Viola Davis to star in the Roundabout Theatre Company production of Intimate Apparel

Fri 9 Jan 2004 Viola Davis to star in the Roundabout Theatre Company production of Intimate Apparel It has been announced that Viola Davis will star as 'Esther' in the Roundabout Theatre Company production of Intimate Apparel by Victor Keyloun, opening 8 April 2004, following previews from 17 Mar and playing to 30 May 2004 at their new Off Broadway venue Laura Pels Theatre, at Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, 111 West 46th Street, New York Public booking opens in March 2004. It is directed by Daniel Sullivan, costumes by Catherine Zuber and lighting by Allen Lee Hughes Intimate Apparel takes place at the dawn of the 20th century, when opportunities for African-American women are in short supply. But 35-year-old Esther has a gift for sewing exquisite lingerie. Her creations are worn by Park Avenue socialites and downtown prostitutes alike, and offer her a rare life of independence. Still, she is lonely and risks it all to wed a Caribbean stranger whom she knows only through a romantic exchange of letters. When she realizes that he may not be the same person who wrote those impassioned thoughts, Esther must answer difficult questions about her own identity, about tradition, and about a woman's place in the world. Viola Davis won a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for her performance in King Hedley II. Broadway: August Wilson's Seven Guitars (Tony and Drama Desk noms, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and Theatre World Awards). The Public: Everybody's Ruby (Audelco Award, Obie and Drama Desk noms), As You Like It, House of Lear. Off-Broadway: God's Heart (LCT). Regional: Coming of the Hurricane (Crossroads Theatre); Hecuba (ACT); Measure for Measure, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Red Noses (Trinity Repertory); The Rover (Guthrie). Film: Solaris, Antwone Fisher, Far From Heaven, Traffic, The Shrink Is In, Out of Sight, The Substance of Fire. TV: "Century City" (series regular), "City of Angels" (series regular), Oprah Winfrey Presents "Amy and Isabelle," "Hack", "Law & Order: SVU", "NYPD Blue," "NY Undercover," "Grace and Glory," "The Pentagon Wars," "Judging Amy." Graduate of Juilliard.