Lawsuit accuses producer of sex harassment

NEW YORK, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- A Tony Award-winning Broadway producer is accused of sexually abusing some of the Great White Way's top stars in an explosive lawsuit filed in New York.

Dede Harris, producer of "Hairspray," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and "A Raisin in the Sun," told the New York Post the allegations leveled by her co-producers of the Off-Broadway play, "Dog Sees God," are "100 percent false."

The $5 million suit filed by Peter Stern and Martian Entertainment accuses Harris of "fraudulent, reckless and grossly negligent conduct," The Post said.

The lawsuit calls Harris "sexually obsessive" and says she failed to disclose allegations of past sexual harassment when they signed on to partner with her for "Dog Sees God."

Harris has "made sexual overtures to one or more male ... cast members" and "gratuitously grabbed the breast" of an actress, causing defections from the show, the suit charges.

Production sources told the Post actress America Ferrera, who recently left the show, was on the receiving end of the breast-grabbing incident. Others who left the show in recent weeks include Ian Somerhalder and Eliza Dushku, the newspaper said.

Harris dismissed the suit as an attempt by a "first-time producer ... trying to put up a smokescreen" rather than deal with box office losses.

"Dog Sees God," a satire about the "Peanuts" characters, opened to poor reviews in December and has been struggling to stay open.