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Brooke Shields joins cast of 'Addams Family'

Published Sunday, Apr 3 2011, 17:34 BST | By Tom Ayres | Add comment

Brooke Shields at the opening night of 'Brooke Shields In My Life'

Brooke Shields has signed on to star as Morticia Addams in the Broadway musical The Addams Family.

According to PopEater, Shields has been brought in to replace original actress Bebe Neuwirth, who has decided to leave the show. Neuwirth had been with the production since it launched on Broadway in April last year.

Shields has succeeded a number of Broadway actresses in the past, including taking on the role of Rizzo from Grease in 1995, and Chicago's Roxie more recently in 2005.

Fellow original performer Nathan Lane has already left the show and has been replaced by Roger Rees as patriarch Gomez Addams.

Carolyn Jones played Morticia Addams in the '60s television series, while Anjelica Huston popularised the character with her performances in the '90s films The Addams Family and The Addams Family Values.

It was reported last year that Tim Burton was planning a 3D stop-motion remake of the original cartoons.

Neuwirth's last performance as part of The Addams Family will be on June 26.