Suzan-Lori Parks' Pulitzer Prize-winning work kicks off the company's 2012-13 season. Parks (The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess) also — for the first time — directs the work, which began previews Sept. 8 in NJ. 

Topdog/Underdog, according to Two River, "tells the story of two brothers, Lincoln and Booth — names given to them as a joke by their father. Each day, Lincoln puts on a top hat and a fake beard and goes to work in a seedy arcade, where tourists come for the chance to shoot Honest Abe. Booth is obsessed with a street con game, three-card monte. Striving for a better life, bound by their love for each other, they are haunted by their own pasts — and our country's history." Performances continue through Sept. 30.

Other members of the creative team include Tony Award-winning scenic and lighting designer Christopher Akerlind, Tony-nominated costume designer ESosa, sound designer Brendan Connelly, fight director Thomas Schall and production stage manager Amanda Michaels. 

Read more about the company's eight-play season, which includes Ethan Lipton's No Place to Go; William Shakespeare's Henry V; the world premiere of A Wind in the Willows Christmas; and Present Laughter, starring Michael Cumpsty, among others.

Two River Theater is located at 21 Bridge Avenue in Red Bank, NJ. For more information and tickets, call (732) 345-1400 or visit TRTC.org.