Lucy Kirkwood's newest dark comedy, The Welkin, premieres Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company May 16. Directed by Sarah Benson, the piece will play through June 30, with opening night set for June 12.

Set in rural England in 1759, the piece centers on a young woman who has been sentenced to death. When she tries to escape the noose by claiming she is pregnant, 12 ordinary women are gathered to decide whether she is telling the truth as the country awaits the return of Halley’s comet.

The Welkin stars b (Toros, American (tele)visions), Tilly Botsford, Paige Gilbert (A Raisin In The Sun, Skin of Our Teeth), Ann Harada (Into the Woods, Avenue Q), Jenn Kidwell (Underground Railroad Game), Mary McCann (Harper Regan), Emily Cass McDonnell (I’m Revolting, The Thin Place), MacKenzie Mercer (Frozen), Sandra Oh (The Sympathizer, Quiz Lady), Dale Soules (Orange Is The New Black, Hair), Danny Wolohan (Camelot, To Kill a Mockingbird), Haley Wong (Mary Gets Hers), Hannah Cabell (The Father), Glenn Fitzgerald (The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window), Nadine Malouf (Grief Hotel), Susannah Perkins (The Wolves), and Simone Recasner (Ain't No Mo').

The Welkin features sets by dots, costumes by Kaye Voyce, lights by Stacey Derosier, sound by Palmer Hefferan, special effects by Jeremy Chernick, hair and wigs by Cookie Jordan, makeup by Gabrielle Vincent, movement by David Neumann, intimacy direction by Crista Marie Jackson, and casting by The Telsey Office. Amanda Spooner serves as the production stage manager.

Visit AtlanticTheater.org.