Kristen Johnston Will Lead Cast in Atlantic's Scarcity

Casting is complete for the Atlantic Theater Company's upcoming world premiere production of Lucy Thurber's Scarcity, the first production of the off-Broadway company's 2007-08 season. The play will begin previews on August 29 and open on October 4, directed by Jackson Gay.

Scarcity will feature Atlantic Company members Kristen Johnston, Maggie Kiley and Todd Weeks, plus Meredith Brandt, Jesse Eisenberg, Miriam Shor and Michael T. Weiss.

Set in rural western Massachusetts, Scarcity tells the tale of two siblings whose aspirations to escape the confines of poverty and small-town life come into direct conflict with their sense of family responsibility. When 16-year-old Billy Eisenberg is afforded an opportunity to change schools and move out of town by an unusually attentive young teacher, his family starts to unravel around him. The play explores the reality of how class in America shapes our very image of ourselves. Thurber is the author of Stay, which was presented off-Broadway last season, and Where We're Born, Ashville, Killers and Other Family and Monstrosity.

Two time Emmy Award winner and Atlantic Company member Johnston is best known to television audiences for playing Sally Soloman on the hit NBC series 3rd Rock from the Sun. She received a Drama Desk nomination for the company's production of The Lights and also starred in Rosemary for Remembrance and Five Very Live. Her Broadway and Central Park credits include The Women, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing and The Skin of Our Teeth. Off-Broadway credits include The Baltimore Waltz, Hot Keys, The Stand In, Kim's Sister, Baby Anger and Aunt Dan and Lemon.

Company member Kiley recently appeared in Atlantic's revival of Tina Howe's Birth and After Birth and in Howe's acclaimed adaptation of Ionesco's The Lesson. She will soon appear on the big screen opposite Mark Wahlberg in the feature film We Own the Night. Other off-Broadway credits include The Water Engine and Frame 312.

Company member Weeks appeared in Atlantic's hit productions of David Mamet's The Voysey Inheritance and the world premiere of Romance as well as Sea of Tranquillity, The Cider House Rules, Distant Fires, Shaker Heights, Down the Shore, Boys' Life and The Lights. Broadway credits include The Full Monty, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Summer and Smoke and Our Town.

Eisenberg recently appeared on stage opposite Al Pacino in Lyle Kessler's Orphans in Los Angeles. He earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his role opposite Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels in the acclaimed independent feature The Squid and the Whale. Brandt, age 11, is making her off-Broadway debut.

Shor starred in the original off-Broadway production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch as well as the feature film adaptation. Other off-Broadway credits include Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams, Boy, Almost Maine, Mondo Drama and Book of Days. She appeared as Hodel opposite Theodore Bikel in the 30th anniversary tour of Fiddler on the Roof.

Weiss recently starred in Burn This at Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, where he also starred in Les Liaisons Dangereuses. He is best known for playing Jarrod on the hit NBC series The Pretender and for the feature film Jeffrey.