Pals Lonergan and Broderick have worked together on Lonergan's films "You Can Count on Me" and the upcoming "Margaret." No dates have been announced for the production, which will play at MTC's City Center home Off-Broadway. (In addition to two Off-Broadway spaces at City Center, MTC also has a home on Broadway — the Biltmore, currently offering LoveMusik.)

Additional information about Lonergan's first new play since 2001 (when Lobby Hereo ran) will be announced in the coming weeks. No dates or creative team were announced.

In The Starry Messenger, according to MTC, "Mark (Broderick) works at the Hayden Planetarium, teaching Upper West Siders about the mysteries of the galaxy. But when this forty-something married man meets a pretty young single mother, his own solar system begins spinning out of control, forcing him to come to terms with the inertia that is his life. Is it too late to try and re-connect with his wife and son? And how did his middling career get so badly off track?"

It's billed as "a wise and stirring New York story from one of America's most insightful playwrights."

Kenneth Lonergan, the playwright lauded for The Waverly Gallery, This Is Our Youth and Lobby Hero, is the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of "You Can Count on Me."

Manhattan Theatre Club's leadership includes Lynne Meadow, artistic director; Barry Grove, executive producer; and Daniel Sullivan, acting artistic director 2007-2008.

Visit www.manhattantheatreclub.com.

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The lauded MTC production of David Harrower's Blackbird is now playing City Center Stage I.