Actors Fund Presents The Tale of the Allergist's Wife One-Night Benefit Reading

The Actors Fund has announced plans that Charles Busch's Tony Award-nominated play The Tale of the Allergist's Wife will once again be performed for a one-night-only benefit reading on November 18 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. The evening will star Busch in the title role, originally played by Linda Lavin, and assembles the entire original all-star Broadway cast including Linda Lavin, Michele Lee, Tony Roberts, and Anil Kumar as well as original director Lynne Meadow. All proceeds will benefit the Actors Fund.

While most of the cast will reprise their original Broadway roles for this reading, Linda Lavin, who originally played Marjorie, will play the role of Frieda, which was originally played by the late Shirl Bernheim.

The original Broadway production of The Tale of the Allergist's Wife ran November 2, 2000-September 15, 2002, playing 25 previews and 777 performances. The show received Tony Award nominations for Best Play, Best Actress in a Play (Linda Lavin), and Best Featured Actress in a Play (Michele Lee).

The Tale of the Allergist's Wife was originally produced by Manhattan Theatre Club, Carole Shorenstein Hays, Stuart Thompson, and Douglas S. Cramer.