TACT/The Actors Company Theatre, devoted to unearthing neglected or rarely revived works, reveals the 1932 play — at once a daffy family comedy, a satire about greed and a rueful rumination on loss, love and authenticity — by Sidney Howard, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of They Knew What They Wanted. This is the play's first professional production in Manhattan in 77 years.

Previews began Nov. 1 at the Beckett Theatre on West 42nd Street. Performances play to Dec. 5.

Strangers from New York City arrive in a sleepy village asking about a doctor's past connection to the title character. Bean, a modern artist, is suddenly hot, and the simple folk of the comedy-drama become more complicated — and flawed — as revelations tumble out.

Jenn Thompson, who staged TACT's acclaimed revival of The Eccentricities of a Nightingale, directs Christopher Bean. She told Playbill.com, "It's really unfathomable to me that Bean has gone underground for so long and we feel incredibly fortunate to be the company bringing this funny and touching play back to New York audiences after a 77-year absence. I think the themes of the play — greed, family, class and status — are so humanly portrayed it's hard for today's audiences not to relate, especially considering the times we're living in."

The cast of The Late Christopher Bean includes TACT company members Mary Bacon as Abby, the doctor's plainspoken maid, Cynthia Darlow as Mrs. Haggett, Greg McFadden as Tallant, James Murtaugh as Dr. Haggett, James Prendergast as art critic Maxwell Davenport, and guest artists Bob Ari as art dealer Rosen, Hunter Canning as local house painter Warren Creamer, Jessiee Datino as younger daughter Susan Haggett and Kate Middleton as elder daughter Ada Haggett.

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According to TACT, "In The Late Christopher Bean, Yankee practicality collides with New York's sophisticated Art World as all hell breaks loose when a celebrated painter's early works are traced to the humble home of a country doctor. Both a biting satire on the destructive power of greed and a touching view of a family in turmoil, this feisty comedy will have you cheering for the most unlikely heroines."

TACT is "dedicated to presenting neglected or rarely produced plays of literary merit."

First published in 1932 under the title Muse of All Work, The Late Christopher Bean had its world premiere at the Ford's Opera House in Baltimore on Oct. 24, 1932, and opened in New York a week later at the Henry Miller's Theatre on Broadway with a cast that included Walter Connolly and Beulah Bondi. Playwright Sidney Howard won the 1925 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for They Knew What They Wanted, later adapted into the Broadway musical The Most Happy Fella. He died at the age of 48 in a farming accident. He was awarded a posthumous Academy Award for his adapted screenplay of "Gone with the Wind."

The Christopher Bean creative team includes Charlie Corcoran (sets), Martha Hally (costumes), Ben Stanton (lights), Stephen Kunken (sound), Mark Berman (original music) and Taline Alexander (properties). Meredith Dixon is production stage manager and Jane Clausen is assistant stage manager.

The Late Christopher Bean plays Monday, Wednesday–Friday at 7:30 PM; Saturday at 2 PM & 8 PM; Sunday at 3 PM.

There will be an additional performance on Nov. 24 at 7:30 PM. There will be no performance on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26.

Tickets are $27.50-$55 and are available 24/7 through Ticket Central www.ticketcentral.com or noon-8 PM daily at (212) 279-4200.

They may also be obtained at the Theatre Row box office (410 West 42nd Street (between 9th & 10th Avenues) between noon and 8 PM daily.

For more information, visit tactnyc.org.