The Office's Jenna Fischer has found her first post-Dunder Mifflin job. Deadline.com reports that Fischer is heading off-Broadway to lead Neil LaBute's Reasons to Be Happy, the upcoming sequel to his 2008 play Reasons to be Pretty. Directed by LaBute, the MCC production will run May 16 through June 23 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. No further casting has been announced at this time.
Featuring the same characters from its predecessor, Reasons to Be Happy begins three years after a contentious break-up, with Steph (Fischer) and Greg wondering if they can make a fresh go of it. Trouble is, she’s married to someone else and he’s just embarked on a relationship with Steph’s best friend, Carly, a single mom whose jealous ex-husband, Kent, has trouble articulating his feelings. Navigating the rocky landscape of conflicting agendas and exploding emotions isn’t going to be an easy task for any of them.
Reasons to Be Pretty premiered off-Broadway at the Lortel in June 2008, starring Piper Perabo as Carly, Alison Pill as Steph, Thomas Sadoski as Greg and Pablo Schreiber as Kent. The play won the Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for Favorite New Off-Broadway Play and later transferred to Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre, opening on April 2, 2009. Pill and Schreiber were replaced for the Broadway run by Marin Ireland and Steven Pasquale, respectively. The show went on to receive three Tony nominations including Best Play.
This will mark the stage debut for Fischer, who earned an Emmy nomination for playing Pam on NBC's The Office. Her other film and TV credits include Blades of Glory, Hall Pass, Solitary Man and That 70s Show.