Arnaz to Join Dirty Rotten Scoundrels a Week Early, 5/23

Lucie Arnaz will join the cast of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street), beginning Tuesday, May 23rd, one week earlier than previously announced.

The star was previously announced to succeed Joanna Gleason as wealthy divorcee Muriel Eubanks on May 29th. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels will mark Arnaz' first Broadway appearance in nearly 15 years.

Arnaz received the Theatre World Award for her performance in the Neil Simon/Marvin Hamlisch/Carole Bayer Sager musical, They're Playing Our Song. She returned to Broadway 13 years later to star in Simon's Pulitzer Prize/Tony Award-winning play Lost in Yonkers. She starred opposite Tommy Tune in the national tour of My One and Only, and in the national tours of Whose Life Is It Anyway?, and Social Security. She also appeared in the West End premiere of the musical The Witches of Eastwick. Film and TV credits include Down to You, The Jazz Singer, "Here's Lucy" and "The Lucie Arnaz Show."

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels opened on Broadway on March 3, 2005. The show won the 2005 Drama League Award as Best Musical, and was nominated for 11 Tony Awards. With a book by Jeffrey Lane and music and lyrics by David Yazbek (The Full Monty), the show stars Jonathan Pryce, Tony Award-winner Norbert Leo Butz, Rachel York, Gregory Jbara and Mylinda Hull. The production is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell. The musical is based on the 1988 MGM film.

The original cast recording is available on Ghostlight Records. The national tour--for which casting has yet to be announced--will kick off in Seattle in August.

To learn more about Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, visit www.dirtyrottenscoundrelsthemusical.com. For more on Arnaz, visit www.luciearnaz.com.