Making his Off-Broadway directorial debut, Nov. 28, is Michael Rupert, best known for his roles in Falsettos and Three Guys Naked From The Waist Down. Rupert will stage The Lunch Anxieties, a new absurdist comedy by Larry Kunofsky.

Lunch looks at four friends whose fears and desires collide at lunchtime. The play asks: Will Roy give up his obsession with Mira's anatomy? Will the talking rats in Richard and Mira's apartment stop being so rude? And will Death leave Roy alone?

A former Resident Playwright at the Edward Albee Foundation, Kunofsky won Do Gooder Productions' second annual New Playwright Award with this work, which begins previews Nov. 28, opens Dec. 3 and runs to Jan. 25, 1998. Director Rupert starred in the new musical Don't Stop The Carnival At Florida's Coconut Grove Playhouse in April.

Starring in The Lunch Anxieties are Brian Quirk, Tracey Stroock, Jeffrey Yates, Gabra Zackman and Mark Robert Gordon. The latter is Do Gooder's founding artistic director. Designing the show are Andy Warfel (sets), Chris Dallos (lighting), Melissa Schlactmeyer (costumes) and Vincent Apollo (sound).

Now in its third season, Do Gooder is dedicated to doing "theatre as a forum for risk." Previous shows have included My Soul Is Mine, On Deaf Ears and The Magic Formula. All or part of box office proceeds are usually given to charity, with a portion of Anxiety's grosses to be divided among eight different organizations. For tickets and information on The Lunch Anxieties at the Harold Clurman Theatre on West 42nd Street, call (212) 581-8852.

--By David Lefkowitz