Laurie Metcalf Joins Cast of Mamet Political Comedy November

Laurie Metcalf will join Nathan Lane in the cast of the forthcoming Broadway production of David Mamet's November, according to Variety. Described as a political comedy, the play will begin performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on December 20 and open on January 17, 2008, directed by Joe Mantello.

Metcalf will play an aide to U.S. president Charles Smith Lane in the story of the incumbent's political misadventures days before an election. The remaining actors in the cast of five are not yet set.

A founding member of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble, Metcalf made her New York stage debut in the company's acclaimed production of Balm in Gilead and later appeared off-Broadway in Bodies, Rest and Motion and Educating Rita and on Broadway in My Thing of Love. Her Steppenwolf credits include Libra, My Thing of Love, Educating Rita, You Can't Take It With You, Coyote Ugly and The Glass Menagerie. The winner of three Emmy Awards for Roseanne, Metcalf has also appeared on TV's Desperate Housewives.