Matthew Cowles Among New Cast Members in The Rise of Dorothy Hale

Matthew Cowles, Purva Bedi and Dina Ann Comolli are set to join the cast of Myra Bairstow's The Rise Of Dorothy Hale on November 12, replacing Michael Badalucco, Sarita Choudhury and Sarah Wynter. The play, which opened on October 4 at St. Luke's Theatre, was directed by Pamela Hall and also features Patrick Boll, Laura Koffman and Mark LaMura.

The Rise of Dorothy Hale explores the life and death of the 33-year-old widow of American muralist Gardner Hale, who died in New York City on October 21, 1938, after plunging 16 stories from her apartment window at the Hampshire House on Central Park South. Was Dorothy Hale's death a suicide or a murder made to look like a suicide?

Cowles made his Broadway debut in 1966 in the title role of Edward Albee's Malcolm and later appeared in Broadway revivals of The Time of Your Life and Sweet Bird of Youth. Best known for playing the villainous Billy Clyde Tuggle on the ABC soap All My Children, he has acted opposite his real-life wife, Christine Baranski in Hedda Gabler and Ghosts.

Bedi's stage credits include My Wandering Boy, East is East, Kingdom of Lost Songs, Rice Boy, The Merchant of Venice, Bad Women and numerous shows at Target Margin Theatre. Comoli's stage credits include The Error of Their Ways, The Taming of the Shrew and The Polish Play.