Stephen Earnhart directs the U.S. premiere which he co-adapted with Greg Pierce. The piece is based on the 1998 novel by celebrated Japanese novelist Murakami. Performances run Jan. 12-30, 2010. An official opening has been set for Jan. 15, 2010.

Yaegashi (Take Me Out, A Naked Girl on the Appian Way) leads the cast as Toru Okada, alongside Pepper Fajins, Yoriko Haraguchi, Akira Ito, Yoko Myoi, James Saito, Sonoko Soeda, Yasu Suzuki, Akira Takayama, Toshiji Takeshima, Nana Tsuda, Yoshi Watanabe and Stacey Yen.

"At once a detective story, an account of a disintegrating marriage and an excavation of buried secrets from World War II, this surreal mystery follows an unassuming 'everyman,' Toru Okada, as he searches for his wife who has inexplicably vanished. Toru soon encounters a cast of strange characters, each with their own intriguing stories, who begin showing up in his dreams, opening doors to a hallucinatory world charged with sexuality and violence. As the lines between dreams and reality dissolve, Toru must confront the dark forces that exist inside him as part of his human nature," press notes for The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle state.

Collaborating designers include Tom Lee (set design/puppet design and direction), Laura Mroczkowski (lighting design), Jane Shaw (sound design and music), Oana Ban (costume design), Bora Yoon (music and live performance), Claudia Orenstein (dramaturg), Adam Larsen (projection design), Shawn Duan (projection associate), Andrew Berg (story consultant), Stephanie Gilman (staging director), Karen Beaumont (movement consultant), Colin Kilian (technical director), Jake Witlen (production manager) and Laura Wilson (stage manager).

For tickets phone (212) 352-3101. The Ohio Theatre is located at 66 Wooster Street in Manhattan.