Laurie Metcalf Set For 'BRIGHTON BEACH/BROADWAY BOUND' Revivals

The New York Times is reporting that Laurie Metcalf, who won three Emmys on ABC's "Roseanne" and most recently appeared on Broadway in David Mamet's "November," has signed on to star as the matriarch Kate Jerome in the upcoming Broadway revivals of Neil Simon's autobiographical plays "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "Broadway Bound," producers Emanuel Azenberg and Ira Pittelman announced Wednesday.

She is widely known for her performance as Jackie Harris in Roseanne. However, she is also a major force in Chicago theater, probably best known for her critically acclaimed performance in the 1983 revival of Balm in Gilead

The revival of BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS will be directed by David Cromer (The Adding Machine, Our Town). Rehearsals begin in September 2009. Preview and opening night dates are to be announced.

Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound are the first two plays in a three part series known as Simon's "Eugene Plays". The plays are a semi-autobiographical coming of age story centering around Eugene "a Russian-Jewish teenager who experiences puberty, sexual awakening, and a search for identity as he tries to deal with his family, including his older brother Stanley, whom he idolizes and his cousin Nora whom he develops intimate feelings toward."

The original Broadway production of BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS, directed by Gene Saks, opened on March 27, 1983 at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre) and played 1,299 performances.

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