Audra McDonald to Join ABC’s Private Practice

Four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald is joining the cast of the ABC television series Private Practice, the highly anticipated spinoff of the hit series Grey’s Anatomy, according to TVGuide.com. She will play the role of Dr. Naomi Bennet, replacing actress Merrin Dungey, who played the role in the series’ pilot, which aired earlier this spring.

The series, to air this fall, revolves around the character of Dr. Addison Montgomery, played by Kate Walsh, who moves from Seattle to Los Angeles. The show’s cast also includes stage and television veterans Taye Diggs, Tim Daly, and Amy Brenneman.

McDonald is currently appearing in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of 110 in the Shade, for which she received a Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a Musical as well as her sixth Tony Award nomination. She has won four Tonys as Best Featured Actress, for the musicals Carousel and Ragtime and the plays Master Class and A Raisin in the Sun. She also received a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for Marie Christine.

McDonald has previously co-starred on the television series Mister Sterling, The Bedford Diaries, and Kidnapped. Her other television credits include the ABC telefilm Annie and the HBO version of the play Wit, for which she received an Emmy Award nomination.