Tuesdays With Morrie, the Jeffrey Hatcher-Mitch Albom stage version of the smash best-selling memoir by Mitch Albom, will make its Off-Broadway debut Nov. 19, following previews from Nov. 1, at the Minetta Lane Theatre. David Esbjornson directs.

The story of a sportswriter who reconnects with his terminally ill former professor was a bestseller for Albom, a popular sports columnist for The Detroit Free Press. The book was previously made into a TV movie with Hank Azaria and Jack Lemmon.

The two-character play had a staging in Vassar College's New York Stage & Film summer season, June 21-July 6. Jon Tenney and Alvin Epstein repeat their summer roles for the fall Off-Broadway premiere.

Director Esbjornson is currently on a roll, with plays on Broadway (Edward Albee's The Goat) and Off Broadway (Israel Horovitz' My Old Lady).

The show is Hatcher's first New York work in some time. Though he occasionally sees an Off-Broadway bow (Scotland Road at Primary Stages and Three Viewings at Manhattan Theatre Club), most of the prolific playwright's work receives productions at regional theatres. His latest, A Picasso, was read at the Philadelphia Theatre Company Nov. 11. The producers are David Singer, Elizabeth Ireland McCann, Joey Parnes, Amy Nederlander, Scott Nederlander, ShadowCatcher Entertainment, Hal Thau and Moira Wilson.

The design team includes Robert Brill (sets), Valerie Marcus (costumes), Brian MacDevitt (lights) and John Kilgore (sound).

The Minetta Lane is at 18 Minetta Lane in Greenwich Village. For more information, call (212) 307-4100.

— by Robert Simonson
and Ernio Hernandez