The staging of the new Churchill, directed by James MacDonald, is set to begin previews at the downtown venue Nov. 16 and open Dec. 7. James MacDonald directs.

In A Number, a father clones his son over a number of times. Michael Gambon played the patriarch opposite Daniel Craig as three of a score of his multiple sons in the world premiere of the work at London's Royal Court Theatre.

Actor-director Shepard is known in theatre mainly as a playwright for such works as True West and his Pulitzer Prize winner Buried Child. The Churchill work will mark the actor's return to the stage in over 30 years. In film, he has appeared "Days of Heaven," "The Right Stuff," "Fool for Love," "Crimes of the Heart," "Baby Boom," "Steel Magnolias" and "The Pelican Brief."

Roberts played in the recent Off-Broadway revival of Burn This opposite Catherine Keener and Edward Norton. He was also seen in True Love and Nocturne. Other stage credits include Enter the Night, Compleat Female Stage Beauty, Finer Noble Gases and Tatjana in Color. On screen, Roberts appeared in the recent Michael Mayer feature debut "A Home at the End of the World."

The design team for A Number includes Eugene Lee (scenic), Gabriel Berry (costume), Edward Pierce (lighting) and Darron L. West (sound). Martha Donaldson serves as production stage manager. Stephen Daldry ("The Hours," "Billy Elliott") — who staged another Churchill hour-long play Far Away for NYTW — directed the London run and had previously been reported to bring the work to New York. Actor Peter Sarsgaard (Burn This, "Garden State") was also mentioned to star opposite Shepard.

Tickets to A Number at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th Street (between Second Ave. and Bowery) will be available Oct. 11 by calling (212) 239-6200. For more information, visit www.nytw.org.