Kathleen Turner returns to the Twin Cities this spring

Kathleen Turner, the celebrated stage and screen star best known for her powerful portrayals of sirens, is returning to the Twin Cities this spring to star in a drama. Turner will depict Sister Jamison Connelly in Matthew Lombardo's "High," a play about addiction and redemption. It opens April 18 at the Pantages Theatre for a one-week run. Rob Ruggiero, who staged "Ella" at the Guthrie in 2009, directs a cast that includes Evan Jonigkeit (pictured) as the young addict and Timothy Altmeyer as Father Michael Delpapp. Perhaps best known for her starring turn in "Body Heat," Turner won Golden Globes for "Romancing the Stone" and "Prizzi's Honor." She was nominated for both the Academy Award ("Peggy Sue Got Married") and the Tony ("Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"). Turner was last onstage in the Twin Cities in 2000 for pre-Broadway run of the one-woman show, "Tallulah," about free-spirited screen star Tallulah Bankhead. In a review of the two-hour show, I found that "Turner imbued Tallulah with the hurt of a has-been and the doubts of one who has never been true to herself." Turner has been doing short engagements of "High" for a year, including in the Broadway district. The play comes with a warning about "mature themes, strong language and full male nudity." The Pantages Theatre is at 710 Hennepin Av. S., Minneapolis. Tickets, $39-$65, go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. Call 1-800-982-2787 or go online.