Jake Gyllenhaal to star in off-Broadway play

Jake Gyllenhaal is set to star in an off-Broadway play from the Roundabout Theatre Company. The Oscar-nominated actor will appear in the ensemble comedy-drama “If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet” by British playwright Nick Payne.

Gyllenhaal has acted on stage in London, but this would be his U.S. stage debut. Organizers said Thursday that the play is scheduled to open Sept. 20 at the Laura Pels Theatre in New York.

A summary of the play provided by the Roundabout states that the story revolves around a 15-year-old girl with a weight problem. Gyllenhaal will play the girl’s uncle, a drifter who arrives at her home unannounced and forms an unlikely friendship.

The rest of the cast will be announced later, said the Roundabout. The play will be directed by Michael Longhurst.

Gyllenhaal starred in a 2002 London stage production of Kenneth Lonergan’s “This Is Our Youth” with Anna Paquin and Hayden Christensen.

Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jake’s sister, has appeared off-Broadway a number of the times, including a production of “Three Sisters” at Classic Stage Company in downtown New York. In L.A., audiences saw her in the Mark Taper Forum’s 2003 production of Tony Kushner’s “Homebody/Kabul,” which headed on to New York.

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-- David Ng