets" and "Unsuspecting Hearts" — and a recording of her own compositions, the aforementioned "Everything's Fine." — By Andrew Gans