Comedian Dane Cook & Josh Hamilton Headed to Broadway in Neil LaBute's Fat Pig

Comedian Dane Cook will make his Broadway debut alongside theater vet Josh Hamilton in a Broadway mounting of Neil LaBute’s 2004 black comedy Fat Pig. LaBute, who directed the play in its Olivier Award-nominated 2008 London premiere, will helm the Broadway production, opening in spring 2011 at a theater to announced. Further casting and design team will be announced in the coming weeks.

Fat Pig tells the story of Tom (Hamilton), an eligible bachelor who falls for the beautiful, bright and plus-sized Helen. Tom is overjoyed with his new relationship, but his shallow co-workers are less enthusiastic. Tom shrugs off their objections but eventually the cruel jabs of his acerbic friend Carter (Cook) and Jeannie, a former flame, force him to question his own values and the importance of conventional good looks.

In a press announcement of the Broadway production, LaBute said, “I’m planning on writing new material for this production to enhance the already considerable gifts that these men bring to the characters. I’m very much looking forward to this opportunity to see Fat Pig through fresh eyes."

The original off-Broadway production of Fat Pig opened at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on December 15, 2004, produced by MCC Theater and directed by Jo Bonney. The well-reviewed production starred Andrew McCarthy as Carter, Jeremy Piven as Tom, Keri Russell as Jeannie and Ashlie Atkinson as Helen. It won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play.

In addition to his successful career as a standup comic and comedy recording artist, Cook has appeared in the films My Best Friend’s Girl, Dan in Real Life, Good Luck Chuck, Mr. Brooks, Employee of the Month, Waiting, London, Torque and Mystery Men.

Hamilton’s many New York theater credits include A Lie of the Mind, Things We Want, The Coast of Utopia, Hurlyburly, Proof, This is Our Youth, The Waverly Gallery, The Cider House Rules, As Bees in Honey Drown, Gone Home, The Violet Hour, subUrbia and Women and Wallace.

Fat Pig will be produced on Broadway by Heather Provost and Aldo Scrofani.