Berkshire Theatre Festival has announced additional casting for this summer's productions. The new cast members include Tony winners and nominees, multiple veterans of Broadway and Off Broadway as well as many returning BTF alumni. Husband and wife Stephen R. Buntrock and Erin Dilly will be working together on the world premiere of In the Mood. Jenny Powers and Angela Robinson have joined the cast of The Who's Tommy. Rachel Bay Jones of Broadway's Hair will take on the famed title character in Sylvia. Tony Winner Mia Dillon is joining Broadway and BTF alum C.J. Wilson and the previously announced Rebecca Brooksher in Tennessee Williams's serious comedy Period of Adjustment. Film actors Christian Coulson and Amari Cheatom will take on the world premiere two-hander Dutch Masters.
Of the 2011 company Ms. Maguire said, "We have really worked hard to create a company of actors and artistic talent here at Berkshire Theatre Festival. It's always exciting to welcome back people that have created such memorable work and have connected with our patrons and audiences in very real ways. Word of this community has spread throughout the Theatre World and it has resulted in the truly remarkable casts we have assembled this summer. It will be a very exciting summer, not just in Stockbridge, but at our new home in Pittsfield as well."
The Who's Tommy will feature several Broadway show veterans. Joining the previously announced James Barry (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and BTF alum) and Randy Harrison (Wicked and BTF alum) will be Jenny Powers (Little Women, Grease) as Mrs. Walker, Angela Robinson (The Color Purple) as the Acid Queen, Christopher Gurr (Spamalot) as Uncle Ernie and Hannah Shankman (Hair) as Sally Simpson. Also in the cast are Jordan Barbour, Rory Donovan, Jaclyn Miller, Ben Rosenblatt (BTF's Tommy Flowers and Babes in Arms), Zi Alikhan, Aaron Barcelo, Chris Chianesi, Brett Dameron, Rebecca Leigh, Connor McNinch, Paige Scott and Chris Vecchia. Tommy is directed by Eric Hill (BTF's Macbeth and My Fair Lady), Musical Direction by Randy Redd and Choreography by Gerry McIntyre (BTF's My Fair Lady).
Joining the previously announced cast of David Adkins and JurIan Hughes in A. R. Gurney's Sylvia will be Rachel Bay Jones (Hair) and Walter Hudson (BTF's Macbeth and The Einstein Project).
The World Premiere of In the Mood will be directed by Marc Bruni (Associate Director for Anything Goes, Grease and Legally Blonde on Broadway). The cast will feature husband and wife duo Stephen R. Buntrock (A Little Night Music and Grease) and Erin Dilly (Tony Nominee for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). They will be joined by Broadway veterans Arnie Burton (A Free Man of Color, The 39 Steps), Jen Cody (Shrek, The Pajama Game), JohAnna Day (August: Osage County, Proof) and Damian Young (All My Sons, Sacrilege). The show is written by Kathleen Clark.
Director and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright David Auburn (BTF's Sick and A Delicate Balance) closes out the Main Stage season with Tennessee Williams's Period of Adjustment. Auburn, who worked at BTF last summer with the hit production of A Delicate Balance, will reunite with Tony Award Winner Mia Dillon (Crimes of the Heart). The show will feature Rebecca Brooksher (Lincoln Center's Dying City, BTF's Sick), Paul Fitzgerald (Noises Off), Anny Giobbe and C.J. Wilson (Broadway's Henry IV, BTF's Macbeth).
Karen Allen (BTF alum and film actor) takes on the directing role for the 1960s period piece Moonchildren. The Unicorn Theatre production, written by Michael Weller, features Hale Appleman (Roundabout's Streamers, ART's Paradise Lost), Kale Brown (TV's One Life to Live and Days of Our Lives), Aaron Costa Ganis (BTF's Macbeth), Carter Gill, Matt Harrington, Jesse Hinson (BTF's Macbeth), Andrew Joffe, Jeff Kent, Norma Kuhling, Joe Paulik, Samantha Richert (BTF's Babes in Arms and Candide), Miriam Silverman and David Wade Smith.
The World Premiere of Dutch Masters, written by BTF alum Greg Keller, will be directed by Brian Roff. It will feature Amari Cheatom, (film Night Catch Us and The Public Theatre's The Book of Grace) and Christian Coulson (Thomas Riddle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Osvald in The Gate Theatre's Ghosts).
The BTF fall production of the World Premiere of Birthday Boy, by Chris Newbound, will feature two BTF favorites: Tara Franklin (Educating Rita, Ghosts, and The Guardsman) and Keira Naughton (Broadway's The Rivals, BTF's Macbeth and Faith Healer). They will be joined by Nick Dillenburg and James Ludwig and directed by Wes Grantom.
Finally, the BTF Unicorn Company production of Finian's Rainbow will feature a cast of Alexandra Albrecht, Aaron Barcelo, Ryan Chittaphong, Rory Donovan, Ashley Everages, Ricardo Gayle, Joshua Marx, Aubrey Sinn, Robbie Williams and Aaron Carlton Wright. The show is directed by Kyle Fabel (BTF's No Wake), Musical Direction by Aaron Jodoin and movement by
Whitney Hunter (Garden of Earthly Delights).
Season passes to either the Main Stage or the Unicorn are still available. Contact the BTF Box Office at 413-298-5576 or visit www.berkshiretheatre.org for more information. Single tickets for all Main Stage and Unicorn productions are on sale as well. Contact the Box Office for more details. All plays, schedules, casting, and prices are subject to change.
