Sue Ellen is Mrs. Robinson! Sue Ellen disrobes live on stage! For the holidays! Dallas star Linda Gray will play the deliciously manipulative seductress when The Graduate comes to the Aronoff (Dec.16-28) as part of Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati. (The Graduate is recommended for mature audiences, although word it's been "toned down" from the Broadway production.)

A pop culture classic of the '60s, The Graduate presents an ironic romantic triangle for naÔve college grad Benjamin Braddock, who falls into an affair with the nefarious Mrs. Robinson, then falls in love with her daughter.

Gray has played Mrs. R. in London and on Broadway (subbing for original star Kathleen Turner).

Single tickets go on sale in late October. Season tickets are on sale at (800) 294-1816, at BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com and at Broadway in Cincinnati's ticket office (Mercantile Center, 120 E. Fourth St.; weekdays 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.).

Kids needed

Attention kids: It's time to audition for A Christmas Carol. Playhouse in the Park will cast nine youngsters between the ages of 8 and 13 and, of course, Tiny Tim (who must be 5-7 years old).

Auditions will be June 30 and July 1. Deadline for submitting a resume listing any experiences and a good-quality photo is June 16. Send the information to: Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, ATTN: AUDITIONS, c/o Michael Haney, P.O. Box 6537, Cincinnati 45206.

At the audition, hopefuls will be asked to present a one-minute monologue, story or poem.

It's absolutely necessary to be available to attend all rehearsals (most scheduled around school hours), which begin in mid-November. Carol will run Dec. 3-30.

One weekend only

New Gate Celtic Theatre will offer its first full-length play, J.M. Synge's Playboy of the Western World, Friday through next Sunday only. Presenter is Cincinnati Folk Life at Walton Creek Theatre, home of Mariemont Players (4101 Walton Creek Road).

New Gate will be busy this summer, says co-founder Karen Vanover. "We'll perform at the new Irish Heritage Festival in Newport later in June, at the Cleveland Irish Fest in July and at the Milwaukee Irish Festival in August."

In September, New Gate will return to Cincinnati's Celtic Festival for the third time. "We'll do two one-acts, one a new play by a Milwaukee playwright," Vanover says.

Performances are 8 p.m. Friday and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For reservations and information call Cincinnati Folk Life at 533-4822.

Art shopping

If you're planning to partake of the downtown shopping tour sponsored by Leadership Cincinnati on Saturday, be sure to stop in at the Aronoff Center and shop for performing arts.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Cincinnati Arts Association will staff an information booth and promises entertainment on the plaza. Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati will hold a "test drive your seats" opportunity. (Decide exactly where you want to sit for Hairspray!)

Small resident companies also will have tickets and information.

For more details, call the Aronoff box office at 621-2787.

E-mail jdemaline@enquirer.com