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 Jur
Ian 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.
The Colonial Theatre, founded in 1903, and Berkshire Theatre Festival, founded in 1928, are two of the oldest cultural organizations in the Berkshires. Having united in November of 2010 under the helm of Artistic Director and CEO Kate Maguire, these two institutions are providing the Berkshires and beyond with the finest in live theatre, music, dance and the visual arts on three stages in Stockbridge, MA and Pittsfield, MA. The Fitzpatrick Main Stage (408 seats), cataloged by the National Register of Historic Places, was originally designed and built by Stanford White as the Stockbridge Casino in 1888. The intimate Unicorn Theatre (122 seats) is a home for emerging artists and new theatrical ideas. The Colonial in Pittsfield (800 seats) re-opened in August of 2006, following a $21 million restoration, and boasts pristine acoustics, classic gilded age architecture and state-of-the-art technical systems. Together they serve over 100,000 patrons per year and reach over 10,000 students through their educational and outreach programs. For more information on BTF call (413) 298-5536 and on The Colonial call (413) 448-8084. To purchase tickets, call (413) 997-4444 or (413) 298-5576 or go online to www.berkshiretheatre.org or www.thecolonialtheatre.org.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos
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