Casting Set for MTC's Pumpgirl

Casting has been announced for Manhattan Theatre Club's American premiere of Abbie Spallen's Pumpgirl. Hannah Cabell, Geraldine Hughes and Paul Sparks will star in the production, which begins previews on November 8 at New York City Center's Stage II and will open on December 4, directed by Carolyn Cantor.

Pumpgirl shapes a startling tale of three lives colliding in rural Ireland. The play unfolds with the story of a homely, tomboyish pump girl Cabell at a rundown gas station. When a local racetrack star Sparks becomes the focus of her obsession, the affair threatens more than the feelings of his disenchanted wife Hughes. A blazing success last season in Edinburgh and at London's Bush Theatre, the play is in the best tradition of richly detailed and unforgettable Irish storytelling.

Cabell played the title role in The Acting Company's production of Jane Eyre. New York credits include Millicent Scowlworthy, Mark Smith, Uncivil Wars, Fallen Petals and A Perfect Wedding. Regional credits include Sedition and Mary's Wedding.

Hughes co-starred in MTC's Broadway production of Translations last season, just after the release of her featured performance in the film Rocky Balboa. She wrote and starred in the acclaimed one-woman show Belfast Blues. Other stage credits include Kevin's Bed, The Cripple of Inishmaan, The Weir, The Architect, When I Was A Girl... and the Los Angeles production of Orson's Shadow.

Sparks has appeared on Broadway in Take Me Out. Off-Broadway credits include American Sligo, Essential Self Defense, Lady, Finer Noble Gases, Landscape of the Body, Orange Flower Water, Bug, Blackbird,, Circumference of a Squirrel, Coyote on a Fence, The Late Henry Moss, Compleat Female Stage Beauty, Man and Superman and Macbeth.

The creative team for Pumpgirl includes David Korins scenic design, Mimi O'Donnell costume design, David Weiner lighting design, Robert Kaplowitz sound design and Deborah Hecht dialect coach.