'The Graduate' Debuts on Broadway

ByABC News
April 4, 2002, 10:03 AM

April 4 -- Kathleen Turner is going to get a lot of exposure on Broadway she'll be doing a nude scene in the stage production of The Graduate.

Based on the 1967 coming-of-age classic, this version features Turner as the seductive Mrs. Robinson and American Pie actor Jason Biggs in the Dustin Hoffman role. Biggs Nervous About Turners Nude Scene

Turner already played Mrs. Robinson in the British version, where she dropped a towel and trapezed across the stage each night for 15 seconds.

Biggs admits he was "a little nervous at first" when they were rehearsing the nude scene. "But Kathleen is so wonderful about making not only myself but everyone in the company feel comfortable," he said.

The show, premiering tonight, is already a hit. Advanced ticket sales have hit $5.3 million, the largest advance for any play in Broadway history. Clueless star Alicia Silverstone plays Biggs' girlfriend.

But Biggs says he owes his biggest debt of thanks to Hoffman, who created such a memorable character. He says Hoffman sent him an autographed picture of him from the film. "It's of him wearing his boxers and shirtless next to Anne Bancroft [the original Mrs. Robinson]" he says, "and he signed it, 'To Jason, who I know has talent but I'm not sure about the pecs." ABCNEWS Radio contributed to this report.