Ladd: From 'Angels' to 'Annie'

By Stephen M. Silverman

08/04/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Kathie Lee Gifford was mentioned to be in the running, as were Susan Lucci and Rosie O'Donnell. But the pistol packed by Tony winner Bernadette Peters in the current Broadway revival of the Irving Berlin musical "Annie Get Your Gun" has been passed to former "Charlie's Angels" star Cheryl Ladd, 49. She begins a 6-month gig headlining in the show on Sept. 6, reports USA Today. "I'm a bit rusty," she told the paper about her singing (the score includes the classic "There's No Business Like Show Business"), "but it's like riding a bike." Ladd last sang onstage in a production of "Anything Goes" about 15 years ago in Santa Barbara, Calif., where she lives with hubby Brian Russell. As for Broadway's "Annie," her love interest will be played by Patrick Cassidy (son of Shirley Jones, brother of Shaun). "I heard that," Ladd told USA Today, "and said, 'I can't work with him, he's prettier than me!' "