Gavin Creel & Alex Edelman to Join Williamstown Theatre Festival This Summer

Special programming has been revealed for the summer season featuring 2024 Special Tony Award winner Alex Edelman and Tony Award and Olivier Award winner Gavin Creel.
 
On Saturday, July 20 at 5 PM and 8 PM, the good boy comes home. After a wildly successful run of Just For Us on Broadway, for which he received a Special Tony Award, and on the recently released HBO special, Edelman returns to Williamstown with a fresh batch of all new comedy. Called “one of the funniest minds of his generation – or maybe any generation” (Washington Post), this new stand-up show will delight and enlighten. Edelman will be joined by Williamstown’s very own comedian, Maggie Crane, who according to Entertainment Now, allows us “to not only find the funny, but also to find the empathy.”  
 
Alex Edelman’s limited run will be on the MainStage and tickets will go on sale to the public at noon on Thursday, June 20. Tickets will be available to Festival donors at the $250 level and above today, Tuesday, June 18.
 
On Sunday, July 28 at 3 PM, Creel and his band-mates Madeline Benson and Chris Peters will host an up-close and spectacular afternoon of music to benefit Williamstown Theatre Festival. Called “endearing, funny, and relatable” (Time Out New York), Creel will charm audiences with a repertoire blending musical theater classics and pop covers, along with compositions from his new show Walk on Through, based on a commission from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, that takes us on an intimate journey of discovery and transformation through the lens of the art that captures his imagination. 
 
Proceeds from Gavin Creel in Concert benefit Williamstown Theatre Festival. Join us after the show for a celebratory toast.
 
Gavin Creel in Concert will play the specially created Festival Stage inside the MainStage Theater. Tickets are extremely limited and will go on sale to the public at noon on Thursday, June 20. Tickets will be available to Festival donors at the $250 level and above today, Tuesday, June 18.
Gavin Creel will also be in residency at the Festival along with Madeline Benson and Chris Peters. They will join the previously announced playwrights-in-residence Kamilah Bush, John J. Caswell, Jr., Peggy Noonan, and Ellis Stump.
 

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2024 WTF SUMMER SEASON
 

The season’s fully staged shows will be produced in a new space for the Festival: the intimate 150-seat CenterStage, a state-of-the-art versatile performance space in Williams College’s ‘62 Center for Theatre & Dance (1000 Main St, Williamstown, MA 01267) that includes orchestra and balcony seating on three sides. The CenterStage season will include Sara Porkalob’s Dragon Mama, Part II of The Dragon Cycle, directed by Andrew Russell from Tuesday, July 2 through Sunday, July 14, and the world premiere of David Ives’ Pamela Palmer directed by his longtime collaborator  Walter Bobbie (Chicago, Venus in Fur) playing Tuesday, July 23 through Saturday, August 10.
 
In the MainStage, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Rachel Bloom will bring her critically acclaimed musical comedy Death, Let Me Do My Show, directed by Seth Barrish, from Friday, July 5 through Sunday, July 14.
 
“WTF IS NEXT,” the expansive glimpse into a new vision for the Tony Award-recognized Festival taking place Thursday, August 1 through Sunday, August 4 throughout the community of Williamstown. This ambitious new model will surround WTF’s regular summer programming with a robust schedule of not-to-be-missed experiences. From the moment they arrive and throughout this special weekend, guests will be immersed in activities and events that combine the transformative power of theater with the stunning natural beauty of the Berkshires: memorable morning and midday activities, curated experiences, vibrant late-night programming, and more. Central to “WTF IS NEXT” is the Festival’s commitment to fostering community and deepening connections through a broadened concept of theater. For ticketing information, a complete itinerary, and updates on the “WTF IS NEXT” weekend, please visit: www.wtfestival.org/main-events/wtf-is-next2024/ 
 
And WTF’s beloved cabaret series will return to the specially created Festival Stage in the MainStage Theater, curated by Asmeret Ghebremichael, with Tony Award® nominee Christopher Fitzgerald advising, and music direction by Joel Waggoner.
 
The Plastic Bag Store, created, written, designed, and directed by Robin Frohardt, with music by Freddi Price, produced by Pomegranate Arts, and presented with MASS MoCA (housed in Building 1: 1040 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247) runs Thursday, May 9 through Monday, September 2.
 
WTF’s Fridays@3 reading series, curated by the Festival’s Artistic Associate, Lianna Rada-Hung will take place at 3 PM in the Auditorium at the Clark Art Institute (225 South Street, Williamstown, MA 01267). This year’s lineup includes at the very bottom of a body of water by Benjamin Benne, directed by Cat Rodríguez on Friday, July 12; SYLVIA SYLVIA SYLVIA by Beth Hyland on Friday, July 19; Indigo Dreams by Melis Aker, directed by Kate Whoriskey on Friday, July 26; and KILL CORP by Sofia Alvarez, directed by Portia-Krieger/">Portia Krieger on Friday, August 2.
 
This year’s developmental workshops include Alone & Alive written and performed by Joel Waggoner, directed by Brandon Ivie taking place July 18-20; and Marcel On The Train by Marshall Pailet and Ethan Slater, directed by Marshall Pailet, produced by Mix and Match Productions (Maxwell Beer and Mitch Marois) taking place July 30-31.