Olympia Dukakis Headlines 70, Girls, 70 at Encores!

The cast is set for the Encores! concert mounting of 70, Girls, 70. The show will be headlined by Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis making her New York musical debut, Ronn Carroll, Carole Cook, Tony-nominated actor Bob Dishy, Tony Award winner George S. Irving, Tony Award winner Anita Gillette, Tony-nominated actress Charlotte Rae and Carleton Carpenter best known for his roles in the MGM movie musicals Summer Stock, Two Weeks With Love and Three Little Words. Kathleen Marshall is set to direct and choreograph.

70, Girls, 70 tells of a group of senior citizens living in a seedy Manhattan hotel. With a little prodding from one of the residents Dukakis, who becomes their ringleader, they form a Robin Hood-esque fur-theft ring and use their ill-gotten gains to spruce up their digs and provide safe harbor for other poor seniors. The show features music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Norman L. Martin based on the Peter Coke play Breath of Spring. Joe Masterhoff adapted the text.

The Encores! mounting of 70, Girls, 70 is scheduled to run at City Center from March 30 through April 2. In addition to the stars named above, the cast will include Lalan Parrott, Tina Fabrique, Mary Jo Catlett, Mark Price, Bob Fitch, Gerry Vichi and Ira Hawkins.

70, Girls, 70 occupies the middle slot in the Encores! 2006 season. It will be followed by Of Thee I Sing, which will star Victor Garber, and run from May 11 through May 15.