The Curtain Rises for Bay Street’s Season

Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor is breaking out the big guns during the coming week with Paula Poundstone, the Emmy Award-winning comedian, bringing her stand-up act to the theater on Saturday evening at 8, and the world premiere of “The New Sincerity,” a comedy written by Alena Smith and directed by Bob Balaban, opening on Tuesday and running through June 14.

Ms. Poundstone has performed a number of times at Bay Street and sold out her Memorial Day weekend concert last year. Known for her spontaneous interaction with her audiences, she is a panelist on NPR’s weekly news quiz show, “Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me.”

She was the first woman to win a Cable Ace Award for Best Stand-up Comedy Special and the first woman to perform stand-up at the White House Correspondents dinner. She has had numerous comedy specials and television appearances, covered the ’92 election for Jay Leno, and released her second comedy CD, “I Heart Jokes: Paula Tells Them in Boston,” in 2013.

Tickets are priced from $69 to $129 and going fast.

“The New Sincerity” focuses on Rose Spencer, a young journalist who gets involved with an Occupy-style movement and finds herself in a love triangle that makes it difficult to distinguish between sincere action and skillful self-promotion. The play emerged in part from the author’s own experience with the Occupy movement in 2011.

Ms. Smith was named one of 10 television writers-to-watch by Variety in 2014. She currently writes for the Showtime series “The Affair,” which is set on the East End, and has previously written for HBO’s “The Newsroom.” She also created the popular Twitter feed “Tween Hobo: Off the Rails,” which led to the publication of a book of the same title.

Mr. Balaban, who lives in Bridgehampton, has had a long career as an actor and director for films and television. His films have ranged from “Catch-22” to “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” his TV resumé includes “Seinfeld” and “The West Wing,” and the documentaries “Bernard and Doris” and “Georgia O’Keeffe” are among his directorial credits.

Leading the cast are Teddy Bergman (Benjamin), Peter Mark Kendall (Django), Justine Lupe (Rose), and Elvy Yost (Natasha), all of whom have extensive experience in theater, film, and television.

Performances will take place Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays at 7 p.m. and Thursdays through Saturdays at 8, with 2 p.m. matinees scheduled for June 3, 7, 10, and 14. Tickets range in price from $60.75 to $75.