Hal Brooks, who has previously staged Nilaja Sun's Obie Award-winning work No Child… and consulted for Colin Quinn's Broadway outing in Long Story Short, directs the production that will run through Oct. 23.

The cast includes Pearl company members Abraham (Mrs. Martin), Botchan (Mrs. Smith), Robin Leslie Brown (Mary), Cover (Mr. Smith), Dan Daily (The Fire Chief), as well as guest actor Heberlee (Mr. Martin).

According to the Pearl, "The play is renowned for its comic caricatures and absurd hilarity. When Ionesco attempted a self-taught English language program in the 1940s, he was startled by how banal, uncommunicative, and absurd the phrases he was learning were. And what he called a 'tragedy of language' became the basis for his first play. Set in a bourgeois English household, the comedy displays the bizarre and comic disintegration of language and communication. The title is thought to have originated from a verbal slip-up by an actor during the original rehearsal period."

The design team includes Harry Feiner (scenic design), Barbara A. Bell (costume design), Stephen Petrilli (lighting design) and M.L. Dogg (sound design).

For tickets, phone (212) 581-1212 or visit PearlTheatre. New York City Center Stage II is located at West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues.