Murphy, Baranski, Bosco and More to Join Victoria Clark in Follies at Encores!

A roster of popular theater stars, including Donna Murphy, Christine Baranski and Philip Bosco, will join the previously announced Victoria Clark in Stephen Sondheim's Follies, the first offering of New York City Center's 2007 Encores! season. Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw The Drowsy Chaperone, musical staging/choreography for Encores!' Can-Can and Bye Bye Birdie, with music direction by Eric Stern, Follieswill play for five performances, February 8 -11, 2007.

The cast includes Lucine Amara Heidi Schiller, Christine Baranski Carlotta Campion, Philip Bosco Dimitri Weismann, Leena Chopra Young Heidi, Victoria Clark Sally Durant Plummer, Yvonne Constant Solange, Diane J. Findlay Sandra Cranes, Robert Fitch Theodore Whitman, Michael McGrath Buddy Plummer, Donna Murphy Phyllis Rogers Stone, Arthur Rubin Roscoe, Dorothy Stanley Dee Dee West, Gerry Vichi Max Deems and JoAnne Worley Stella Deems. Further casting, including the leading role of Benjamin Stone, will be announced later.

Follies takes place in the present and the past simultaneously. On the eve of its destruction, the once-glorious Weissman Theatre is filled with the ghosts of its past, as veteran showgirls from the Weismann's Follies based on the Ziegfeld Follies reunite to rekindle the aura of the glamorous old days and relive lost memories of promise and splendor. As the evening goes on, the former showgirls reminisce about their past experiences, both good and bad. Follies, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Goldman, opened on Broadway on April 4, 1971, winning eight Tony Awards, including one for Outstanding Score, which includes "Broadway Baby," "Losing My Mind" and "I'm Still Here."

Amara is a star of the Metropolitan Opera, with 882 onstage performances, 57 radio broadcasts and 56 roles to her credit. She appeared in the movie The Great Caruso with Mario Lanza and has made numerous recordings, including Pagliacci with Franco Corelli and Richard Tucker.

Baranski is currently starring in Paul Rudnick's Regrets Only at the Manhattan Theatre Club. She received Tony Awards for The Real Thing and Rumors and a Drama Desk Award for Lips Together Teeth Apart in a role that was written for her by Terrance McNally. Other Broadway credits include Hurlyburly and The House of Blue Leaves. On the musical stage, Baranski played Mrs. Lovett in the Kennedy Center's production of Sweeney Todd and recently starred in its production of Mame.

Bosco is currently appearing on Broadway as Captain Shotover in Heartbreak House. He received a Tony Award for Lend Me a Tenor, and his other Broadway credits include Twelve Angry Men, Copenhagen, Twelfth Night, Moon Over Buffalo, The Heiress and An Inspector Calls.

Clark won the Tony Award for her performance in The Light in the Piazza. Other Broadway credits include Guys and Dolls, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Cabaret, Urinetown, Titanic and A Grand Night for Singing .

McGrath received Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for his performance as Patsy in Spamalot. His other Broadway credits include Wonderful Town, Little Me, Swinging on a Star, The Goodbye Girl and My Favorite Year. McGrath has appeared in The Boys From Syracuse and DuBarry Was a Lady at Encores!

Murphy appeared as Ruth in the Encores! production of Wonderful Town and was honored with a Tony nomination and the 2004 Drama Desk Award when the show moved to Broadway. She received Tony Awards for her performances as Fosca in Sondheim and James Lapine's Passion and for Anna in The King and I. She will star on Broadway next spring in the Manhattan Theatre Club's production of LoveMusik.

Rubin sang the role of Roscoe in the 1985 concert version of Follies at Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic. His Broadway credits include Two On The Aisle, Can-Can, Silk Stockings, The Most Happy Fella, Music Man, Wildcat, Greenwillow, Juno, Kean and Here's Love. Rubin appeared in the Encores! production of Pal Joey.

Worley, a stand-in the original Broadway production of Hello Dolly!, co-starred off-Broadway in The Mad Show, a musical revue based on Mad Magazine and went on to co-star in the Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. Since then, she has continued to make guest appearances on TV shows, and has appeared in movies and in theater productions.