Coen, McDonagh, Pittu, Willimon, et al. Set for Atlantic’s 2008-2009 Season

The Atlantic Theater Company has announced selections for its 2008-2009 season.

The season will kick off with the world premiere of Beau Willimon’s Farragut North, to be directed by Doug Hughes, October 22-November 29, with an opening set for November 12. The play is about a wunderkind press secretary during a tight presidential primary race, whose meteoric rise falls prey to the backroom politics of more seasoned operatives.

The Atlantic will co-produce Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Inishmaan with Druid, Galway, December 9-March 1, with an opening on December 18. Gary Hynes will direct this play, set in 1934 on an island off the west coast of Ireland. Hollywood filmmaker Robert Flaherty arrives on the neighboring island of Inishmore to film his movie The Man of Aran and excitement ripples through the sleepy community of Inishmaan.

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ethan Coen will return to the Atlantic for the world premiere of Offices, a trio of one-act office comedies, to be directed by Neil Pepe, spring 2009.

On the Atlantic Stage 2 will be the world premiere of What’s That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling, written and performed by David Pittu, with music by Randy Redd. The show will run September 3-28, with an opening set for September 10. This musical satire charts the career of an eternally up-and-coming (and fictitious) musical theater composer. A second Stage 2 production, to run in the spring, will be announced at a later date.

As previously announced, Atlantic’s artistic director, Neil Pepe, will direct the 20th anniversary revival of Atlantic co-founder David Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow on Broadway this fall, starring Jeremy Piven. The play is a scathing portrait of the film industry and the eternal battle of art vs. commerce. Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, and Steve Traxler will produce the revival in association with Atlantic Theater Company. Previews will begin October 3 at a theater to be announced.

For more information, visit www.atlantictheater.org.