Judd Hirsch returning to Broadway next month

NEW YORK CITY — Judd Hirsch, last seen on Broadway two years ago in a revival of "I'm Not Rappaport," is coming back in a new play, "Sixteen Wounded," by Eliam Kraiem.

The drama, set in Amsterdam, concerns the relationship between an Arab youth and an elderly Jewish baker, a survivor of Auschwitz, played by Hirsch.

The young man is portrayed by Omar Metwally, who appeared in the play's world premiere production last year at the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, Conn. Also in the Broadway cast are Martha Plimpton and Jan Maxwell. The director is Garry Hynes.

Preview performances begin March 22 at the Walter Kerr Theatre with an opening set for April 15.

• RECORD-SETTING — Rave reviews for Patti LuPone the weekend of Feb. 14 helped "Can-Can" take in more money than any other show in the 11-year history of Encores! This series of neglected musicals performed in concert doesn't release precise numbers, but its press representative confirmed that the show, which received mixed notices, earned 11 percent more than the previous leader, last season's "Pajama Game."

Brian D'Arcy James, Emily Skinner, Rob Bartlett, Jennifer Laura Thompson and Don Stephenson have been confirmed for the cast of the next Encores! show, the little-known 1933 Gershwin musical "Pardon My English," which begins performances March 25.