Metcalf Joins 'November;' Play Opens on Bway January 17

The highly anticipated World Premiere comedy stars two-time Tony Award-winner Nathan Lane (The Producers, Butley, Forum) as incumbent President Charles Smith under the direction of two-time Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Assassins). The production will begin previews on Thursday, December 20 toward a January 17 opening at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street).

Laurie Metcalf joins the cast as Clarice Bernstein, aide to President Smith. In New York, Metcalf appeared in Balm in Gilead at the Circle Rep for which she received Drama Desk, Obie and Theatre World Awards. An ensemble member at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company since 1976, Metcalf is the recipient of seven Joseph Jefferson Awards and two L.A. Ovation Awards. Metcalf won three Emmy awards for her role as Jackie Harris on "Roseanne." She is nominated again this year for her work on "Desperate Housewives." Her film credits include Internal Affairs, Desperately Seeking Susan, Toy Story, Bulworth, and Leaving Las Vegas.

"Set just days before a major presidential election, November involves civil marriages, gambling casinos, lesbians, American Indians, presidential libraries, questionable pardons and campaign contributions," state press notes.

The creative team will include two-time Tony Award-winner Scott Pask (The Coast of Utopia, The Pillowman), eight-time Tony-nominee Paul Gallo (Guys and Dolls, 42nd Street), and Laura Bauer (Talk Radio, Glengarry Glen Ross).

Mamet is the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Glengarry Glen Ross. His other stage credits include Speed-the-Plow (Tony nom.), The Cryptogram (Pulitzer nom.), America Buffalo (NY Drama Critics Circle Award), Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Romance, Boston Marriage, The Old Neighborhood and the recent adaptation of The Voysey Inheritance. Mamet is also a two-time Academy Award-nominee for The Verdict and Wag the Dog whose other film credits include State and Main, The Winslow Boy, The Spanish Prisoner, Homicide and The Untouchables. He a writer and co-producer for the current CBS hit "The Unit" and the author of numerous novels including The Wicked Son and Bambi vs. Godzilla.