Hecht, Baker et al. Lead Williamstown Theatre Festival this Summer; Casting Announced

Artistic Director Nicholas Martin has announced the casting for the next three productions of the Williamstown Theatre Festival's 2010 Season: Our Town by Thornton Wilder, playing the Main Stage July 28 - August 8, Fifth of July by Lanford Wilson playing the Main Stage August 11 - 22, and the world premiere of After the Revolution by Amy Herzog on the Nikos Stage July 21 - August 1.

On the Main Stage, Artistic Director Nicholas Martin directs Thornton Wilder's masterpiece examination of small town America, Our Town. Set not far from the Festival's Berkshire home in the fictional Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, Our Town explores the beauty in the seemingly mundane lives of people in a small town.

Martin assembles a cast of Festival family to appear in his last directing turn as Artistic Director. The cast features Becky Ann Baker (All My Sons) as Mrs. Gibbs, Dylan Baker (God of Carnage) as Mr. Webb, Kevin Cahoon (The Wedding Singer) as Joe Stoddard, Nancy E. Carroll (Present Laughter) as Mrs. Soames, Jessica Hecht (Tony Award nominee for A View from the Bridge) as Mrs. Webb, Brie Larson ("The United States of Tara") as Emily Webb, Bryce Pinkham (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) as Sam Craig, Will Rogers (From Up Here) as George Gibb, Graham Rowat (Guys and Dolls) as Constable Warren, Tony Award-winner John Rubinstein (Children of a Lesser God) as Doc Gibbs, Campbell Scott (Rodger Dodger) as the Stage Manager, and Jon Patrick Walker (High Fidelity) as Simon Stimson.

The design team for Our Town includes scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Gabriel Berry, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, and sound design by Drew Levy. Michael Friedman composed the music for this production. The production stage manager is Gregory T. Livoti.

Also on the Main Stage, Tony Award nominee Terry Kinney (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, reasons to be pretty) directs Lanford Wilson's gentle comic drama, Fifth of July, from his beloved Talley trilogy. As friends and family gather to remember a lost loved one, a group of thirty-something prodigals from the rebellious post-Vietnam generation return to their rural Missouri home, finding themselves older and wiser, yet still searching. Long-buried rivalries and burning secrets reignite on a late summer evening as this motley tribe struggles to adapt to the changes wrought in their lives.

The cast of Fifth of July features David Wilson Barnes (Becky Shaw), Danny Deferrari (The Confidence Man), Kally Duling (Back in Pictures), Tony Award-winner Elizabeth Franz (Death of a Salesman), Shane McRae (Take Me Out), Anson Mount (Crossroads), Jennifer Mudge (The Philanthropist) and Kellie Overbey (The Coast of Utopia).

The design team for Fifth of July includes scenic design by David Gallo, costume design by Sarah J. Holden, lighting design by David Weiner, and sound design by Obadiah Eaves. The production stage manager is Brian Meister.

On the Nikos Stage, Carolyn Cantor (Essential Self Defense) directs the world premiere production of Amy Herzog's After the Revolution, which was developed as part of the 2009 WTF Fellowship Project. It's 1999, and three generations of a radical leftist family meet in New York to celebrate the law school graduation of Emma, the family's youngest torchbearer. A public revelation about her late grandfather, a victim of the blacklist, sends Emma reeling as the family begins to fracture. Shaken and betrayed, she must weigh her fierce politics and family loyalty to decide if the ends really justify the means.

The cast of After the Revolution features Mark Blum (Twelve Angry Men), Peter Friedman (Circle Mirror Transformation), David Margulies ("The Sopranos"), Katharine Powell (The Farnsworth Invention), Lois Smith ("True Blood"), Elliot Villar (Coraline), and Mare Winningham ("Grey's Anatomy").

The design team for After the Revolution includes scenic design by Clint Ramos, costume design by Kaye Voyce, lighting design by Ben Stanton, and sound design and composition by Fitz Patton. The production stage manager is Hannah Cohen.

Casting for the final production of Williamstown's 2010 season, The Last Goodbye, will be announced shortly.

Tickets for the 2010 Williamstown Theatre Festival season can be purchased online at www.wtfestival.org and by phone at (413) 597-3400 or in person at the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance, 1000 Main St (Route 2), Williamstown, MA 02167.

For over half a century, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, recipient of the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, has brought America's best established and emerging theatre artists to the Berkshires for a vibrant summer festival celebrating the greatest classic and new works in the theatrical canon. This season, our 56th, is presented in the glorious ‘62 Center for Theatre and Dance on the beautiful campus of Williams College, our generous hosts. In addition to our acclaimed productions, the Festival is home to unmatched training and professional development programs for the next generation of actors, writers, directors, designers, and managers. We are proud of our rich history and are committed to creating an environment where both experienced and developing artists can practice and refine their craft in collaboration with a loyal and sophisticated audience.

Williamstown Theatre Festival

2010 SEASON SUMMARY

MAIN STAGE

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM

Book by Burt Shevelove & Larry Gelbart

Music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Directed by Jessica Stone

Choreography by Denis Jones

June 30 - July 11

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION

By John Guare

Directed by Anne Kauffman

July 14 - 25

OUR TOWN

By Thornton Wilder

Directed by Nicholas Martin

July 28 - August 8

FIFTH OF JULY

By Lanford Wilson

Directed by Terry Kinney

August 11 - 22

NIKOS STAGE

IT'S JEWDY'S SHOW: MY LIFE AS A SITCOM

By Judy Gold and Kate Moira Ryan

Original music by Judy Gold, Lyrics by Kate Moira Ryan and Judy Gold

Additional material Eric Kornfeld and Bob Smith

Directed by Amanda Charlton

June 23 - July 4

SAMUEL J. AND K.

By Mat Smart

Directed by Justin Waldman

July 7 - 18

AFTER THE REVOLUTION

By Amy Herzog

Directed by Carolyn Cantor

July 21 - August 1

THE LAST GOODBYE

A Musical Adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Conceived and Adapted by Michael Kimmel

Music and Lyrics by Jeff Buckley

Directed by Michael Kimmel

Orchestrations, Music Direction and Arrangements by Kris Kukul

Choreography by Sonya Tayeh

August 5 - 20

For more information, visit www.wtfestival.org.