Casting Set for Sister George at Long Wharf

Betsy Aidem, Clea Alsip and Olga Merediz join Kathleen Turner in Long Wharf Theatre’s production of The Killing of Sister George, by Frank Marcus and adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher.


Kathleen Turner

The show will take place on the newly renovated Claire Tow Stage in the C. Newton Schenck III Mainstage Theatre from November 28 through December 23, 2012.

By day June Buckridge (Turner) plays Sister George tending to the sick and poor on the radio hit “Applehurst.”By night, she chews on cigars, swills gin and lets nothing and no one stand in her way, including her long suffering “secretary” Childie. When“Applehurst”’s ratings plummet, Sister George is shuffled meekly off to the Great Beyond. June refuses to go quietly from her starring perch, however, in this bawdy and witty comedy.

Alsipwill play the role of Childie, Aidem will play Mercy Croft, and Merediz will play Madame Xenia. In addition to playing June Buckridge, Turner will direct. Alsip, Aidem and Merediz are making their Long Wharf Theatre debuts.

Aidem, a 2007 Obie winner for Sustained Excellence of Performance, has appeared in numerous productions Off-Broadway, including Dreams of Flying, Dreams of Falling; Celebration, and Sea of Tranquility at Atlantic; The Metal Children and Mary Rose at The Vineyard; Crooked, Women’s Project, Stone Cold Dead Serious, Edge Theater at Chashama; The Triple Happiness, Second Stage; Good Thing, The New Group; The Butterfly Collection, Playwright’s Horizons; Luminescence Dating, EST; Pera Palas, McGinn Cazalle; Steel Magnolias, Lortel; A Lie of the Mind, Promenade;Escape from Happiness, Naked Angels; Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, MCC; Road, Lincoln Center Theater; Balm in Gilead, Circle Rep and Minetta Lane. Regionally, she has appeared at Dorset Theatre Festival, George Street Playhouse, The Huntington Theatre, Williamstown, and Hartford Stage, among many others. Her television and film credits include “The Big C,” “Smash,” multiple“ Law and Orders, “The West Wing”, “Sex and the City,” “The High Life,” “The Good Wife,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Rescue Me.” Film: Margaret, The Bleeding House, Arbitrage, The Oranges, You Can Count on Me, Motherhood, Music of the Heart, and Winter Passing.

Alsip recently appeared in Brace Yourself (BTF, dir. James Naughton), Lewis Black's One Slight Hitch (George Street and Williamstown), Six Degrees of Separation (Williamstown), and the regional premiere of The Motherf****r with the Hat (TheaterWorks Hartford). Her New York credits include L(y)re (Ars Nova), boom!, Emperor Antony, Orpheus Descending, and the world premiere of Tony Kushner’s Henry Box Brown (NYU Grad Acting). Her film and television appearances include the upcoming season of “Boardwalk Empire,” The Little Tin Man, Bumbloods, Strangers, and Crystal Sessions.

Olga Merediz is best known for originating the role of “Abuela Claudia” in the Broadway musical In The Heights, a performance for which she received a Tony award nomination. Additional Broadway credits include Reckless at MTC, Mamma Mia, Man of La Mancha (Original Revival cast), Les Miserables, and The Human Comedy. Her most recent films include The Angriest Man in Brooklyn,The Place Beyond the Pines, alongside Ryan Gosling, Remember Me, andMr. Popper’s Penguins. Other film credits include Changing Lanes, Music of the Heart, Evita, Centerstage, K- Pax, City of Hope, Isn’t She Great among others. She has also appeared in TV shows including “Royal Pains,” “Blue Bloods,” “Law and Order: SVU,” and “Pan Am.”

For more information about the show, visit www.longwharf.org or call 203-787-4282.