Twiggy will step into the shoes of stage legend Gertrude Lawrence on July 15 at the Bay Street Theatre when she begins performances in Noel & Gertie, a new revue which examines the relationship between Lawrence and her friend and frequent co-star, Noel Coward. The show will run through Aug. 2.
Lawrence was perhaps playwright Coward's most famous interpreter, appearing in many of his plays, including London Calling!, Tonight at 8:30, and, famously, Private Lives. In theatrical circles, Twiggy is best known on Broadway for her turn in George Gershwin musical My One and Only, in which she co-starred with Tommy Tune. James Warwick, recently of the Peter Hall-directed Broadway revival of An Ideal Husband, will be her Noel Coward. Twiggy also starred with Tune in the film of The Boy Friend.
Morley is the London theatre critic for the International Herald Tribune and for the Spectator, and has appeared frequently on British television and on the cabaret stage. He has written more than a dozen books on entertainment personalities, including his father, actor Robert Morley. He's also a correspondent for Playbill On-Line.
Closing out the Bay Street season is House, the new Terrence McNally-Jon Robin Baitz collaboration due to open Aug. 12. As first reported by PBOL Daniel Stern and Eileen Heckart have joined Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason and Debra Monk in a cast that probably stands as the U.S. summer season's most stellar.
The play concerns a couple buying a house from another couple. Act one, by Baitz, follows the sellers; act two, by McNally, the buyers. Monk and Stern will play half the buying couple; Dreyfuss and Mason will portray the selling couple. Heckart will play the real estate broker. Joe Mantello, who directed McNally's Love! Valour! Compassion! and Baitz's Three Hotels, will direct. Stern is best known for his movie roles, including Home Alone, Diner, and D.O.A.. He also provided Fred Savage's adult voice over on the television series "The Wonder Years."
Heckart won an Oscar for her performance in the 1972 film Butterflies Are Free. On stage, she appeared in the original production of The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and in the one-woman show Eleanor, in which she played Eleanor Roosevelt.
Dreyfuss' theatre credits include the 1983 Broadway one-night flop, Total Abandon and 1981's Joe Egg at CT's Long Wharf Theatre.
Mason was recently seen Off-Broadway as a condemned murderer reliving the events leading to her day of execution in the Blue Light Theatre Company's production of Michael Cristopher's Amazing Grace. Her other stage credits include the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of The Night of the Iguana.
Tony-winner Monk (for Redwood Curtain) was seen on Broadway last season in Lincoln Center's staging of O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness!. Other recent stage credits include the Kander and Ebb musical Steel Pier.
For tickets and information on Bay Street events call (516) 725-9500.
