As reported in the New York Times, Champaign-area native U of I graduate Nick Offerman will star as Ignatius J. Reilly in a stage adaptation of John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces.
From the Times article:
This November, the “Parks and Recreation” alumnus Nick Offerman will star in the world premiere production of “A Confederacy of Dunces” with the Huntington Theater Company in Boston. The play is being adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher (“Stage Beauty”) from the beloved 1980 novel of the same name by John Kennedy Toole. Alan Friedman called the novel a “masterwork of comedy” in his review for The New York Times Book Review. Mr. Toole was awarded the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for the novel posthumously; he committed suicide in 1969. Many efforts have been made to adapt the novel. John Belushi, Will Ferrell and Jack Black were among those attached to various film projects that never fully developed. Mr. Offerman will be the first lead in the role, and will move from one outlandish egotist (on “Parks”) to another. “I am simply tumescent at the prospect of assaying the beloved character of Ignatius J. Reilly with our team of magnificent and weird artistic champions,” Mr. Offerman said in a statement. “It seems only fitting that I should follow seven seasons of Ron Swanson’s beef with the pudding of Toole’s corpulent fop.” David Esbjornson will direct. Performances are scheduled to run Nov. 11 through Dec. 13.