Lonergan's Starry Messenger Joins MTC's 2007-08 Season; Broderick Stars

Kenneth Lonergan's The Starry Messenger, which was originally set to open on Broadway in April, will now premiere as part of Manhattan Theater Club's 2007-08 off-Broadway season at City Center. According to The New York Times, Matthew Broderick is still attached to star in the new play.

The Starry Messenger was originally on the schedule at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre for a run from January 13 through February 18, 2007, prior to a Broadway transfer. That engagement was cancelled last fall, blamed on Lonergan's commitment to finishing his latest film, Margaret.

After achieving stage success with This Is Our Youth and Lobby Hero, Lonergan wrote and directed the 2000 movie hit You Can Count on Me. Broderick, a childhood friend of Lonergan's in New York City, appeared in You Can Count on Me and also has a role in Margaret.

In The Starry Messenger, Mark Broderick works at the Hayden Planetarium, teaching Upper West Siders about the mysteries of the galaxy. But when this forty-something married man meets a pretty young single mother, his own solar system begins spinning out of control, forcing him to come to terms with the inertia that is his life. Is it too late to try and re-connect with his wife and son? And how did his middling career get so badly off track?