Theater News

Rainn Wilson Joins Cast of The Doppelgänger at Steppenwolf Theatre Company

”SpongeBob SquarePants” director Tina Landau will direct the production.

Rainn Wilson will star in the world premiere of Matthew-Lee Erlbach's The Doppelgänger (An International Farce).
Rainn Wilson will star in the world premiere of Matthew-Lee Erlbach's The Doppelgänger (An International Farce).
(© Joseph Marzullo)

Steppenwolf Theatre has announced that actor and comedian Rainn Wilson, known for his role as Dwight Schrute on NBC's The Office, will join the world premiere of The Doppelgänger (An International Farce). Written by Matthew-Lee Erlbach (Handbook for an American Revolutionary) and directed by ensemble member Tina Landau (SpongeBob SquarePants), the production will run April 5-May 27 with an April 15 opening in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre.

A "new American farce," The Doppelgänger features Steppenwolf ensemble members Alana Arenas, Audrey Francis, Ora Jones, Sandra Marquez, and James Vincent Meredith along with Michael Accardo, Whit K. Lee, Andy Nagraj, and Karen Rodriguez. Previously announced ensemble member Gary Cole is no longer in the cast because of a scheduling conflict. Wilson will take on the lead role of Thomas Irdley/Jimmy.

The Doppelgänger is described as follows: "In the dangerous back channels of international resource politics, a wealthy British businessman suffers an untimely accident just before a critical African copper deal is signed. So when his unwitting (and witless) American doppelgänger is thrust into negotiations to avert intercontinental disaster, chaos erupts, leaving us wondering: whose side are we supposed to be on…and who will save Africa?"

For tickets and more information, click here.

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