Kelli O'Hara to Play Mother in Ragtime Benefit with Audra McDonald & Brian Stokes Mitchell

Kelli O'Hara will take on the role of Mother in the upcoming Actors Fund benefit concert of the 1998 musical Ragtime. The previously announced event, dedicated to the memory of the late Marin Mazzie, who originated the role of Mother, will be held at the Minskoff Theatre on April 27. Original cast members Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Peter Friedman will reprise their performances as Sarah, Coalhouse Walker Jr. and Tateh.

"We're thrilled to have Kelli O'Hara join us as Mother for this monumental performance. Her close friendship with Marin makes it all the more special as we celebrate this evening in Marin's memory," said Actors Fund CEO Joe Benincasa in a statement.

Most recently seen on stage giving a Tony-nominated performance as Lilli Vanessi/Katharine in Kiss Me, Kate, O'Hara won a Tony for her turn as Anna Leonowens in The King and I, both roles previously and later played by Mazzie. O'Hara's Broadway credits also include Tony-nominated turns in The Bridges of Madison County, Nice Work If You Can Get It, South Pacific, The Pajama Game and The Light in the Piazza.

Rounding out the Ragtime concert's cast will be original cast members Mark Jacoby as Father, Steven Sutcliffe as Mother's Younger Brother, Judy Kaye as Emma Goldman, Lynette Perry as Evelyn Nesbit and Jim Corti as Harry Houdini, with Mark Aldrich, Dan Manning, Shaun Amyot, John D. Baker, Darlene Bel Grayson, Dara Paige Bloomfield, Kevin Bogue, Sandra M. Bonitto, Mark Cassius, Jamie Chandler-Torns, Albert Christmas, Pierce Cravens, Larry Daggett, Rodrick Dixon, Roberta Duchak, Bernard Dotson, Donna Dunmire, Adam Dyer, Duane Martin Foster, Patty Globe, Elisa Heinsohn, David Hess, Adam Hunter, Anne Kanengeiser, Mary Sharon Komarek, Jeffrey Kuhn, Joe Langworth, Elizabeth Lundberg, Joe Locarro, Michael X. Martin, Mary McCandles, Allyson Tucker Mitchell, Anne L. Nathan, Monica Patton, Orgena Rose, Gordon Stanley, Vanessa Townsell-Crisp, Todd Thurston, Leon Williams, Bruce Winant and Eric Jordan Young.

Ragtime introduces the American experience at the turn of the 20th century through the eyes of three different facets of society in New York City. Featuring a Tony-winning book by Terrence McNally (adapted from E.L. Doctorow's novel of the same name), the musical features a Tony-winning score by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.