"Legends!" will finally play Gotham, if only for one night.
Charles Busch, Lypsinka and Whoopi Goldberg will topline a staged reading of the 1986 play by the late James Kirkwood ("A Chorus Line") as a benefit for charity org Friends in Deed.
A comedy about rival over-the-hill actresses who find themselves forced to work together, "Legends!" has had two pre-Broadway runs, both of which were scuttled. The original 1986 national tour starring Carol Channing and Mary Martin famously self-destructed, and resulted in Kirkwood's tell-all book "Diary of a Mad Playwright: Perilous Adventures on the Road with Mary Martin and Carol Channing."
A 2007 tour toplined by Joan Collins and Linda Evans also aborted before making it to the Rialto.
Drag performers Busch and Lypsinka, aka John Epperson, will play the dueling has-beens, while Goldberg portrays a feisty maid.
Bryan Batt ("Mad Men") co-stars as the producer who wants the two actresses to bury the hatchet for his project.
Mark Waldrop helms an adaptation of Kirkwood's script by Epperson. Creative team also includes Josh Rhodes (choreographer), Ray Klausen (set), Fabio Toblini (costumes) and Matt Berman (lights and sound).
Friends in Need, co-founded by Mike Nichols, offers support for people suffering from life-threatening illnesses and for their friends and family.
"Legends!" plays Town Hall March 23.
Contact Gordon Cox at
gordon.cox@variety.com