Offerman is no stranger to regional theatre, having acted and worked backstage extensively in Chicago theatres, including the Goodman and Steppenwolf, during the 1990s. He co-founded the Defiant Theatre company (1993-2004) in that city.

Offerman will play the lead in the play adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the 1980 novel by John Kennedy O’Toole about an oddball named Ignatius Jacques Reilly who lives at home with his mom and has adventures in and around New Orleans in his quest to land a job.

David Esbjornson will direct the production, which is scheduled to run Nov. 11-Dec. 13 at the Huntington mainstage in Boston.

It’s a very different role from the one he plays in “Parks and Recreation.” Or is it? A typical Swanson line: “We will get along just fine, though hopefully not too fine, because I am not looking for any new friends. End speech.”

A typical Reilly line: "I mingle with my peers or no one, and since I have no peers, I mingle with no one."