Shirley Knight, LaChanze to Appear in Swimming Upstream

Shirley Knight and LaChanze are set to appear in Swimming Upstream, which will be presented at New Orleans’ Mahalia Jackson Theater on September 10 and at New York’s Apollo Theatre on September 13. Eve Ensler has directed the production.

The two performances will benefit V-Day, an organization that works to stop violence against women and girls.

Swimming Upstream, which focuses on Hurricane Katrina, has been written by a group of 16 women from New Orleans and facilitated by Ensler.

The cast will also include Troi Bechet, Asali Njeri Devan, Anne-Liese Judge Fox, Karen-Kaia Livers, Michaela A. Harrison, and Leslie Blackshear Smith.

Knight won a Tony Award for her performance in Kennedy’s Children. Her other Broadway credits include Horton Foote’s The Young Man From Atlanta and Lee Strasberg’s revival of The Three Sisters in 1964. Knight also earned Academy Award nominations for her work in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and Sweet Bird of Youth. Among her most recent credits: playing Phyllis Van De Kamp on television’s Desperate Housewives.

LaChanze won the Tony for her portrayal of Celie in The Color Purple. Her many other stage credits include The Wiz, Baby, Ragtime, Dessa Rose, and Once on This Island.

For information, www.vdayorg/sus.