Julianne Boyd will direct Mame, which is scheduled to run Oct. 4-15 at the Barrington Stage in Pittsfield, MA. Duncan, according to a Barrington spokesperson, replaces the previously announced Donna McKechnie, who withdrew from the production to star in the West End debut of the 1974 Andrews Sisters musical Over Here! (McKechnie will also be busy promoting her new autobiography, "Time Steps: My Musical Comedy Life," which is due in stores in September from Simon & Schuster.)

Diane J. Findlay will co-star as the boozy Vera Charles. Complete casting for the Barrington Mame is expected shortly.

Mame, based on Patrick Dennis' novel "Auntie Mame," features a score by Jerry Herman and a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. The original Broadway production opened in May 1966 at the Winter Garden Theatre with Angela Lansbury as Mame and Bea Arthur as Vera Charles. Both Lansbury and Arthur won Tony Awards for their work. A subsequent film version cast Lucille Ball as the vivacious Mame. The classic Herman score includes such tunes as "If He Walked Into My Life," "It's Today," "Open a New Window," "Mame," "Bosom Buddies" and "We Need a Little Christmas."

Mame "follows the whirlwind adventures of an unconventional aunt and her nephew with a rogue's gallery of memorable characters - including the has-been actress Vera Charles, timid secretary Agnes Gooch, and southern gentleman Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside - plus encounters with proper society."

Sandy Duncan received Tony Award nominations for her performances in Canterbury Tales, The Boy Friend and Peter Pan. Her other Broadway credits include Love Is a Time of Day, My One and Only and Chicago. Also a star of television and film, Duncan was nominated for Emmy Awards for her performances in "Funny Face" and "Roots." For more information about the Barrington Stage Company, call (413) 236-8888 or visit www.barringtonstageco.org.