Audra McDonald, Michael Shannon to star in Broadway's 'Frankie and Johnny'

Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon have landed the leads in a new Broadway production of Terrence McNally's play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.

"Director Arin Arbus, in her Broadway debut, directs this portrait of a lonely waitress and a short order cook whose first date turns into a one-night stand -- and maybe more," a press release from the show's producers said.

The 16-week Broadway engagement is scheduled to begin previews in May at a Shubert theater to be announced soon.

Previous incarnations of Frankie and Johnny have starred as the title characters Kathy Bates and F. Murray Abraham, Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci, and Rosie Perez and Joe Pantoliano. The play was also adapted as a 1991 film featuring Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino.

McDonald is a six-time Tony Award winner who has starred in Shuffle Along, A Moon for the Misbegotten, 110 in the Shade, Carousel, Ragtime, Master Class and Porgy and Bess.

Shannon is a film and TV star whose credits include Little Drummer Girl, Boardwalk Empire, The Shape of Water, Midnight Special, Man of Steel and Take Shelter. He was nominated for a Tony for his performance opposite Jessica Lange and Gabriel Byrne in A Long Day's Journey into Night.