Broadway's Ken Ruta brings Old Money into the Bay Area's TheatreWorks, Jan. 16-Feb. 10. The Wendy Wasserstein play is directed by TheatreWorks founder and artistic director Robert Kelley.

A time-traveling comedy, Old Money, pits old money against new money and finds the same social aspirations. The play premiered Dec. 9, 2000 at Lincoln Center Theatre's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre with John Cullum (Urinetown) in the lead. Wasserstein's biggest hits were the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Heidi Chronicles and The Sisters Rosensweig.

Ruta, starring as Vivian/Schuyler, played on Broadway in Inherit the Wind, Separate Tables, Duel of Angels, Ross, Three Sisters and The Elephant Man. Recent credits include the American premiere of La Grande Magia at Seattle's A Contemporary Theatre and The Merry Wives of Windsor at San Fransico Shakespeare Festival.

Also in the cast are Bonnie Akimoto (Penny/Betina), Kevin Blackton (Sid/Pfeiffer), Rebecca Dines (Flinty/Florence), Amanda Duarte (Mary/Caroline), Sheila O'Neill Ellis (Saulina/Sally), Richard Gallagher (Ovid/Tobey) and Peter James Meyers (Jeffrey/Strauss).

Tickets are $20-$40. The Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts is located at Castro and Mercy Streets in Mountain View. For reservations, call (650) 903-6000. TheatreWorks is on the web at http://www.theatreworks.org. — By Christine Ehren