THE VIEW's Sherri Shepherd to Star as 'Madame' in Broadway's CINDERELLA This Fall!

Sherri Shepherd announced today on ABC's "The View" that she will join the previously announced Keke Palmer in the Tony Award winning musical Rodgers + Hammerstein's CINDERELLA. Ms. Shepherd will make her Broadway debut on September 9 as Cinderella's wicked stepmother, Madame.

In August 2009, Sherri was a part of groundbreaking history when the hosts of "The View" won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host. That same year, Sherri and the co-hosts were chosen as part of the "100 Most Influential People in the World" by Time magazine while Forbes ranked "The View" hosts #11 among the top "30 of the Most Influential Women in Media." Ms. Shepherd will conclude 7 years as a co-host of "The View" this Friday, August 8.

In addition to daytime television, Sherri competed in the fourteenth season of ABC's wildly popular, "Dancing with the Stars." She continues to be a memorable player in prime time and frequently guest-starred on the Emmy award-winning series 30 Rock as Tracy Morgan's wife, Angie Jordan. Sherri executive produced and starred in her own sitcom "SHERRI" on Lifetime and has made laugh out loud appearances in "Less than Perfect," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Joan of Arcadia," "Suddenly Susan" and "The Jamie Foxx Show."

Sherri got rave reviews in the lead dramatic role of "Joy White" in the Lifetime movie "Abducted: The Carlina White Story" and co-starred with Katherine Heigl in One for the Money for Lionsgate. Additionally, she has appeared in such feature films as the award-winning Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Guess Who, Who's Your Caddy, Beauty Shop and Cellular. Sherri also had a successful run in the critically acclaimed off-Broadway hit "Love, Loss and What I Wore."

Going back to her roots in stand up, Sherri taped her first one hour comedy special "Sherri Shepherd: It's My Time to Talk", which premiered on the EPIX network.

Making 2013 an exciting and successful year, she guest starred in a seven episode recurring role as Daphne, Marshall's (Jason Segel) nemesis, on the final season of the CBS hit comedy "How I Met Your Mother." Sherri co-stars with Chris Rock in his new comedy film Top Five, alongside Kevin Hart and J.B. Smoove, which will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival later this year. It was also recently announced that Sherri will join the cast of Universal's Ride Along 2 opposite Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.

Sharing her passion for staying healthy, Sherri authored the New York Times Bestselling PLAN D: How to Lose Weight and Beat Diabetes Even If You Don't Have It. (Harper Collins). She is also the author of a humorous autobiography, Permission Slips: Every Woman's Guide to Giving Yourself a Break (Grand Central Publishing).

Knowing the heartache and joy of raising a child with special needs, Sherri has partnered with the YAI National Institute to raise awareness for children and adults with disabilities.

Actors Equity honored CINDERELLA with their award "Extraordinary Excellence in Diversity on Broadway" in 2013. Ms. Shepherd is the first African-American to portray Cinderella's stepmother on Broadway as Ms. Palmer is the first African-American in the musical's title role on Broadway.

Ms. Shepherd is represented by ICM Partners and Darris Hatch Management.

Now in its second year on Broadway and celebrating its 600th performance this Saturday August 9, CINDERELLA continues to play to large and enthusiastic audiences at the Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway).

Currently appearing in CINDERELLA are Paige Faure as Cinderella, Joe Carroll as Prince Topher, Nancy Opel as Madame, Victoria Clark as the Fairy Godmother, Ann Harada as stepsister Charlotte, Stephanie Gibson as stepsister Gabrielle, Peter Bartlett as Sebastian, Prince Topher's mentor and Lord Chancellor, Todd Buonopane as the rebel Jean-Michel and Phumzile Sojola as Lord Pinkleton.

CINDERELLA has music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, a new book by Douglas Carter Beane and original book by Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is directed by Mark Brokaw. Josh Rhodes is choreographer. Music adaptation, supervision and arrangements are by David Chase. Orchestrations are by Danny Troob. Constantine Kitsopoulos is currently music director and conductor.

With its fresh, new take on the beloved tale of a young woman who is transformed from a chambermaid into a princess, this hilarious and romantic CINDERELLA combines the story's classic elements - glass slippers, pumpkin, a beautiful ball and more - with some surprise twists. More than just a pretty face with the right shoe size, the CINDERELLA of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical now on Broadway is a surprisingly contemporary figure living in a fairytale setting: a spirited young woman with savvy and soul, eager to develop a world view, she doesn't let her rags or her gowns trip her up in her quest for kindness, compassion and forgiveness. She not only fights for her own dreams, but makes the prince, who falls in love with her, open his eyes to the world around him and realize his dreams, too.