Fat Pig: Julia Stiles joins cast

Stage and screen actress Julia Stiles is returning to Broadway to star in the first Broadway production of Neil LaBute's Fat Pig, opening at the Belasco Theatree on 26 Apr 2011, following previews from 12 Apr 2011.

Stiles, who made her Broadway debut in 2009 starring as 'Carol' in David Mamet's 'Oleanna,' joins the previously announced Dane Cook and Josh Hamilton.

They will be directed by LaBute who is making his Broadway directorial debut with the play, which he also directed in 2008 in the play's acclaimed London premiere, receiving an Olivier Award nomination for Best New Comedy.

Additional creative team members, ticket on-sale information, and casting for the role of 'Helen' will be announced shortly.

LaBute's comedy, Fat Pig, tells the story of Tom (Hamilton), a very eligible bachelor who falls for the beautiful, bright and plus-sized Helen. Tom is overjoyed with his new relationship but his shallow co-workers are less enthusiastic. Tom shrugs off their objections but eventually the cruel jabs of his acerbic friend Carter (Cook) and Jeannie (Stiles), a former flame, force him to question his own values and the importance of conventional good looks.

In a joint statement, lead producers Aldo Scrofani and Heather Provost said "We are extremely excited to be working with this astonishingly talented team and to have as our home, the newly renovated and stunning Belasco Theatre, one of Broadway's true gems."

The play had its world premiere at MCC Theater in 2004, where it won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play. It has enjoyed several successful productions in major cities including Los Angeles, Boston and, as noted above, in London's West End.

Bios:

Julia Stiles (Jeannie) joined the cast of "Dexter," Showtime's critically acclaimed series earning her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She portrayed "Lumin," a mysterious woman who develops a distinct relationship with "Dexter" throughout the course of the season. Over the years, Stiles has made her mark on the big screen starring in the "Bourne Trilogy" opposite Matt Damon "(The Bourne Identity," "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum"); three Shakespearean film adaptations: Michael Almereyda's "Hamlet", "O," and "10 Things I Hate About You," for which she earned a 2000 MTV Movie Award for Best Female Breakthrough Performance and the Chicago Film Critics Award for Most Promising Actress.

Dane Cook (Carter). Named a "comedian phenom and icon" by Entertainment Weekly, Dane Cook has maintained his reputation as one of today's most prolific stand-up comedians while simultaneously distinguishing himself as a charismatic and versatile actor in a variety of film and television projects. Cook has starred in several films in the past few years: "My Best Friends Girl," "Dan in Real Life," "Good Luck Chuck," "Mr. Brooks," and "Employee of the Month." On television, Cook has hosted "Saturday Night Live" twice, including the season premiere, helping the program earn the highest non-sports ratings of any network that year. Cook created, directed and starred in HBO's nine-part comedy documentary series, "Tourgasm" and wrote, executive produced and starred in "Vicious Circle," a feature-length stand-up event, which was filmed in front of 40,000 people during 2 sold out shows at Boston Garden.

Josh Hamilton's (Tom) films include "Away We Go," "Outsourced," "Diggers," "Broken English," "The Last New Yorker," "The F Word," "Alive, Kicking and Screaming," "With Honors," "The House of Yes," "Freak Talks," "About Sex," "The Wait," and "Online." He has appeared on television in "Louie," "Mercy," "Law & Order," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," and "Absolutely Fabulous." New York theatre credits include 'A Lie of the Mind,' 'The Bridge Project' directed by Sam Mendes, 'Things We Want,' 'The Coast of Utopia,' 'Hurlyburly,' 'Proof,' 'This is our Youth,' 'The Waverly Gallery,' 'The Cider House Rules,' 'As Bees in Honey Drown,' 'Gone Home,' 'The Violet Hour,' 'Suburbia' and 'Women and Wallace.'

Neil LaBute (Playwright/Director) received his Master of Fine Arts degree in dramatic writing from New York University and was the recipient of a literary fellowship to study at the Royal Court Theatre. Films include "In the Company of Men" (New York Critics Circle Award for Best First Feature, Filmmakers' Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival), "Your Friends and "Neighbors," "Nurse Betty," "Possession," "The Shape of Things" — a film adaptation of his play by the same title — "The Wicker Man," "Lakeview Terrace" and "Death at a Funeral." Plays include 'reasons to be pretty,' 'Bash: latter-day plays,' 'The Shape of Things,' 'The Distance From Here,' 'The Mercy Seat,' 'Autobahn,' 'This Is How It Goes,' 'Some Girl(s),' 'Wrecks,' 'In a Dark Dark House,' 'Helter Skelter,' 'The Furies' and 'The War on Terror.' LaBute is the author of several fictional pieces that have been published in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Harper's Bazaar and Playboy, among others. A collection of his short stories was published by Grove/Atlantic.