Lange Takes Iconic Stanwyck Role

Award-winning actress Jessica Lange will don the bolero jacket and riding breeches that helped make Barbara Stanwyck a lesbian icon when she stars in the film adaptation of The Big Valley. Lange will play Victoria Barkley, the widowed matriarch of a 19th-century ranching family, the role originated by Stanwyck in the long-running Western TV series that premiered in 1965. In March actor Ryan Phillippe announced that he has also been cast. Filming is scheduled to begin in July in Baton Rouge, La. Lange won Academy Awards for her performances in Tootsie and Blue Sky and an Emmy for her performance in HBO's Grey Gardens.