Judith Ivey joins Broadway cast of 'The Heiress'

MARK KENNEDY
FILE - This Sept. 22, 2009 file photo shows actress Judith Ivey posing for a portrait in New York. Ivey will join the cast of "The Heiress," opening Nov. 1, 2012 through Feb. 10 at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, file)

NEW YORK (AP) — Two-time Tony Award winner Judith Ivey is returning to two familiar places — she's back on Broadway and revisiting an old work.

Producers said Monday that former "Designing Women" star Ivey will join the cast of "The Heiress," a play based on the Henry James novel "Washington Square," which was made into a 1997 movie starring Ivey and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

The play also stars Jessica Chastain, who was nominated for an Oscar for "The Help"; David Strathairn, who was in the film "Good Night, and Good Luck" and earned an Emmy for "Temple Grandin"; and "Downton Abbey" star Dan Stevens. It will be directed by playwright and director Moises Kaufman.

Preview performances begin Oct. 7 at the Walter Kerr Theatre on 48th Street. Opening night is set for Nov. 1 with a closing date of Feb. 10.

The play is about a young woman who must choose between her heart or her inheritance when a suitor that her father distrusts enters her life.

Ivey won Tonys for "Steaming" and "Hurlyburly. In the film version of James' novel, she played Aunt Elizabeth Almond. In the new play, she plays Aunt Lavinia Penniman, the role in the movie played by Maggie Smith.

___

Online:

http://www.TheHeiressOnBroadway.com