Family Rocked When Opportunity Knocks in World Premiere, Scarcity, at Atlantic Theater (Playbill, August 29, 2007)

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Family Rocked When Opportunity Knocks in World Premiere, Scarcity, at Atlantic Theater
By Kenneth Jones
29 Aug 2007

Kristen Johnston, Jesse Eisenberg and Michael T. Weiss

The world premiere of Lucy Thurber's Scarcity, a drama of familial loyalty, class status and personal aspirations, starts Aug. 29 at the Atlantic Theater Company's Off-Broadway home, with Kristen Johnston among cast members.

The new work -- marking Thurber's Atlantic debut -- opens Sept. 20 for a run through Oct. 14. The troupers directed by Jackson Gay include Atlantic members Johnston ("Third Rock From the Sun," Atlantic's The Lights), Maggie Kiley (Atlantic's The Lesson, Frame 312) and Todd Weeks (Atlantic's The Voysey Inheritance, Broadway's Full Monty) and Meredith Brandt, Jesse Eisenberg ("The Squid and the Whale"), Miriam Shor (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and Michael T. Weiss (NBC's "The Pretender," the feature film "Jeffrey").

"Set in rural western Massachusetts, Scarcity tells the tale of two siblings [Meredith Brandt and Jesse Eisenberg] whose aspirations to escape the confines of poverty and small town life come into direct conflict with their sense of family responsibility," according to Atlantic notes. "When 16-year-old Billy [Eisenberg] is afforded an opportunity to change schools and move out of town by an unusually attentive young teacher, his family [parents Kristen Johnston and Michael T. Weiss] starts to unravel around him. This raw, emotionally rich world premiere new drama from playwright Lucy Thurber explores the stark reality of how class in America shapes our very image of ourselves."

Thurber's play Stay was presented Off-Broadway last season; her other plays include Where We're Born, Ashville, Killers and Other Family and Monstrosity. She is a member of MCC Playwrights' Coalition, Primary Stages writing group and New Dramatists.

Jackson Gay returns to Atlantic, where she directed the Pulitzer Prize finalist production of Rolin Jones' The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow and Kia Corthron's Master Disaster for the 10x20 one-act festival at Atlantic Stage 2.

The design team features scenic design by Walt Spangler, costume design by Ilona Somogyi, lighting design by Jeff Lyons and sound design by Daniel Baker.

Scarcity plays Tuesday through Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 PM & 8 PM and Sundays at 3 PM at Atlantic Theater Company at the Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street.

Tickets for main stage productions are $55 and are available by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or at ticketcentral.com.

For more information visit www.atlantictheater.org.

Maggie Kiley, Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Johnston, Michael T. Weiss, Meredith Brandt, Miriam Shor and Todd Weeks in rehearsal for Scarcity.
photo by Steve Shevett