Roundabout Theatre Company has announced two new productions for their fall schedule, If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet and Bad Jews.
If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet is the American premiere of Nick Payne’s comic drama that will be directed by Michael Longhurst with an ensemble cast that includes Jake Gyllenhaal who is making his American stage debut.
The story follows fifteen-year-old Anna, whose weight makes her a natural target for bullies. When her mom transfers Anna to the school where she teaches in order to protect her daughter, it only makes things worse. Anna’s environmentalist dad, determined to finish his new book and save the planet, is no help at all. Just as Anna gets suspended for retaliating with a head-butt, her estranged uncle Terry (Gyllenhaal) arrives unannounced. A heartbroken drifter with the mouth of a sailor, Terry reaches out to Anna in a way that no one ever has. Their unexpected friendship sends her parents’ rocky marriage into a tailspin as the whole family wonders, what–or who–really needs saving?
Gyllenhaal made his stage debut starring in Kenneth Lonergan’s revival of This is Our Youth, on London’s West End. For his performance he won an Evening Standard Theater Award for “Outstanding Newcomer.”
The second play, Bad Jews, is a new work by Joshua Elias Harmon and directed by Daniel Aukin. The world premiere production launches the sixth season of Roundabout Underground following five critically acclaimed seasons of world-premiere productions since its premiere in 2007. The cast and creative team will be announced shortly.
