Berkeley Rep artistic director Tony Taccone directs the project created and performed by the Jails, Hospitals & Hip Hop star. The show will officially open at the company's Thrust Stage Jan. 16 for a run slated through Feb. 10.

Taking Over, according to show notes, "captures the indelible characters of [Hoch's] 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 previous 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," Taccone added. "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 the recent Till the Break of Dawn (which played Off-Broadway in September) — earlier this year at Berkeley Rep. The production features music composed by Asa Taccone and Drew Campbell. 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's season will continue with Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking (Feb. 15-March 30), Will Eno's Tragedy: a tragedy (March 28-April 27) and Theatre de la Jeune Lune's Figaro (April 25-June 8).

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.