Orfeh On Board for Me & Mrs. Jones

Broadway diva Orfeh is set to star with Lou Rawls in the Prince Music Theater production of Me & Mrs. Jones. Also appearing in the Broadway-bound musical are Darlene Love, Anika Noni Rose, Andrew Wright, 'Nita Whitaker, Lacy Darryl Phillips, Eugene Fleming and Orfeh's husband Andy Karl. "I am looking forward to working with [director] Charles Randolph-Wright, because I think he is brilliant," Orfeh told Broadway.com. "The show has one great song after another."

Orfeh had a top-40 single with the band Or-n-More in the early 1990s. She made her Broadway debut in Footloose and has since appeared on the Great White Way in Fascinating Rhythm and Saturday Night Fever. Rawls garnered four Grammy Awards, one platinum and six gold albums. His acting credits include roles in Bel Air, Leaving Las Vegas and Blues Brothers 2000. Rawls appeared on Broadway as a guest star in the long-running Smokey Joe's Cafe in 1999.

Me & Mrs. Jones, based on the 1970s hit song of the same name, tells the tale of a distinguished judge, his romance with the bewitching Mrs. Jones and the intertwined lives of off-beat characters whose musings and intrigues sparked the "Philly Sound."

The musical, which has music and lyrics by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and is based on an idea by Murray Schwartz, has been over a year in the making. We first reported about the musical on August 11, 2000, at which time it was expected to have a national tour last spring. The tour was then delayed until this fall. Now it seems plans for a national tour are on hold, with the Prince Theater as the show's only scheduled destination.

Me & Mrs. Jones is scheduled to play the Prince Music Theater November 3 through December 9.

A Broadway mounting is in the works for spring 2002.