The Williamstown Theatre Festival has announced its three Main Stage plays for the forthcoming Summer 2011 season. This will be the first season under the new leadership of Artistic Director Jenny Gersten, who previously served as the Associate Producer for New York’s Public Theater.
A new pre-Broadway revival of You Can’t Take It With You will open the Main Stage lineup from July 1-23. To be directed by Christopher Ashley (Memphis, Xanadu), this old chestnut written by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman will amuse audiences with a quirky dinner escapade thrown together by the Sycamore family, as a result of the daughter’s fiance’s family showing up unexpectedly. No casting information was available. After its Williamstown run, it will transfer to Broadway in August.
Former Artistic Director Nicholas Martin will direct the next offering, She Stoops to Conquer. Scheduled from July 27-August 7, it is a bawdy comedy set in the 18th century full of hilariously madcap mistaken identities all set into motion by a practical joke. An array of Williamstown all-stars–Brooks Ashmanskas, Paxton Whitehead and Kristine Nielsen–make up the principal cast.
The music of Rodgers and Hart is highlighted in a new musical revue entitled Ten Cents a Dance, running from August 11-28. To be conceived and directed by Tony winner John Doyle (Company, Sweeney Todd), the show will employ Doyle’s signature concept of doubling actors as musicians, or vice versa. Classic Rodgers and Hart tunes will be heard throughout: “The Lady is a Tramp”, “Blue Moon”, “Isn’t It Romantic?” Malcolm Gets (NBC’s “Caroline in the City”), Lauren Molina (Rock of Ages) and Jane Pfitsch (Company, Les Liaison Dangereuses) will lead the cast.
The three shows for the secondary Nikos Stage will be named at a later date. With the entire season scheduled for June 22-August 28, the venerable Williamstown, MA, organization has been a top-drawer Berkshires cultural tradition for 56 strong years now. Coexisting with several other major institutions like Tanglewood and Jacob’s Pillow, The Berkshires in western Massachusetts is a summer arts retreat like no other. For Williamstown ticket information, visit www.wtfestival.org.
Categories: Theater
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