Weekly Preview | July 19-25

THE REVIEWS ARE IN!
Critics agree, Six Degrees of Separation is a "superb production!"


Ato Essandoh, Tim Daly, and Margaret Colin. Photo by Sam Hough
"Six Degrees of Separation ended up being a totally spellbinding evening of theatre, one which I would not hesitate to see again."
-Berkshire OnStage

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Weekly Preview | June 28 - July 4

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Opens July 1st

June 30 – July 11
book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart
music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
choreography by Denis Jones
directed by Jessica Stone

The Romans are coming! With a nod and a wink to Plautus, director Jessica Stone helms an all-male troop of actors into the comic fray with this fresh, “old” take on American master and Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Sondheim’s raucous musical classic. With Tony nominee Christopher Fitzgerald leading the charge as Pseudolus, a slave who must win his freedom by playing matchmaker for his master, this toe-tapping, zany romp through ancient Rome is a paean to the Gods of Comedy.

Cast

Kevin Cahoon
Paul Castree
David Costibile
Christopher Fitzgerald
Zackary Grady
Josh Grisetti
Adam Lerman
Chivas Michael
Bryce Pinkham
Joe Aaron Reid
Graham Rowat
Jeremy Shamos
David Turner
Jon Patrick Walker

Scenic Design | Alexander Dodge
Costume Design | Catherine A. Parott
Lighting Design | Jeff Croiter
Sound Design | Drew Levy and Tony Smolenski
Production Stage Manager | Gregory T. Livoti
Production Manager | Joel M. Krause
Casting | MelCap Casting


It's Jewdy's Show Final Week

Performances run through July 4th, so get you tickets while you still can!


Fridays @ 3 Begins July 2

HOW. WHAT. NOW. written and performed by Michael Warner

Directed by Campbell Scott

How. What. Now. Stories of Redemption and Hope, Killing Gophers, and how Bubble Gum Pop can save your life.

   

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Thank you! To all our blog readers—

It has a been a great summer here at WTF—from opening nights for the Main and Nikos Stages to Workshop shows to the Cabaret—and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading all about it on the Within The Festival blog. We will post occasionally during the off-season, but don’t worry, we’ll get back in the game regularly as soon as the Festival begins again next summer.

If you haven’t had time yet to check out all the posts for the shows this summer or read about your favorite intern or apprentice, you still can! All the posts from this summer will be up year round for your perusal.

And don’t forget to check back for season, alumni and special event announcements throughout the next year.

Thanks again for reading!

-Sarah Slight, Literary Associate

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Weekly Preview | August 10-16

CAROLINE IN JERSEY has opened on the Nikos Stage!

Our last Nikos Stage show of the 2009 Season, Caroline in Jersey, by Melinda Lopez, opened Thursday night to a standing room only house and fantastic reviews! Directed by Festival Artistic Associate Amanda Charlton, Caroline in Jersey stars Will LeBow, Matt McGrath, Lea Thompson and Brenda Wehle.

Caroline is down and out in New Jersey. She’s having a nervous breakdown, her career as an actress is tragically dwindling, and a peculiar stranger has made his presence known in her new apartment. Can she find a way to conquer it all? This funny and touching new play follows one woman’s whole-hearted attempt to accept the past and take hold of the future, despite the many surprises that might pop up along the way.

Berkshire Fine Arts writes: “… A winner. If heart and soul, as well as compelling performances by characters we really care about are any measure, this is sure to be a play with legs… [a] fabulous cast… a wonderful play…”

The Advocate Weekly.com writes: “The characters fascinate… [Will] LeBow is brilliant… Lea Thompson is whimsical and charming… …McGrath is fine in his role… Brenda Wehle [is] superb…”

Performances run through August 16 only. Don’t miss our last world-premiere of the season!


2 for $55 is back again - come see QUARTERMAINE'S TERMS!

Quartermaine’s Terms, the last show of our 55th Anniversary Season, opens next Thursday on the Main Stage, and in honor of the occasion, our 2 for $55 Ticket Offer is BACK!

Starting tomorrow morning, Saturday, August 8, at 10am (and through Thursday, August 13th ONLY), you can purchase two tickets to any performance of Quartermaine’s Terms for only $55! *

This charming and heart-felt 1960s comedy, written by Simon Gray and directed by the Tony-nominated Maria Aitken, follows an eccentric group of English teachers in Cambridge whose insatiable quest for knowledge has masked their secret longings for passion, romance, and true happiness.

The production stars Jeremy Beck, Ann Dowd, Morgan Hallett, John Horton, Simon Jones, Stephen Kunken and Jefferson Mays.

Quartermaine’s Terms runs from August 12th through the 23rd and concludes our 55th Anniversary Season! Don’t miss your last chance to be a part of the magic and history of Williamstown Theatre Festival, buy your tickets through this amazing offer before it's too late!

*This offer is valid through Thursday, August 13 only for performances of Quartermaine's Terms only. It cannot be combined with any other offer and is not valid on previous sales. Tickets are available by phone at 413-597-3400 or in person at 1000 Main Street, Williamstown, MA, by using the code "QT55". Box office closed on Monday.


Greylock Theatre Project's PLAYMAKING is TODAY!

The Williamstown Theatre Festival is pleased to announce the second part to Greylock Theatre Project’s 13th season. The Greylock Theatre Project is an educational outreach program that works with North Adams children living in the Greylock and Brayton Hill neighborhoods to create theatre.

In “Playmaking,” children attend a series of eight classes to learn how to write a play. They are then paired with a dramaturg and director to help them write a play performed by actors from WTF.

Performances are on Monday, August 10th at 5 and 8pm in Goodrich Hall, 863 Main St., Williams College Campus.

The Project is co-directed by Emily Windover and Christopher Kauffman. Liz Urban is the Project Manager.

All performances are free, but seating is limited, so reservations are a must. To reserve seats, please call the WTF Box Office at 413-597-3400. Box Office hours are Tuesday- Saturday 10am-8pm, Sunday 11am- 4pm.



The Workshop

Fellowship Musical performs this week, two days only! August 12-13 @ 7pm and 11pm both days in the Directing Studio.

Golden Gate with books and lyrics by Christopher Diamond, music by Michael Kooman, music direction by Christopher D. Littlefield and directed by Boris Sagal Fellow, Dan Rigazzi

With Lauren Blumenfeld, Francesca Choy-Kee, Rich Dreher, Daniel Hartley, Ashton Heyl, Lucas Kavner, Irene Sofia Lucio, Joel Perez, Gayle Rankin, and Dominic Spillane

Call 413.597.3386 for reservations.


Last round of Directing Intern shows on August 15 @ 11pm in the Log.

Cracking by Jonathan Marc Sherman, directed by Kimberly Faith Hickman
with Eloise Eonnet and Ed Porter

When All the Trees Are Gone, Where Will We Hang Ourselves? by Marisa Wegrzyn, directed by Tracy Cameron Francis
with Brett Bolton and Devin Kelley

The Admiral and Diane by Crystal Gomes, directed by: Krista D’Agostino
with Kristina Mueller and Kyle Smtih

Eukiah by Lanford Wilson, directed by Matthew Strother
with Jonathan Gordon and Micah Stock

Welcome to the Moon by John Patrick Shanley, directed by Gabrial Marantz
with Matthew Bovee, Tommy Crawford, Michael Randazzo and Claire Siebers

Alice in Wonderless Land by Franca Rame and Dario Fo, directed by Adam Stone
with James Graham, Mike Hammond, Matt Helm, Jonathan Hooks, Georgia X. Lifsher, James Morosini, Amanda Rodhe, Lily S and Allison Yates

© [photo] T. Charles Erickson 2009

[pictured] Lea Thompson in CAROLINE IN JERSEY, directed by Amanda Charlton

© [scenic design | Andrew Boyce; costume design | Emily Rebholz; lighting design | Jake DeGroot] 2009

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SCHMOOZY TOGETHERNESS Opening!

WTF is proud to present a

brand new, family-friendly musical for this years' Free Theatre production.

Schmoozy Togetherness

Book and Lyrics by Sam Forman

Music by Eli Bolin

Musical Direction by Kris Kukul

Choreography by Johanna McKeon and Gabriel Marantz

Directed by Johanna McKeon

Monday, July 6 @ 7 pm

Tuesday–Sunday, July 7–12 @ 11 am

Main Stage, ’62 Center for Theatre & Dance

Special Event! Kids' Day: Saturday, July 11 @

9:30 am.

’62 Center front lawn

Games. Crafts. Nerf sword combat lessons. Free ice cream! Autographs

Scenic Design | Alexander Woodward

Costume Design | Sarah Gosnell

Lighting Design | Carl Faber

Sound Design | Samantha Weller

Production Stage Manager | Caroline Samp

Production Manager | M. Cody Westgaard

[with members of the WTF Non-Equity and Apprentice Companies]

CAST

Francesca Choy-Kee, John Doherty, Heather Lind, Adam Lerman, Stephen O'Reilly, Andrea Syglowski

Matthew Bovee, Rachel Buethe, Matt Helm, Devin Kelley, Amanda Rodhe, Adam Schroeder, Ariana Seigel, Claire Siebers, Brenann Stacker, Micah Stock

Line Producers | Amanda Charlton and Stephen Sanders

Assistant Director | Gabriel Marantz

Assistant Stage Manager | Michael Block

Assistant Costume Designers | Jenniefer Bennett and Bridget Gavlin

Assistant Lighting Designer | Bekah Hernandez

Assistant Sound Designer | Ben Truppin-Brown

Technical Director | J. Michael Stafford

Properties Master | Jonathan Knust

Properties Carpenter | Daniel Moss

Master Electrician | Alejandro Fajardo

Programmer | Jason Pratt

Crew | Apprentic Company

selected BIOGRAPHIES

Sam Forman (Playwright) co-wrote (with composer Eli Bolin) the musical I Sing! (A cast recording of the York Theatre Production is available in stores worldwide from Jay Records). Other plays and musicals include: The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall (The Lion Theatre at Theatre, dir. Sam Gold; Theater J, Washington DC dir. Shirley Serotsky) The Grille Room (Mentor Project dir. Thomas Kail), Quarterlife (workshop dir. Mark Brokaw) Please Stop Talking (Cherry Lane Theatre, dir. Erwin Maas), Fringical! (Ars Nova, dir. Thomas Kail) The Quiet Game (Hangar Theatre, Ithaca NY, dir. Daniel Kramer). [Upcoming] Broadway’s Next Season (dir. Alex Timbers)

Johanna McKeon (Director) [4^th Season WTF]. [Director] Anne Washburn's I Have Loved Strangers (WTF & Clubbed Thumb), The Liddy Plays and The Stonewater Rapture (WTF Workshop), Semi-Permanent (2007 NY Fringe Festival prize for Outstanding Solo Show), 2009 Drama League Benefit Honoring Stewart Lane (Rainbow Room), Fiesta Cabana, The Tanks Break, Functional Drunk (Ontological-Hysteric Theater), 2008&9 Arab American Comedy Festival (Zipper Theater, Comix), Karinne Keithley’s My Address is Still Walton (Movement Research Festival), Much Ado About Nothing, Cymbeline (The Vineyard Playhouse), Come to Bed While You’re Pretty (Salvage Vanguard), Harry Kondoleon's Self Torture and Strenuous Exercise (Drama League). [Associate Director] Grey Gardens (Broadway). [Assistant Director] Rent (National Tour 2007-present), Cleansed (Schaubuehne), The Threepenny Opera (Maxim Gorki Theater, Berlin). [Guest Artist] Bard College, New School for Drama, Brown/Trinity Consortium, Atlantic Theater Acting School. [Edu] MFA: UT Austin. Fellowships: Drama League, Boris Sagal, and Fulbright.

John Doherty (Man 1) [2nd WTF Season] Big Money, Cold Hard Cash, The Good Negro (reading). [Regional] A Woman of No Importance (Yale Rep), Henry V (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey). [Yale School of Drama] Hamlet, Cymbeline, Three Sisters, Peer Gynt, The Bedtrick. [EDU] MFA Yale School of Drama, expected 2010.

Heather Lind (Schmoozy Togetherness) [2nd WTF Season] Cold Hard Cash, Mondo Don Juan, Big Money, The Lover. [New York] Shangri La (Queens Theatre in the Park), River Deep (Peter Jay Sharp Theatre), The Desert (HERE). [Regional] Metamorphoses (Capital Repertory Theatre), Moon Over Buffalo (Cider Mill Playhouse). [TV] "Law & Order: Criminal Intent/SVU", "Guiding Light", "Gamekillers". [EDU] BA Fordham University, anticipated M.F.A. New York Graduate Acting 2010.

Stephen O'Reilly (Phineas T. Happenstance) [2nd WTF Season]. Big Money, Cold Hard Cash, Way to Wealth. [New York] Sam Forman's The Brother-Sister Thing (The Tank), Adam Rapp's Should've Never (Bowery Poetry Club), Nikole Beckwith's Ghost Play (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Ken Urban's The Happy Sad (Flea Theater). [Edu] Entering NYU Graduate Acting Program, September 2009.

Andrea Syglowski (Teacher) [2^nd WTF Season] A Flea in Her Ear, Trouble Tales (for Boys and Girls). Workshop: White Trash Anthem, Boy Girl God. [LA Theatre] Light Up the Sky, Marat Sade (L.A. Weekly Award), Post Mortem (Best of L.A. Theatre Award for Featured Performance), Not I. [Film] The Last Appeal. Currently in Web-series: Merrime.com. [Edu] Attending The Juilliard School for the Arts, fall of 2009. Graduate of U.S.C. Bachelor of Fine Arts: David Dukes Award, Aileen Stanley Memorial Award, Ava Greenwald Award, Jack Nicholson Award. At U.S.C.: Les Belles Soeurs, The Trojan Women, Playboy of the Western World, Cowboy Mouth, Stop Kiss, All’s Well That Ends Well, What We’re up Against.

Carl Faber (Lighting Designer) [3rd WTF Season] Co-Lighting Supervisor 2008 & 2009: Cold Hard Cash (Fellowship). [Off-B'way] One Thing I Like To Say Is (Access), Movie Geek (Ars Nova), LOST (Cherry Lane), Never the Sinner (Flamboyan), Foggy Bottom (Abingdon), Convolute (Merce Cunningham Studio). [Regional] The Laramie Project, A Chorus Line, Chicago (Crossroads Theater, CA); Games of Steel (Attack Theatre, US Tour). [International] This is the Thing with Beckett (Wroclaw, Poland); Material Girl (Theater Freiburg, Germany); Catch-22 (Kunstverein Freiburg, Germany); over 20 productions for Norwegian Cruise Line. [Assistant Lighting Designer–B'way] 9 to 5, Dividing the Estate, August: Osage County. [ALD–Off B'way] Our House, The Savannah Disputation. [ALD–Regional] Various productions at The Alley in Houston, Centerstage in Baltimore, Hartford Stage, and many others. [Member] United Scenic Artists 829, NYC's Woodshed Collective. [EDU] Vassar College.

Jonathan Knust (Properties Master) [2nd WTF Season]. [Edu] Undergraduate at Eastern Connecticut State University studying Theatre Arts BFA. Prop Master: Short Stuff 2009. Scenic Designer: Godspell. Design Assistant: Black Girl in Search of God. Other experience earned at the Sargent Theatre, NYC; TheaterWorks, Hartford; and The Spirit of Broadway, CT.

[Apprentice Ensemble]

Matt Bovee (Ensemble) [Regional] Back Back Back (The Old Globe). Currently completing a double BA in Theatre and Dance at UC San Diego. Recent productions there include Woyzeck, Danton's Death, Urinetown, The Skin of Our Teeth, and several student cabarets.

Rachel Buethe (Ensemble) Tales of the Lost Formicans, Laughing Pictures, Careless Love (Fordham University); Thoroughly Modern Millie, National Thespian Cast (Music Theatre International/Lied Center, Lincoln, NE); RENT; Cabaret; Urinetown, the Musical; Peter Pan, Into the Woods (Shorewood High School, WI).

Devin Kelley (Ensemble) [Theatre] Boy Gets Girl; The Last Days of Judas Iscariot; The Importance of Being Earnest; Taming of the Shrew (University of Southern California); The Way of the World (Oval Theatre, London); The Chronicles of Narnia (Youth Performance Co.). [Film] Refrigerator (First Glance Film Festival and NYC PictureStart Film Festival Award Winner). [Television] “Tease”, “Weren’t You Mitchy Cook?” (Fox Television and Video Studios Pilots). [Edu] BFA University of Southern California, British American Drama Academy (London).

Amanda Rodhe (Ensemble) [Regional] Fame!, Joseph...Dreamcoat (North Shore Music Theatre); Babes in Toyland (Gloucester Stage Company). [Edu] Hippolytos, Twelfth Night, 365 Days/365 Plays (Barnard College).

Ariana Seigel (Ensemble) [Off-B'way] 52nd St Project, The 'Can-Do' Stories (Public Theater). [Off-Off-B'way] Dance Dance Revolution (Ohio Theatre), Everything Must Go (Brick Theatre), People's Sketch Association (UCB/PIT) [Regional Tour] Four Hearts & One Night (Equalogy Theatre Co). [Regional Theatre] Miss Firecracker Contest (Theatre of the American South). [TV] "Lipstick Jungle," "The Electric Company." [EDU] BFA NYU Tisch.

Claire Siebers (Ensemble) [Off-Off-B'way] The Greatest Night of Our Lives (EST); Uncle Vanya (The Space); Time is The Mercy of Eternity (Six Figures/West End Theatre); I, Kreon (Roust/walkerspace) [Regional] Slaughter City (Yale Rep); The Glory of Living, Lulu (Yale University); A Bright Room Called Day (Yale University) [WEB] Inconvenient Molly [EDU] Yale University, The Moscow Art Theatre School.

Micah Stock (Ensemble) [Regional] 24 Hours, Resident Alien (Human Race Theatre Company); Heartland, Yellow to Lavender (Future Fest). [College] The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Waiting for Lefty, Uncle Vanya (Purchase Repertory Theatre). [Film] Clear Blue Tuesday. [EDU] BFA SUNY Purchase, Neighborhood Playhouse.

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