Joe Mantello to Direct LITTLE BEAR RIDGE ROAD Starring Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock

Joe Mantello will direct a new play by Samuel D. Hunter, Little Bear Ridge Road, starring Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock on Broadway this fall. It will play a limited 18-week run at the Booth Theatre beginning Oct. 7, with an official opening on Oct. 30. 

The play marks Hunter’s Broadway debut. It had a critically acclaimed run at The Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago under Mantello. John Drea and Meighan Gerachis will round out the cast.

Little Bear Ridge Road tells the story of a razor-tongued aunt and her long-estranged nephew who have found one another back in their orbits on the outskirts of a small Idaho town. They have a crumbling house to sell, a complicated history to unravel, and a person to connect with. 

Hunter received a MacArthur “Genius” Grant in 2014, and has been harked as one of the nation’s strongest playwrights. He has written plays including The Whale, which was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film, A Bright New Boise, Greater Clements, and A Case for the Existence of God, among others. He is a native of Idaho. 

Little Bear Ridge Road marks the seventh collaboration between director Joe Mantello and Laurie Metcalf, who returns to Broadway for the seventh time in 10 years. Mantello is best known as the director of Wicked, and has worked on shows such as Take Me Out, 9 to 5, Dogfight, The Boys in the Band, and others. 

Scenic design for the production will be by Scott Pask, with costume design by Jessica Pabst, lighting design by Heather Gilbert, and sound design by Mikhail Fiksel.

‍Little Bear Ridge Road runs at the Booth Theatre on West 45th Street in New York City beginning Oct. 7. Ticketing information will be released soon.