By the Way, Meet Vera Stark: S. Lathan stars

Second Stage Theatre has announced that Tony Award nominee Sanaa Lathan (A Raisin In The Sun) will play the title role of 'Vera Stark' in their world premiere production of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, the new play by Lynn Nottage, directed by Jo Bonney. She joins the previously announced Stephanie J. Block, Daniel Breaker, Kimberly Hebert Gregory, Kevin Isola and Karen Olivo.

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark is Nottage's first play to be produced in New York since she won the Pulitzer Prize for 'Ruined' in 2009. The comedy opens at Second Stage Theatre on 9 May 2011, following previews from 6 Apr, and plays through to 22 May 2011.

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark is a seventy year journey through the life of Vera Stark, a headstrong African-American maid and budding actress, and her tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star desperately grasping to hold on to her career. When circumstances collide and both women land roles in the same Southern epic, the story behind the cameras leaves Vera with a surprising and controversial legacy scholars will debate for years to come.

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark will feature scenic design by Neil Patel, lighting design by David Weiner, costume design by ESosa and original music & sound design by John Gromada.

Sanaa Lathan (Vera Stark) recently starred as 'Maggie the Cat' in the West End revival of' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.' Her previous theatre credits include: 'Beneatha Younger' in 'A Raisin In The Sun' with Sean Combs (Tony Award Nomination); 'Isabella' in 'Measure For Measure' opposite Billy Crudup at The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park; 'Emily Webb' in 'Our Town' at South Coast Repertory; 'Por'knockers' at The Vineyard Theater; 'A Movie Star Has To Star In Black and White' at the Public Theater; and 'Viola' in 'Twelfth Night' at Yale Repertory Theater. Her film credits include the upcoming Steven Soderbergh film 'Contagion,' opposite Matt Damon and Kate Winslet, opening in October, 'Wonderful World' opposite Matthew Broderick,' The Family That Preys' with Tyler Perry, 'Something New,' 'Alien vs. Predator,' 'Out Of Time' opposite Denzel Washington, 'Brown Sugar, Love and Basketball' and 'The Best Man. Her television credits include: "The Cleveland Show," "A Raisin in the Sun," "Nip/Tuck," and HBO's "Disappearing Acts."