The American premiere of Jez Butterworth's The Night Heron will kick off the 2004 season, Sept. 17-Nov. 9. Opening night is slated for Oct. 7. The work, to be directed by Atlantic artistic director Neil Pepe, follows the story of two best friends who share a ramshackle house in England and what happens when a third boarder is invited into their home. Butterworth and Pepe have previously collaborated on the ATC staging of Mojo.

Keith Reddin's Frame 312 plays next at the ATC, Nov. 25-Jan. 11, 2004, opening in mid-December. Karen Kohlhaas directs the play in which a former Time Life editorial secretary reveals a long-kept secret surrounding the Kennedy assassination.

Howard Korder's Sea of Tranquility receives its world premiere staging Off Broadway, Jan. 28-March 21, 2004, with an opening scheduled for mid-February. Pepe also directs this work that centers on a volunteer analyst who grapples with his own dark past as he attempts to help others.

Playwright Tina Howe will see the premiere of her translation of Eugene Ionesco's The Bald Soprano and The Lesson, running April 13-June 6, 2004, with an official opening night May 6. Carl Forsman directs both classic absurd plays which will be presented as a double-bill.

Howe has penned the Tony Award-nominated Coastal Disturbances as well as The Nest, Birth and After Birth, Museum, The Art of Dining, Painting Churches, Approaching Zanzibar, One Shoe Off, Pride’s Crossing and Rembrandt's Gift. The Atlantic Theater Company is located at 336 West 20th Street. For tickets, call (212) 239-6200. For more information, visit www.atlantictheater.org.