New casting for The Visit, which stars Tony winner Chita Rivera, includes Jason Danieley replacing the previously announced Howard McGillin. The cast also features Matthew Deming, Diana DiMarzio, David Garrison, Rick Holmes, Judy Kuhn, Christopher Newcomer, Tom Nelis, Aaron Ramey and Roger Rees.
Williamstown also announced that Emmy Award nominee Anna Chlumsky ("Veep") and Tony Award nominee Douglas Sills will co-star in Living on Love; while Christopher Abbott will join the cast of Fool for Love with Chris Pine. Lauren Ambrose, who was previously announced to co-star with Pine in the Sam Shepard drama, has departed the production due to scheduling conflicts. Her replacement has not been named.
Williamstown's Fridays@3 reading series will include Mike Bartlett's An Intervention (July 11); Jonathan Marc Sherman's The Squeaky Wheel (July 18); Rachel Bonds' L. Arnold Weissberger Award-winning play Five Mile Lake (July 25); Jen Silverman's All The Roads Home (Aug. 1); Joshua Leonard and Rebecca Lowman's Behold My Heart (Aug. 8); and Tanya Barfield's Bright Half Life (Aug. 15).
Newly-added to the summer line up will be a performance by The Skivvies (Nick Cearley and Lauren Molina) July 27-28.
WTF productions and casting follow: June Moon
July 2–13 (Main Stage)
By Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman
Directed by Jessica Stone
With Jason Bowen, Nate Corddry, Diana DiMarzio, Holley Fain, Christopher Fitzgerald, Rick Holmes, Kate MacCluggage, Rachel Napoleon, Timothy Shew and David Turner
"Earnest and gullible young lyricist Fred Stevens boards a train in Schenectady bound for the Big Apple, determined to make a name for himself in the thriving Tin Pan Alley scene. However, the life he’s imagined is rife with seductive distractions—namely dames—that threaten to derail his dream of penning the next big ditty. Both bitterly funny and deliciously literate, legendary humorists Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman celebrate and skewer the perishable pop of yesteryear."
Living on Love
July 16–26 (Main Stage)
By Joe DiPietro and Garson Kanin
Based on the play Peccadillo by Garson Kanin
Directed by Kathleen Marshall
With Anna Chlumsky, Renée Fleming, Blake Hammond, Justin Long, Scott Robertson and Douglas Sills
"World-renowned soprano Renée Fleming takes the Festival stage as celebrated diva Rachel De Angelis. When her husband, the fiery and egomaniacal Maestro Vito De Angelis, becomes enamored with the lovely young lady hired to ghostwrite his long-delayed autobiography, Rachel retaliates by hiring her very own—and very handsome—ghostwriter to chronicle her life as an opera star. As the young writers try to keep themselves out of the story while churning out chapters, the high-energy—and high-maintenance—power duet threatens to fall out of tune for good."
The Visit
July 31–Aug. 17 (Main Stage)
Book by Terrence McNally
Music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb
Choreographed by Graciela Daniele
Directed by John Doyle
With Jason Danieley, Matthew Deming, Diana DiMarzio, David Garrison, Rick Holmes, Judy Kuhn, Christopher Newcomer, Tom Nelis, Aaron Ramey, Roger Rees, Chita Rivera and Timothy Shew
"Broadway legend Chita Rivera embodies Claire Zachanassian, the oft-widowed richest woman in the world, who returns to the hardship-stricken town of her birth. The locals pray that her wealth will bring them a new lease on life, but the carefully plotted renewal she offers carries a dreadful price. Sardonic and morally complex, The Visit asks: What can your heart afford?"
A Great Wilderness
July 9–20 (Nikos Stage)
By Samuel D. Hunter
Directed by Eric Ting
With Mia Barron, Jeffrey DeMunn, Mia Dillon, Kevin Geer and Tasha Lawrence
"After decades as the gentle-natured leader of a Christian retreat that endeavors to 'cure' gay teens, Walt is packing up his life and preparing for a reluctant retirement. But when his final client quietly disappears into the remote Idaho wilderness, Walt discovers that his previously unwavering moral compass no longer points the way. With profound humanity and subtlety, Obie Award-winning playwright Samuel D. Hunter navigates complex moral terrain, exploring the shifting motives and inconstant strength of our personal convictions."
Fool For Love
July 24–Aug. 2 (Nikos Stage)
By Sam Shepard
Directed by Daniel Aukin
With Christopher Abbott and Chris Pine
"Holed up in a seedy motel on the edge of the Mojave Desert, two former lovers unpack the deep secrets and dark desires of their tangled relationship, passionately tearing each other apart. Beaten down by ill-fated love and a ruthless struggle for identity, can they ultimately live with, or without, each other? Led by director Daniel Aukin, riveting young actor Chris Pine—returning for the first time to the stage where he launched his career—brings a raw sexy energy to Sam Shepard’s landmark myth of the new Wild West."
The Old Man and The Old Moon
Aug. 6–17 (Nikos Stage)
By PigPen Theatre Co.
Directed by Stuart Carden and PigPen Theatre Co.
With Alex Falberg, Ben Ferguson, Curtis Gillen, Ryan Melia, Matt Nuernberger, Arya Shahi and Dan Weschler
"The endlessly imaginative PigPen Theatre Co. comes to Williamstown with a luminously lo-fi spectacle that elevates traditional storytelling to high art. Their fantastical, song-filled tale takes us to the end of the world when an old man abandons his duty of filling the moon with liquid light to search for his missing wife. With a rollicking array of ever-changing characters, inventive theatrical effects, and an infectious contemporary folk sound, these seven young actor musicians transform the seemingly ordinary into sheer wonder."
For tickets, visit WTFestival.org.