Berkeley Rep artistic director Tony Taccone will direct the project created and performed by the Jails, Hospitals & Hip Hop star. Previews begin Jan. 11, 2008, at the company's Thrust Stage toward a Jan. 16 opening for a run slated through Feb. 10.

Taking Over, according to show notes, "captures the indelible characters of his neighborhood in Brooklyn, where the melting pot is boiling over with ethnic and economic tensions."

"There's nowhere I'd rather launch a new show than Berkeley Rep," said Hoch in a statement. "Tony is simply one of the best directors out there – despite the fact that I yell at him all the time. I can't wait to get back on that stage."

"It's a thrill to bring Danny back to Berkeley Rep. I've been trying for four years to get him to perform again – and he's back with a vengeance," stated Taccone. "We've been developing this show together, and it has all the elements of his best work. As usual, Danny doesn't pull any punches as he becomes people from all ethnicities and all walks of life."

Taking Over was workshopped — alongside his recent Till the Break of Dawn (which played Off-Broadway in September) — earlier this year at Berkeley Rep. Hoch earned acclaim for his solo show Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop, which made its world premiere at Berkeley Rep in 1997. The work earned him two Obie Awards and an Edinburgh Fringe First Award. In 2000 Hoch founded the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, which still appears annually in Chicago, New York, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, D.C. He adapted, co-directed and starred in the film version of "Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop" and had an HBO special "Some People." His acting credits include "American Splendor," "Bamboozled," "Blackhawk Down," "Subway Stories," "The Thin Red Line," "War of the Worlds" and the recent "We Own the Night."

Berkeley Rep currently presents the extended runs of Frank Galati's stage adaptation of after the quake (through Dec. 2) and Mary Zimmerman's Argonautika (through Dec. 16). The season will continue with Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking (Feb. 15-March 30, 2008), Will Eno's Tragedy: a tragedy (March 28-April 27, 2008) and Theatre de la Jeune Lune's Figaro (April 25-June 8, 2008).

Tickets to shows at Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison Street in Berkeley, CA are available by calling (510) 647-2949 or toll free at (888) 4 BRT-tix. For more information visit the website at www.berkeleyrep.org.