The Singing Forest to star Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis

The Public Theater has announced that Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis will star in their production of Craig Lucas's The Singing Forest, playing at the Public Theater from 7 Apr - 17 May 2009.

Dukakis won an Oscar for her performance as Rose Castorini in the film 'Moonstruck.' Other notable film credits include 'Steel Magnolias,' 'Mr. Holland's Opus,' 'Jane Austen's Mafia!' and 'The Thing About My Folks.' On TV, she may best be known for her creation of 'Anna Madrigal' in the series.

Her Broadway credits include 'Rose' (Rose: 2000), 'Social Security' (Sophie Greengrass: 1986), 'Who's Who in Hell' (1974), 'Abraham Cochrane' (Anne Dowling: 1964) and 'The Aspern Papers' (1962). She last appeared Off-Broadway in 2005 as 'Beatrice' in Barra Grant's 'A Mother, A Daughter, and A Gun.' (New World Stages Stage III).

Directed by Mark Wing-Davey, The Singing Forest takes you on a passage through time - from today's world of Starbucks, celebrity and therapy to Freud's inner circle in 1930's Vienna and to Paris at the end of WWII. It's the story of three generations of a family whose lives are intertwined despite the secrets that have torn them apart.

Mark Wing-Davey is an Obie Award-winning director whose Public Theater credits include 'School of the Americas,' 'Henry V,' '36 Views,' ,The Skriker,' 'Troilus and Cressida,' and 'Silence, Cunning, Exile.' He directed the acclaimed, Obie-winning production of Craig Lucas�s 'Small Tragedy' for Playwrights Horizons as well as Lucas�s musical 'The Listener at Juilliard.