Betty Buckley to Tell Tales of the City in A.C.T Workshop

Tony winner Betty Buckley (Sunset Boulevard, Cats) will headline the previously announced American Conservatory Theatre's workshop of Tales of the City as Anna Madrigal. Joining Buckley are Tony nominees Stephen Bogardus (Falsettos) and Manoel Felciano (Sweeney Todd) as Edgar Halcyon and Norman Neal Williams respectively. The workshop will take place October 4 through October 22 ahead of the A.C.T.'s world premiere production of the musical, which is scheduled for May 17 through June 19, 2011. No casting is set for the full production.

The workshop cast will also feature Mary Birdsong (Hairspray) as Mona Ramsey, Betsy Wolfe (Everyday Rapture) as Mary Ann Singleton, Nick Gabriel (Little Shop of Horrors) as Michael Tolliver, Morgan Spector (A View From the Bridge) as Brian Hawkins, Patti Alison (Orpheus Descending) as Mother Mucca, Colin Donnell (Jersey Boys) as Beauchamp Day, Kate Reinders (Gypsy) as Dede Halcyon-Day and Adam Fiorentino (Mary Poppins) as Jon Fielding.

Tales of the City will feature music by the Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears and John Garden. The Broadway-bound tuner includes a libretto by Jeff Whitty of Avenue Q and direction by Jason Moore of Avenue Q and Shrek.

The workshop ensemble will include Arwen Anderson, Keith Bearden, Alex Hsu, Bianca Leigh, Stuart Marland, Jonathan Ritter and Josh Walden. The creative team for Tales of the City includes scenic designer Douglas W. Schmidt, lighting designer Robert Wierzel, costume design Beaver Bauer, sound designer John Shivers, musical director Stephen Oremus and choreographer Larry Keigwin.

Based on Armistead Maupin's bestselling 1978 novel, the show is both a portrait of the sexually and politically charged 1970s and a comedy of manners. The story began as a serialization by Maupin in the San Francisco Chronicle, following the comic adventures of a young Midwestern woman who moves to 28 Barbary Lane and encounters a host of eccentric characters whose lives intertwine in surprising ways. The Chronicle piece eventually turned into a series of seven books, as well as a television mini-series for both PBS and Showtime, which featured Laura Linney as Mary Ann Singleton. The musical will cover the first novel, Tales of the City, and touch on story lines that continue in the second book, More Tales of the City.