Maggie Gyllenhaal will play the title role in the previously announced reading of Alan Alda's new play, Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie, which will be presented as part of the 2011 World Science Festival's Opening Night Gala Celebration on Wednesday, June 1 at Alice Tully Hall. Gyllenhaal replaces Meryl Streep, who has withdrawn because of an unforeseen scheduling conflict.

This visually enhanced production, directed by Bob Balaban, explores the intellectual passions of Curie, the physicist and chemist most famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. The play also focuses on her tumultuous private life, which was marked by her strong determination to pursue both love and knowledge. The previously reported cast will also feature Amy Adams, Allison Janney, Liev Schreiber, David Morse, and Bill Camp.

Gyllenhaal's stage credits include The Three Sisters and Uncle Vanya at Classic Stage Company and the BAM production of Tony Kushner's Homebody/Kabul. She received an Oscar nomination for Crazy Heart and will be seen on the big screen in Hysteria.

In related news, Gyllenhaal has signed on to star in Eric Howell's new supernatural thriller Voice From the Stone, according to a report in Variety. The film will focus on a nurse who, when she tries to help a boy who is haunted by malevolent forces inside the walls of an old house in the Italian countryside, becomes haunted by the same evil presence.

Tickets begin at $250. For tickets and information, call 646-200-8817 or click here.