Following previews from Oct. 22, the Atlantic Theater Company's staging continues to Nov. 29 at ATC's mainstage home, the Linda Gross Theater.
Tony Award winner Doug Hughes (Doubt and Broadway's current A Man for All Seasons) directs Farragut North (the title refers to a neighborhood stop of the Washington, DC, subway). In the play, according to ATC, "Stephen Bellamy (Gallagher) is a wunderkind press secretary who has built a career that men twice his age would envy. During a tight presidential primary race, Stephen's meteoric rise falls prey to the backroom politics of more seasoned operatives. Farragut North is a timely story about the lust for power and the costs one will endure to achieve it."
Writer Willimon worked extensively in the world of politics, having served on the staff of campaigns for Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Bill Bradley and most recently, Gov. Howard Dean.
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Noth plays Paul Zara, "a veteran political operative and a manager to an insurgent presidential campaign. He's a gruff, boisterous personality with a razor-sharp intelligence and an even sharper tongue." The cast also includes Kate Blumberg, Olivia Thirlby, Isiah Whitlock, Jr., Dan Bittner and Otto Sanchez.
Willimon makes his Off-Broadway debut with Farragut North. His play Lower Ninth received its world premiere at The Flea Theater earlier this year after being part of the 2007 Summer Play Festival. His full-length plays include Baby Blue, Nobody's Child and Breathing Time. He is the recipient of the Lila Acheson Wallace Juilliard Playwriting Fellowship and the Lincoln Center Le Compte du Nuoy Award.
Noth returns to the New York stage following his Broadway debut in Gore Vidal's The Best Man, and following the hit summer film of "Sex and the City." He stars as Detective Mike Logan on the series "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" after originating the role during the first five seasons of "Law & Order."
Bittner made his Broadway bow in David Hare's The Vertical Hour; Atlantic Theater Company member Blumberg returns to Atlantic after appearing in the world premieres of Ethan Coen's Almost an Evening and Jez Butterworth's Parlour Song last season; Gallagher returns following last season's acclaimed Atlantic New York premiere of Conor McPherson's Port Authority, and after originating the role of Moritz in Atlantic's world premiere of the musical Spring Awakening, for which he later won a Best Featured Actor Tony Award; Sanchez makes his Atlantic debut following starring in the hit Off-Broadway play Ponies for Michael Imperioli's Studio Dante; rising young film actress Olivia Thirlby makes her New York Stage debut after being seen in "The Wackness" opposite Sir Ben Kingsley, and in Fox Searchlight's Academy Award-nominated film "Juno"; ATC member Whitlock was last seen at Atlantic in The Cherry Orchard and Edmond, and played Senator Clay Davis on the last six seasons of the HBO series "The Wire."
The design team for Farragut North is scenic designer David Korins, costume designer Catherine Zuber, lighting designer Paul Gallo and sound designer David Van Tieghem.
Farragut North will play Tuesday through Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 PM and 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM and 7 PM.
Atlantic Theater Company at the Linda Gross Theater is located at 336 West 20th Street (between Eighth and Ninth Avenues). Tickets for main stage productions are $65 and are available by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 (ticketcentral.com).
For more information visit www.atlantictheater.org.
