Atlantic's 2008 - 09 season presents five world premieres and one NY Premiere

Atlantic Theater Company has announced its 2008-2009 season. The main stage season at the Linda Gross Theater will mark premieres from Academy Award winning filmmakers Ethan Coen and Martin McDonagh, who return to the Atlantic stage, and the debut of young playwright and screenwriter Beau Willimon.

Willimon bows with the world premiere of Farragut North following his play 'Lower Ninth' being produced Off Broadway this season. Tony Award winner Doug Hughes (Doubt) directs.

The Cripple Of Inishmaan reunites Academy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Martin McDonagh ('The Lieutenant of Inishmore') and Tony Award winning director Garry Hynes who were represented with 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' at Atlantic in 1998.

Academy Award winning filmmaker Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men) returns with the world premiere of Offices following last season�s sold out engagement of 'Almost an Evening', which marked his debut as a playwright. Atlantic artistic director Neil Pepe reteams with Coen to direct the new work.

Atlantic Stage 2, the company�s second stage, will feature the world premiere limited engagement of What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling, written and performed by Tony Award nominee and Atlantic Company Member David Pittu (Is He Dead?) with additional casting to be announced.

A second new play will also be announced for Atlantic Stage 2.

The Atlantic's Main Stage:

Farragut North by Beau Willimon. (World premiere)

Director: Doug Hughes
Cast: TBA
Synopsis: Stephen is a wunderkind press secretary who has built a career that men twice his age would envy. During a tight presidential primary race, however, Stephen's meteoric rise falls prey to the backroom politics of more seasoned operatives, and his one night stand with a teenage staffer proves to be more complicated than casual.

Previews: 22 Oct 2008
Opens: 12 Nov 2008
Closes: 29 Nov 2008

Beau Willimon (Playwright) has written eight full-length plays as well as numerous one-acts. His work has been developed or performed at MCC, Cherry Lane, HERE Arts Center, New Dramatists, Daryl Roth 2, the Dayton Playhouse (Ohio), The Donmar Warehouse (London) and the Battersea Arts Center (London). His play, 'Lower Ninth,' received its world premiere production at The Flea Theater earlier this year after initially being staged as part of Arielle Tepper's 2007 Summer Play Festival. He is currently working on a commission for MTC Theatre. In addition to his work for the stage, Willimon is working on two films for Warner Brothers: the feature film adaptation of his play 'Farragut North' and an adaptation of Dicken's 'A Tale of Two Cities.'

The Cripple Of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh.

Director: Garry Hynes
Cast: TBA
Synopsis: 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. For orphaned Billy Craven, who has been relentlessly scorned by the island�s inhabitants, the film represents an escape from the poverty of his existence. He vies for a part in the film, and to everyone�s surprise, it is the cripple who gets his chance.

Previews: 9 Dec 2008
Opens: 18 Dec 2008
Closes: 1 Mar 2009

Martin McDonagh (Playwright) returns to Atlantic following the company�s critically acclaimed American premiere production of 'The Lieutenant of Inishmore' which moved to the Lyceum Theatre, where it was nominated for five 2006 Tony Awards including Best Play. He received the 2005 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short for his film, 'Six Shooter,' which he also directed. He received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Play, and won Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for 'The Lieutenant of Inishmore.' His play, 'The Pillowman,' won the Olivier Award for Best Play and an Evening Standard Award nomination for the National Theatre production, while the Broadway production won a New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play (Foreign) and Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Tony Award' nominations for Best Play.

Offices by Ethan Coen (World Premiere)

Director: Neil Pepe
Cast: TBA
Synopsis: Hiring and firing are antisocial acts. Workplace pressures make for nasty competition. And the work itself can be meaningless and alienating. Accordingly, the three short plays that make up Offices are comedies.

Previews: tba (Spring 2009)
Opens: tba (Spring 2009)
Closes: tba (Spring 2009)

Ethan Coen (Playwright) made his Off-Broadway debut as a playwright with the sold out world premiere production of 'Almost an Evening' at Atlantic Stage 2 last season. He has written a collection of stories, 'Gates of Eden' and a collection of poems, 'The Drunken Driver Has the Right of Way.' With his brother, Joel, Ethan Coen has made thirteen movies including the Academy Award winning film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's 'No Country for Old Men.'

Atlantic Stage Two:

What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling by David Pittu (World Premiere)

Music: Randy Redd Cast: David Pittu
Synopsis: An absurd musical satire that charts the career of eternally up-and-coming (and fictitious) musical theater composer Jacob Sterling. A rare, up close and personal visit with an artist of questionable gifts who performs from his songbook and shares his human struggle to keep musical theater alive and well in the 21st century.

Previews: 3 Sep 2008
Opens: 10 Sep 2008
Closes: 28 Sep 2008

David Pittu (Writer/Performer). As an Atlantic Company Member David Pittu has written, directed, and acted in countless Atlantic productions, most recently Pinter's 'Celebration' and 'The Room' (Drama Desk and Lortel nominations). This season he received his second Tony Award nomination for his performance in the Mark Twain comedy 'Is He Dead?' as well as an Outer Critics Circle nomination. Broadway: 'LoveMusik' (Tony Award nomination), 'The Coast of Utopia,' 'Never Gonna Dance.'.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Managing Director) is the award winning Off-Broadway theater dedicated to producing great plays simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble. Atlantic believes that the story of the play and the intent of the playwright are at the core of the creative process.

Atlantic�s acclaimed world premiere production of its first musical Spring Awakening, with music by Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics by Steven Sater and direction by Michael Mayer, won 8 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.