Steven Pasquale to Replace Jeremy Piven in MCC's Fat Pig on January 5

Broadway.com has learned that Steven Pasquale will replace Jeremy Piven in the MCC Theater production of Neil LaBute's Fat Pig beginning on January 5. Piven is leaving the show after the January 4 performance to begin filming the second season of the HBO series Entourage.

Pasquale is currently appearing on the FX series Rescue Me.His off-Broadway credits include The Spitfire Grill, Spinning Into Butter, The Wild Party and A Man of No Importance. Pasquale has also appeared in the national tours of Miss Saigon and West Side Story and one of the pre-Broadway mountings of The Light in the Piazza. Last week, he was featured in a concert presentation of the musical Easter Rising at Joe's Pub.

In addition to Piven, Keri Russell is bowing out before the show's run is completed. She is leaving after the January 15 performance in order to head to the Sundance Film Festival to promote her upcoming movie The Upside of Anger. Jessica Capshaw daughter of Kate Capshaw and a former series regular on The Practice will begin performances on January 17.

After a mostly warm critical reception, Fat Pig, originally scheduled to close on January 15, is now running at the Lucille Lortel through February 5. Original cast members Ashlie Atkinson and Andrew McCarthy are expected to stay with the show through its entire run.