Dukakis, Cook, Gillette, Rae, Carpenter, Dishy, Irving Head Cast of 70, Girls, 70

Carleton Carpenter, Carole Cook, Bob Dishy, Olympia Dukakis, Anita Gillette, George S. Irving, and Charlotte Rae will star in the City Center Encores! production of 70, Girls, 70.

Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall, the show will run March 30-April 2. The cast also includes Ronn Carroll (Security Guard), Mary Jo Catlett (Fritzi), Tina Fabrique (Melba), Bob Fitch (Officer Kowalski), Ira Hawkins (Security Guard), Lalan Parrott (Lorraine), Mark Price (Eddie), and Gerry Vichi (Detective Callahan), along with Harvey Evans, Diane J. Findlay, Bob Freschi, Merwin Goldsmith, Ira Hawkins, Patti Karr, Joan Marshall, and Ginger Prince. Breath of Spring, about a group of senior citizens in a Manhattan hotel who decide to form a fur-theft ring and use their ill-gotten gains to spruce up their residence and provide safe harbor for other seniors.

Dukakis, who will play Ida, won an Academy Award for her role in Moonstruck; she was last seen on Broadway in Rose. Cook, who will play Gert, starred on Broadway in Romantic Comedy and 42nd Street. Gillette, who will play Eunice, received a Tony Award nomination for Chapter Two and has starred in such other Broadway shows as Gypsy, Carnival, Mister President, and Cabaret. Rae, who will play Sadie, received Tony nominations for Pickwick and Morning, Noon, and Night; she is well known to TV viewers for her role of Mrs. Garrett on The Facts of Life.

Carpenter, who will play Mr. McIllehenny, has appeared on Broadway in such shows as Three to Make Ready, Boeing-Boeing, and Crazy for You but is probably best known for his appearances in several MGM films, among them Summer Stock, Three Little Words, and Two Weeks With Love. Dishy, who will play Walter, received a Tony nomination for his performance as Abner Truckle in the original Broadway production of Sly Fox and played the same role in the 2004 revival of the comedy. Irving, who will play Harry, won a Tony for his performance as Madame Lucy in Irene and was Tony-nominated for his work in Me and My Girl.

Marshall is currently represented on Broadway as the director and choreographer of the Roundabout Theatre Company’s critically acclaimed revival of The Pajama Game. She won a Tony Award for her choreography of the 2003 production of Wonderful Town (which she also directed) and received a Tony nomination for her choreography of the 1999 revival of Kiss Me, Kate.