Theater News

Eisenberg, Johnston, Shor, Weiss, et al. Set for Atlantic’s Scarcity

Kristen Johnston
(© Joseph Marzullo/Retna)
Kristen Johnston
(© Joseph Marzullo/Retna)

Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Johnston, Miriam Shor, and Michael T. Weiss will headline the Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere production of Lucy Thurber’s Scarcity, August 29-October 14. The production, which will open officially on September 20, will be directed by Jackson Gay.

The cast will also include Meredith Brandt, Maggie Kiley, and Todd Weeks. The creative team will feature Walt Spangler (sets), Ilona Somogyi (costumes), Jeff Lyons (lighting), and Daniel Baker (sound). Gay directed the Atlantic’s production of The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow.

Set in rural western Massachusetts, the play tells the tale of two siblings whose aspirations to escape the confines of poverty and small-town life come into direct conflict with their sense of family responsibility. When 16-year-old Billy is afforded an opportunity to change schools and move out of town by an unusually attentive young teacher, his family starts to unravel around him. Thurber’s other plays include Where We’re Born and Monstrosity.

Eisenberg recently appeared on stage in Orphans; his film credits include The Squid and the Whale and The Village. Johnston’s stage credits include The Women, Twelfth Night, Aunt Dan and Lemon, and The Lights. She is a two-time Emmy Award winner for Third Rock from the Sun. Shor’s New York stage credits include Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Book of Days, and Hair. Weiss starred earlier this year in the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of Burn This. His film and television credits include The Pretender, Jeffrey, and Days of Our Lives.

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Scarcity

Closed: October 21, 2007