Additional Cast Members Announced for Williamstown Theatre Festival's 2022 Summer Season

Williamstown Theatre Festival announced today additional casting and creative team members for the 2022 Summer Season, the final two Fridays@3 readings, and fellowships.

Kristen Lee and Helen J Shen will join previously announced cast members Shirley Chen, Emma Galbraith, Erin Rae Li, Albert Park, and Ji-young Yoo in Man of God, the new comedy by Anna Ouyang Moench and directed by Maggie Burrows playing Tuesday, July 5 - Friday, July 22 at the Nikos Stage.

Maya Lagerstam, April Matthis, Kiena Williams, and Gwynne Wood join the previously announced Tina Fabrique, Erin Markey, Mallory Portnoy, and Tony Award nominee Mary Testa in Most Happy in Concert, a new production celebrating Frank Loesser's critically adored score to the musical The Most Happy Fella, directed by Tony Award nominee Daniel Fish and with choreography by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, playing Wednesday, July 13 - Sunday, July 31 on the Main Stage. Joining the creative team for Most Happy in Concert are Anika Seitu (Hair and Makeup Design) and Thomas Dunn (Lighting Design).

we are continuous, the new play by Harrison David Rivers and directed by Tyler Thomas will feature Leland Fowler, Tom Holcomb, Brenda Pressley. The world premiere of this WTF-commissioned work will play Tuesday, August 2 - Sunday, August 14 on the Nikos Stage. Joining the creative team for we are continuous are Devario Simmons (Costume Design), Amith Chandrashaker (Lighting Design), and Mykal Kilgore (Composer).

Fridays@3, a weekly new play reading series that offers the public the opportunity to hear new plays read by members of the WTF company, will now include Abortion Road Trip by Rachel Lynett and directed by Jess McLeod (Friday, July 8) with a cast that includes Rami Margron, Emma Ramos, and Carmen LoBue. This will be a reading of the play's first act followed by a panel discussion to share resources and information on reproductive rights. The series will also include God Save the Queer by Zackary Grady and directed by Portia-Krieger/">Portia Krieger (Friday, July 15) featuring a cast that includes Sebastian Beacon, Carol Mazhuvancheril, and Alison Pill.

Cast for the Fridays@3 readings of the previously announced And Then We Were No More by Tim Blake Nelson, directed by Mark Wing-Davey (Friday, July 22) will include David Aaron Baker, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Bree Elrod, Henry Stram, and Maura Tierney. The reading of tiny father, WTF's 2022 L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award Winner by WTF's 2022 Jay Harris Commission recipient Mike Lew, directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Friday, August 5) will include Maureen Sebastian. Additional casting for the Friday@3 series will be announced at a later date.

The recipient of the 2022 Bill Foeller Directing Fellowship is San Francisco Bay Area-based Nailah Harper-Malveaux. The recipient of the 2022 Boris Sagal Directing Fellowship is self-described nomadic multi-media artist Jean Carlo Yunen. The recipient of the 2022 J. Michael Friedman Fellowship is director and theater artist Isabel Rodriguez.

The 2022 Festival Box Office is now open, and tickets may be purchased online at www.wtfestival.org or by calling (413) 458-3253. For production updates, please visit www.wtfestival.org.

Beginning on July 8, The Berkshire Flyer will provide rail service from New York City to Pittsfield in the Berkshires each weekend through Labor Day weekend. Tickets can be purchased at www.amtrak.com/Berkshire-flyer.

Effective June 30, Williamstown Theatre Festival no longer will require proof of vaccination, boosters, or negative COVID-19 tests, as previously announced. Properly fitting masks are still required to be worn indoors at all times, regardless of vaccination status, for the safety of all theatergoers and members of the company. For updated policies and to plan your visit, please go to: www.wtfestival.org/plan-your-visit

If you have additional questions regarding your visit, please contact the Williamstown Theatre Festival Box Office at (413) 458-3253 or by email to tickets@wtfestival.org.

ABOUT THE SEASON

Nikos Stage

Man of God | Tuesday, July 5 - Friday, July 22

A Killer Comedy Thriller

By Anna Ouyang Moench
Directed by Maggie Burrows
with Shirley Chen, Emma Galbraith, Erin Rae Li, Albert Park, Ji-young Yoo, Kristen Lee, Helen J Shen

Scenic Design: Se Hyun Oh

Costume Design: Denitsa Bliznakova

Lighting Design: Lap Chi Chu

Original Music & Sound Design: Jonathan Snipes

Fight Director: thomas isao morinaka

Stage Manager: Tia Harewood-Millington

Additional Casting: The Telsey Office, Karyn Casl, CSA

Chaos ensues when four teenage girls on a mission trip to Bangkok discover a camera hidden by their pastor in their hotel bathroom. Do they leave it to God or take matters into their own hands? The pressure builds quickly in this suspenseful comedy that interrogates justice, privacy, religion, the patriarchy, and who you follow on Instagram. Juxtaposing girl power with teenage angst, the girls' different ideals emerge as they discover what it takes to fight back.

Man of God is presented in association with Geffen Playhouse.

Main Stage

Most Happy in Concert | Wednesday, July 13 - Sunday, July 31

Songs from Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella

Music & Lyrics by Frank Loesser

Conceived & Directed by Daniel Fish

Choreography by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar
with Tina Fabrique, Maya Lagerstam, Erin Markey, April Matthis, Mallory Portnoy, Mary Testa, Kiena Williams, Gwynne Wood

Music Arrangements by Daniel Kluger and Nathan Koci

Vocal Arrangements by Nathan Koci and Daniel Fish

Orchestrations by Daniel Kluger

Music Director: Sean Forte
Scenic Design: Amy Rubin

Costume Design: Terese Wadden

Hair & Makeup Designer: Anika Seitu

Lighting Design: Thomas Dunn

Sound Design: Drew Levy

Music Contractor: Tomoko Akaboshi

Associate Director: Mikhaela Mahony

Associate Choreographer: Vincent Thomas

Associate Music Director: Jillian Zack
Stage Manager: Cyd Cahill

Casting: Taylor Williams, CSA

The Main Stage bursts back to life with this evocative meditation on an American musical masterpiece from the director of the boldly reimagined Tony Award-winning revival of Oklahoma! Drawing on a broad range of musical genres and performed by a company of 20 actors and musicians, Most Happy in Concert invigorates the musical concert form, inviting audiences to consider anew Frank Loesser's exquisite score for The Most Happy Fella. Conceived and directed by Daniel Fish and with choreography by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, this musical event provides thrilling and contemplative ways to experience and connect with this magnificent and lush score-a deep dive into love, desire, isolation, and connection.

Most Happy in Concert is presented in association with Fisher Center at Bard.

Nikos Stage

WORLD PREMIERE

we are continuous | Tuesday, August 2 - Sunday, August 14

A WTF Commission
By Harrison David Rivers

Directed by Tyler Thomas

With Leland Fowler, Tom Holcomb, Brenda Pressley

Scenic Design: dots

Costume Design: Devario Simmons

Lighting Design: Amith Chandrashaker

Composer: Mykal Kilgore

Casting: The Telsey Office, Karyn Casl, CSA

Simon and his mother, Ora, have always been close. She's been his champion, his defender, and his friend. But when a life-changing secret comes to light, can their bond survive? 2020 WTF Foeller Fellow Tyler Thomas directs this exquisitely-wrought WTF-commissioned play by Harrison David Rivers (Where Storms Are Born) that explores how people can change and how love can evolve.

we are continuous is a Williamstown Theatre Festival Commission.

Nikos Stage

Fridays@3

Abortion Road Trip | Friday, July 8

By Rachel Lynett
Directed by Jess McLeod

with Rami Margron, Emma Ramos, Carmen LoBue

Sisters Minnie and Lexa hire Driver to take them on a road trip from San Antonio to New Mexico for Lexa to get an abortion. While on their journey, the three women discuss the baggage they carry with them and how the circumstances leading to three very different abortions shaped them into who they are.

God Save the Queer | Friday, July 15
By Zackary Grady
Directed by Portia-Krieger/">Portia Krieger
with Sebastian Beacon, Carol Mazhuvancheril, Alison Pill

In the year 2046, Prince George is now in his thirties, married to a man, and next in line for the British throne. But when he and his husband share news with his sister, Princess Charlotte, and his brother, Prince Louis, a sibling fight breaks out that could destroy not only their family but one of the last surviving monarchies in the world.

And Then We Were No More | Friday, July 22

By Tim Blake Nelson

Directed by Mark Wing-Davey

with David Aaron Baker, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Bree Elrod, Henry Stram, Maura Tierney

A lawyer fights for the life of her client in a near future in which criminals deemed "beyond rehabilitation" become no more.

tiny father | Friday, August 5

WTF's 2022 L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award Winner

By Mike Lew (WTF's 2022 Jay Harris Commission recipient)

Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel

with Maureen Sebastian

After Daniel unexpectedly finds himself the father of a months-premature baby, his only guide to the strange purgatory of hospital life in the NICU is a grizzled, oversharing nurse named Caroline.

Main Stage - Special Event

Just For Us | Wednesday, August 3 - Saturday, August 6

Performed by Alex Edelman

Just For Us takes the audience through hilarious anecdotes from Alex Edelman's life - his Olympian brother AJ, an unconventional holiday season, and a gorilla that can do sign language - but at its center is an astonishing and frighteningly relevant story. After a string of anti-Semitic abuse is directed at Edelman online, he decides to covertly attend a gathering of White Nationalists in New York City and comes face to face with the people behind the keyboards. The result is a hair-raising encounter that gives Just For Us its title and final, jaw-dropping twist.

Main Stage - Benefit Concert

Jimmy Naughton & Friends | Sunday, August 7

An afternoon of stories and songs

Join us for this exclusive benefit concert starring two-time Tony Award winner and legendary Festival actor and director James Naughton as he regales us with stories and songs, accompanied by surprise special guests! Known for his critically acclaimed award-winning performances in shows like Chicago and City of Angels, James has appeared in countless cabarets and more than 20 productions at the Festival, including The Rose Tattoo, The Crucible, and as director of The Price. Featuring songs from James' repertoire and anecdotes from his storied career, Jimmy Naughton & Friends is a one-time-only musical event you won't want to miss!

Proceeds from Jimmy Naughton & Friends will benefit Williamstown Theatre Festival.

ABOUT WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL

For seven decades, the Tony Award-winning Williamstown Theatre Festival has brought emerging and professional theatre artists together in the Berkshires to create a thrilling summer festival of diverse, world premiere plays and musicals, bold new revivals, and a rich array of accompanying cultural events.

Artists are drawn to Williamstown Theatre Festival to make great theater in an environment conducive to artistic risk-taking. Matthew Broderick, Audra McDonald, Dominique Morisseau, Mary-Louise Parker, Susan Stroman, Uma Thurman, and Blair Underwood are just a few of the luminous theater artists who have worked at the Festival. Many others, including Sterling K. Brown, Ty Burrell, Charlie Day, Paul Giamatti, Kathryn Hahn, Allison Janney, Brie Larson, Chris Pine, and George C. Wolfe, began their careers at the Festival.

Productions and artists shaped at the Festival fill theaters in New York City and around the world. Recently, Williamstown Theatre Festival was represented on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally by The Sound Inside, Grand Horizons, The Rose Tattoo, The Visit, Fool for Love, The Elephant Man, Seared, Selling Kabul, Unknown Soldier, and Lempicka, to name just a few. Cost of Living, which was developed and premiered at Williamstown Theatre Festival, was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Learn more about Williamstown Theatre Festival at www.wtfestival.org.