Balaban is known for his turns in such movies as "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "Bob Roberts," "Cradle Will Rock," "Gosford Park" and the Christopher Guest-directed comedies "Waiting for Guffman," "Best in Show" and the current "A Mighty Wind." He has made notable guest appearances as the head of NBC on "Seinfeld" and a long-lost father on "Friends." Balaban has been seen on the Broadway stage in Plaza Suite, Some of My Best Friends, The Inspector General and Speed the-Plow.

Lane, who has been making secret guest appearances in the current Broadway run of The Play What I Wrote, won the Tony Award for his turn in The Producers and previously for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Other credits include The Man Who Came to Dinner, Guys and Dolls, Love! Valour! Compassion! and Laughter on the 23rd Floor.

Robbins has appeared in the rotating casts of The Exonerated and The Guys. The actor is known for his work in such films as "The Shawshank Redemption," "The Hudsucker Proxy," "The Player" and "Bull Durham."

Culled from the letters of legendary blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo — the playwright's father — Trumbo tells the story of one of the "Hollywood Ten" who went before the House Un-American Activities Committee. After refusing to answer questions about his political affiliations, Trumbo was fired from MGM and imprisoned for a year.

Peter Askin (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Sexaholix... a love story) directs the work presented by Claudia Catania and the Westside Theatre with the help of People For the American Way. The actors utilize a script-in-hand technique as employed in such other rotating cast works as The Vagina Monologues and The Guys. Chris Cooper and Alec Baldwin are also scheduled to play the title role. Giamatti previously played opposite Dreyfuss as Trumbo's son. Gordon MacDonald played the latter role opposite Ed Harris in the first performance of the work on March 31. Balaban replaces the previously announced Eddie Izzard.

The stagework's focus, Trumbo, wrote such screenplays as "The Brave One," "Exodus," "Spartacus," "Roman Holiday," and "Papillon" as well as the novel "Johnny Got His Gun."

The aforementioned actors take on the title role for one performance each. Predominantly known for their film work, the actors are scheduled as follows: