One-time stars of TV's "The Pretender" and "Third Rock From the Sun" will headline "Scarcity," the first production of the 2007-2008 season from the Atlantic Theater Company -- the off-Broadway playhouse that launched the Tony-winning hit "Spring Awakening."

Michael T. Weiss and Kristen Johnston are among cast members signed on for the world premiere of the Lucy Thurber play, the story of two siblings whose aspirations to escape the confines of poverty and small-town life come into conflict with their sense of family responsibility. The drama will begin previews on August 29 ahead of a Sept. 20 opening at the Atlantic, on West 20th Street in Manhattan.

Aside from Weiss and Johnston, a member of the Atlantic Company, the co-stars include Jesse Eisenberg ("The Squid and the Whale"), Maggie Kiley (the upcoming Mark Wahlberg film "We Own the Night") and Miriam Shor ("Hedwig and the Angry Inch," stage and film).

Thurber makes her Atlantic debut with "Scarcity." Her play "Stay" was presented Off-Broadway last season. Director Jackson Gay returns to the Atlantic where he directed the Pulitzer Prize-nominated production of Rolin Jones' "The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow."

Call 212-279-4200 or visit www.atlantictheater.org for ticket information.