Anthonly Crivello will star in The Mark Taper Forum's West Coast Premiere of Lisa Loomer's Expecting Isabel. Previews for the new comedy begin July 23 with an Aug. 3 opening date. The show runs through Aug. 27.

Douglas C. Wager will helm the production which features cast members Fred Applegate, Brigid Cleary, Mary Fortuna, Eileen Galindo, Jane Galloway, Marc Odets and Julie White.

Crivello is known to Broadway audiences from his roles in Kiss of the Spider Women and the recent Marie Christine.

The creative team comprises set designer John Arnone, costume designer David C. Woolard, lighting designer Howell Binkley, composer Joe Romano and sound designer Jon Gottlieb. The production stage manager for the show is Mary K. Klinger.

The winner of the American Theatre Critics Association award for Best Play, Loomer's Expecting Isabel follows a young couple's struggle to reproduce as they embark on a "mad-cap adventure complete with dozens of manic eggs, legions of weak sperm, obstetricians, support groups, psychiatrists, adoption facilitators and fertility specialists." Expecting Isabel is the final production of Taper's 33rd season at the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County. Taper's 2000-2001 season kicks off in Sept. with August Wilson's King Hedley II.

On July 25, "pay-what-you-can" tickets will go on sale for Expecting Isabel. These tickets are limited in availability and sales are limited to two tickets per person. Tickets for Expecting Isabel are available by calling (213) 628-2772.

-- By Murdoch McBride