Obie Award-winning director Leah C. Gardiner (Wit, born bad) stages the production about a nurse and her family as they attempt to reclaim their lives in the months following Hurricane Katrina. Clementine in the Lower 9 will officially open Oct. 8 for a run through Oct. 30.

The cast includes Laoina Michelle as Clementine, Jayne Deely as Cassy, Matt Jones as Reginald, Jack Koenig as Jaffy and Kenny Brawner as Chorus.

Here's how TheatreWorks bills the premiere: "Surrounded by water-logged photos of old relatives, broken furniture, and a perfectly tuned piano, Clementine is relieved when Reginald returns from a year at college to what's left of their family home. Together they wait for the third remaining member of the family, Jaffy, who hasn't been able to come back to New Orleans since he was evacuated to Houston. Clementine's unwavering faith in 'Laughing Jaffy' is almost enough to convince her skeptical son that this time his father will pull through with a plan - at least until Jaffy brings home a drugged-out prophetess he found in an alley. Told with cutting humor and relentless honesty, Clementine pits a closetful of family skeletons against an unthinkable national tragedy, testing the limits of forgiveness and redemption."

Dietz is also the playwright of tempOdyssey. His works have been presented at The Public Theater, Kennedy Center, the Humana Festival, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, PlayPenn, the Playwrights' Center and the Lark Play Development Center.

For tickets phone (650) 463-1960 or visit TheatreWorks. TheatreWorks' Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts is located at 500 Castro Street (at Mercy) in Mountain View, CA.