Hal Holbrook and Dixie Carter Out of Southern Comforts; Penny Fuller and William Biff McGuire to Star

Real life husband-and-wife Hal Holbrook and Dixie Carter will not star in Primary Stages' production of Kathleen Clark's Southern Comforts after all. Penny Fuller and William Biff McGuire will now headline the mounting. Additionally, previously announced director Leonard Foglia has been replaced by Judith Ivey. No reason was given for the changes.

In Southern Comforts, longtime widow Amanda Cross Fuller visits a small northern New Jersey town where she meets Gus Klingman McGuire, a cantankerous widower. Eventually Amanda peels away the rough layers of Gus' unhappy heart to reveal the silenced passions of a man and a lover. The show had its world premiere run, with Carter and Holbrook, at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in February.

Fuller received Tony nominations for her work in Applause and The Dinner Party. She also appeared on the Great White Way in The Moon Beseiged, Barefoot in the Park, Cabaret, Rex and An American Daughter.

McGuire is also a two-Time Tony nominee, having received nods for his work in Morning's at Seven and The Young Man from Atlanta. His other Broadway credits include Make Mine Manhattan, South Pacific, A View From the Bridge, The Egghead, Triple Play, Happy Town, Finian's Rainbow, Mary, Mary, The Time of Your Life and Father's Day.

Southern Comforts is scheduled to begin performances at 59E59 Theaters on September 19 and run through October 28. An opening night is set for October 4.