With an official opening set for March 3, the Michael Healey play will run through April 3 at the New Jersey theatre. According to a production statement, The Drawer Boy concerns "two Canadian farmers, boyhood friends and WWII veterans, [who] share a mysterious secret. Their lives are comically interrupted when a young actor asks to live and work with them as 'research' for a play about farming. As he becomes part of their lives, their fascinating story becomes a part of his play and the lines blur between theatre and life, memory and reality."

The creative team for the production comprises Todd Rosenthal (set design), Jess Goldstein (costume design) and Kevin Adams (lighting design) with original music and sound design by Robert Milburn and Michael Bodeen.

John Mahoney won a Tony and a Theatre World Award for his Broadway debut in The House of Blue Leaves. He was also nominated for two Emmys and two Golden Globes for his performance on TV's "Frasier." His many other screen credits include "Fathers and Sons," "Almost Salinas," "She's the One," "Primal Fear," "The American President," "The Hudsucker Proxy," "Reality Bites," "Striking Distance," "The Water Engine," "Article 99," "Barton Fink," "Dinner at Eight" and "Say Anything." Mahoney will star in the Northlight Theatre's staging of William Nicholson's The Retreat From Moscow at the Skokie, Illinois, resident theatre in 2006.

The Paper Mill Playhouse is located on Brookside Drive in Millburn, NJ. Call (973) 376-4343 for more information or visit www.papermill.org.