What's that smell? It's revenge — for three women whose husbands become accidentally trapped in a meat locker in Michele Lowe's black comedy, Smell of the Kill. Following successful runs at Seattle's Intiman Theatre and the Berkshire Festival, the play is set to start previews at Broadway's Helen Hayes Theatre Feb. 27 and officially open March 17.

Rehearsals are due to begin in early February, however as of Jan. 16, there's been no official word on the show's casting. A spokesperson at the Boneau/Bryan-Brown press office told Playbill On-Line the producers are working "as fast as they can" to get the piece ready in time and that she'd heard "no word to the contrary" regarding the Feb. 27 start date.

Initially, the show was announced for an Off-Broadway mounting to open on Valentine's Day, but the plans then switched to Broadway when the 577-seat Helen Hayes Theatre came available upon the closing of By Jeeves.

Christopher Ashley, who staged the Berkshire version of Kill, will again direct the piece, which will have sets by David Gallo (Bunny Bunny). Elizabeth Ireland McCann, Nell Nugent, Milton Maltz and Tamara Maltz are producing, with Roy Gabay serving as general manager.

In Kill, the trio think themselves happily married until the meat freezer incident brings new meaning to the words "women's liberation." Smell of the Kill premiered at the Cleveland Playhouse in 1999. The Berkshire staging featured the starry cast of Kristen Johnston, Claudia Shear and Katie Finneran. As of Dec. 14, there was no word on whether the actresses would repeat their roles. Johnston is currently starring in a limited run of The Women on Broadway, while Claudia Shear is touring in Dirty Blonde and Katie Finneran has gotten career-making reviews for her turn in the open-run hit, Noises Off. Finneran recently told Playbill On-Line her contract in Noises Off prevents her from doing Kill.

Other plays by Lowe include Backsliding in the Promised Land, the tale of two Dutch Jews who escape the Holocaust by retreating to America and becoming Episcopalians, Germany Surrenders and the book and lyrics to the musical Hit the Lights!. As a television and screenwriter she penned several episodes of Nickelodeon's "Little Bear," "The Emergence of Emily Stark" and "Let the Bastard Sing" with Eric Simonson.