The play was written by British playwright Nick Payne, centering on a 15-year-old girl with a weight problem. Anna gets bullied at her school for her weight so her mother transfers her to the school where she teaches, only to make things worse. Gyllenhaal is set to play the girl's estranged uncle, a heartbroken drifter who arrives at her home unannounced and forms an unlikely friendship.
The play, which is directed by Michael Longhurst, begins previews on August 24. The rest of the cast will be announced soon. It was a critical hit when it premiered at London's Bush Theatre three years ago.
Gyllenhaal had taken the stage play before in London but this would be his first in U.S. He starred in Kenneth Lonergan's "This Is Our Youth" in 2002 alongside Hayden Christensen and Anna Paquin.