Doug Hughes (Doubt) directs the work based on the novel by Carson McCullers and adapted for the stage by Gilman (Spinning Into Butter). The show officially opens Dec. 3 for a run through Dec. 20 at NYTW's downtown home.

James McDaniel ("NYPD Blue," A Soldier's Play) and Cristin Milioti (The Retributionists, Stunning) are featured in a cast that includes Bob Braswell, Jimonn Cole, Michael Cullen, Randall Newsome, Roslyn Ruff, John Sierros, Henry Stram and Andrew Weems.

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter "follows the story of deaf John Singer as he navigates the world without his dearest friend who has been committed to an insane asylum," according to a synopsis. "When Singer moves to a small Southern town, the locals flock to him as a newfound confidant, seeking compassion and understanding from the one person who needs it the most. Singer's isolation in the world is mirrored in a few of the townspeople he meets along the way — a café owner, a rebellious teenager, a black physician, and an idealistic labor organizer — whose dreams have been shattered."

NYTW opened its season with Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's Aftermath and will continue with Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons' Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers (a co-production with Los Angeles Theatre Works and Affinity Collaborative Theater).