Irish actors Rosaleen Linehan and Dearbhla Molloy are the lead performers in Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan, which has its West Coast premiere beginning previews Oct. 20 for a Oct. 28-Nov. 22 run at the Geffen Playhouse.

Joe Dowling, former artistic director of Dublin's Abbey Theatre and current head of The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, directs a cast that also includes L.A.-based actors J.D. Cullum, Thomas MacGreevy, Paul O'Brien, Barbara Tarbuck and Max Wright (Twelfth Night), among others.

McDonagh was hailed by Benedict Nightingale in the New York Times as "the most wickedly funny, brilliantly abrasive young dramatist on either side of the Irish Sea."

Set in 1934 on one of the three Aran Islands off the West Coast of Ireland, Inishmaan is a quirky comic tale that dramatizes the effect upon the islanders of the nearby filming of Robert Flaherty's Man of Aran, a documentary about local fishermen. "As word spreads that the director is coming from Hollywood, the young cripple Billy spots his chance to break free from the tedium of his drab daily existence -- and impress the local girl on whom he has a major crush," said a company spokesperson.

Inishmaan, by the author of The Beauty Queen of Leenane, runs through Nov. 22 at the Geffen Playhouse, 10886 LeConte Ave. Tickets are $25-$40. Call (310) 208 5454 or Ticketmaster for information. -- By Sean McGrath and Willard Manus