Coming this season: Testosterone. And lots of it.

Those tough sons-of-bitches at the Atlantic Theater Company have outdone themselves this time. The 2009-10 season is a (mostly) testosterone-fueled program of plays by men who write about manly men. Mainly.

They kick off with two one-acts by David (you either love him or you hate him) Fucking Mamet; a farce called Keep Your Pantheon (Get it? It's a play on words.) and another comedy called School. Mamet was a founding member of the Atlantic, which is a damn lucky thing for them.

After that punch in the face, we have Ages of the Moon, the new comedy by cowboy roughneck Sam Shepard. It's a two-hander about men talking while they drink bourbon. It was a big hit at the Abbey Theater in Dublin where it premiered and will star Irish actors Sean McGinley and Stephen Rea, who originated the roles in Dublin. It's always a treat to see the original cast.

As though that weren't a big enough kick in the nuts, Irish ball buster Martin McDonagh follows with A Behanding in Spokane. This will open on Broadway (as opposed to the intimate Atlantic Theater on W. 20th St.) in the spring. It's McDonagh's first play set on U.S. soil. I saw The Pillowman on Broadway. He managed to write about violence against children in a darkly funny way. His stuff is like that.

The season closes with Gabriel by British playwright Moira Buffini. I'm not sure who she is.