Lithgow & Gettelfinger to Lead Scoundrels Cast

As Ken Mandelbaum mentioned on May 4, John Lithgow will indeed star in the Broadway-bound musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, according to a production spokesperson. Sara Gettelfinger has also joined the cast as Jolene, a country bumpkin who falls in love with Lithgow's character. As previously reported, the tuner will additionally feature Norbert Leo Butz, Joanna Gleason and Sherie Rene Scott.

"I am beside myself that I get to do it," Gettelfinger told Broadway.com. "It's completely comedic and completely different from anything I've ever gotten to do. I play the goofier of the three ladies--Jolene is a complete southern belle, but she also likes to shoot and stuff things. Growing up in Kentucky, I know people who are really like this!"

Lithgow, who recently completed a run in A.R. Gurney's Mrs. Farnsworth at the Flea Theater, won a 1973 Tony Award for his performance in The Changing Room and a 2002 Tony for Sweet Smell of Success. He was also nominated in 1985 for Requiem for a Heavyweight and in 1988 for M. Butterfly. In addition, he is a two-time Academy Award-nominee, having been nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in both Terms of Endearment and The World According to Garp, and is also well known for his work on the NBC series Third Rock From the Sun, in which he starred as an alien stuck on earth.

Gettelfinger is currently appearing in Tom Jones at the North Shore Music Theater. She is best known in New York for replacing Jane Krakowski as Carla in the Tony Award-winning revival of Nine She has also been seen on Broadway in The Boys from Syracuse and Seussical and was featured in the national tour of Fosse. Regional credits include Fastrada in Pippin at the Paper Mill Playhouse, April in Company at the Helen Hayes Theatre and Aggie Ford in Lone Star Love at the Great Lakes Theater Festival. Since Nine, Gettelfinger has been spending most of her time in Los Angeles participating in pilot season.

Directed by Jack O'Brien and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels will have its world premiere run at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego from September 15 through October 24 with an out-of-town opening set for September 22. The show is expected to open on Broadway in the spring of 2005.