Hooray for Captain Spaulding! The intrepid African explorer, inveterate womanizer, and interminable jokester hobnobs with high society as the guest of honor at a swanky soiree. But when a priceless painting is pilfered, he and the guests are swept up in a screwball search for the thief. This new interpretation of the Marx Brothers' hit Broadway musical and classic film overflows with mirthful melodies, dynamite dancing, and seriously silly slapstick.

Animal Crackers

10292013151937.jpg

10292013152149.jpg

10292013155812.jpg

10292013155932.jpg

10292013160018.jpg

10292013160106.jpg

10292013160158.jpg

10292013160240.jpg

10292013160324.jpg

10292013160332.jpg

2013

Three ounces of meat. Two ounces of cheese. Four ounces of lettuce. Seventeen-year-old Sheri and her co-workers at a new sandwich franchise have honed their skills making everything from the Turkey Torpedo to the Big Kahuna Tuna according to the corporate manual. But when the franchise owner mysteriously disappears, they are forced to improvise. See just how far these “sandwich artists” will go to keep their shop afloat in this hilarious, surreal tale of the struggle for optimism, the power of sandwiches, and the glorious, messy American Dream.

American Hero

10282013143216.jpg

10282013143153.jpg

10282013143115.jpg

10282013143014.jpg

10282013142906.jpg

10282013142834.jpg

10282013143235.jpg

Treacherous twins and double (or triple?) agents abound in a twisty-turny look at the unlikely nexus of international espionage and quantum physics. Simultaneously channeling John le Carré, Albert Einstein, and Mel Brooks, Stoppard’s Cold-War thriller boasts equal shares of brains, guts, and sly humor.  Kate Burton takes on the tour-de-force title role, the brilliant but eccentric British intelligence chief working to expose a Soviet double agent while trying to keep her personal life under wraps.

Hapgood

11112013143654.jpg

11112013143822.jpg

11112013144213.jpg

11112013144606.jpg

11112013144727.jpg

11112013144827.jpg

11112013145336.jpg

11112013145509.jpg

11112013145613.jpg

"You have no idea how frightfully interesting it is to take a human being and change her into a quite different human being."  With all the parallels of a modern reality-show makeover, an impoverished flower seller is taken in hand by a linguistics professor who attempts to change her accent and pass her off as the epitome of English society.  For a wager.  A sharp satire on class and women's independence, Shaw's century-old masterpiece presents an uproarious and poignant battle of wits between two of theatre's most iconic characters.

Pygmalion

12162013120223.jpg

12162013142001.jpg

12162013142222.jpg

12162013142552.jpg

12162013142920.jpg

12162013143059.jpg

12162013143351.jpg

12162013144215.jpg

12162013144344.jpg

The infamous Curse of the Boston Red Sox is brought to life through the fortunes of three orphaned souls: Johnny O’Brien, a hard-luck right-hander on the 1919 Sox; his idol, Babe Ruth; and Daisy Wyatt, a dazzling African-American blues singer and the love of Johnny’s life. The mystical intertwining of their fates reveals the source of the Curse and the secret to its triumphant end off Big Papi’s bat in 2004. Packing resonant social history into a quintessentially American musical, Johnny Baseball will bring cheers and tears to baseball fans and theatre lovers alike.

Johnny Baseball

12162013105933.jpg

12162013110244.jpg

12162013110418.jpg

12162013110539.jpg

12162013110748.jpg

12162013111745.jpg

12162013112104.jpg

12162013112301.jpg

12162013115116.jpg

12162013115251.jpg

12162013115528.jpg

12162013115652.jpg

The best-selling novel captivated millions of readers with the story of a beautiful Italian woman who marries an American soldier to flee war-ravaged Italy. Her new life on an Iowa farm is uncomplicated until the day a National Geographic photographer comes up her driveway looking for directions, forever changing the course of their lives. Developed by an extraordinary, award-winning creative team, this passionate new musical captures the lyrical expanse of America’s heartland along with the deep yearning entangled in the eternal question, “What if...?”

The Bridges of Madison County

11112013131102.jpg

11112013131422.jpg

11112013131902.jpg

11112013132628.jpg

11112013140929.jpg

11112013141112.jpg

11112013141302.jpg

11112013141518.jpg

11112013141757.jpg

11112013142317.jpg

11112013142427.jpg

A tranquil suburban evening in the early 1950's: the kids are away on a Junior Cherokee camping trip and a string of coincidences leads to a spontaneous grown-up party in the basement of a new ranch house. Exotic cocktails are imbibed, raucous games are played, and new friends are made, but much is happening that no one is talking about. And something is stirring underground. A darkly comic thriller of post-war verve and pre-adolescent disquiet, Blood Play brings New York's critically lauded The Debate Society to the Festival stage.

Blood Play

11112013124256.jpg

11112013124453.jpg

11112013124710.jpg

11112013124853.jpg

11112013125024.jpg

11112013125218.jpg

11112013125343.jpg

One of the most haunting figures of our common imagination, Dracula has stalked his nightmarish way through the years, never failing to leave an impression and the indelible marks of his fangs. As “the Count” sets forth from Transylvania on his dark mission to infest London and then the whole world with vampires, can modern science and reason stand up to him? WTF family member and Free Theatre co-founder Steve Lawson’s dynamic new stage version of Stoker’s iconic 1897 tale is guaranteed to hold audiences rapt. Leave your nerves at home!...but bring the whole family and a picnic. (Garlic recommended)

Dracula,  Or, The Un-Dead

12162013160956.jpg

12162013161450.jpg

12162013161506.jpg

12162013161613.jpg

12162013161730.jpg

12162013161907.jpg

12162013163608.jpg

The Fellowship Program challenges young theatre artists to develop original theatrical material under the aegis of the Williamstown Theatre Festival. The Boris Sagal and Bill Foeller Directing Fellows—along with a playwright or musical theatre team of their choosing—each create a play or a musical theatre piece over the course of the summer. Collaborating with actors from WTF’s NonEquity Company, these practitioners walk into a room with just an idea for their project at the beginning of the summer. They then have five days to workshop and develop their material with their cast which leads to a three-week, off-site incubation period where the creative team prepares a script to take into rehearsal. Once they return to WTF, the whole production has three weeks of rehearsal which culminates in four public performances. We truly believe, and have positive proof, that a new young theatre voice can be fostered in this structure; both plays and musicals created in this supportive environment have gone on to be produced at other theaters regionally, as well as off and on Broadway.

Loving v. Virginia

12162013163808.jpg

12162013163920.jpg

12162013164043.jpg

12162013164200.jpg

12162013164324.jpg

12162013164435.jpg

12162013164653.jpg

The Fellowship Program challenges young theatre artists to develop original theatrical material under the aegis of the Williamstown Theatre Festival. The Boris Sagal and Bill Foeller
Directing Fellows—along with a playwright or musical theatre team of their choosing—each create a play or a musical theatre piece over the course of the summer. Collaborating with
actors from WTF’s Non-Equity Company, these practitioners walk into a room with just an idea for their project at the beginning of the summer. They then have five days to workshop and develop their material with their cast which leads to a three-week, off-site incubation period where the creative team prepares a script to take into rehearsal. Once they return to WTF, the whole production has three weeks of rehearsal which culminates in four public performances. We truly believe, and have positive proof, that a new young theatre voice can be fostered in this structure; both plays and musicals created in this supportive environment have gone on to be produced at other theaters regionally, as well as off and on Broadway. We thank you for participating in this exciting process.

The Pits

12162013162558.jpg

12162013162703.jpg

12162013162809.jpg

12162013162922.jpg

12162013163024.jpg

12162013163140.jpg

12162013163246.jpg

12162013163401.jpg

12162013163458.jpg

W 59

All 2013 Programs

Animal Crackers

American Hero

Hapgood

Pygmalion

Johnny Baseball

The Bridges of Madison County

Blood Play

Dracula, Or, The Un-Dead

Loving v. Virginia

The Pits

W 59Williamstown Theatre Festival Logo59

All 2013 Programs

Animal Crackers

American Hero

Hapgood

Pygmalion

Johnny Baseball

The Bridges of Madison County

Blood Play

Dracula, Or, The Un-Dead

Loving v. Virginia

The Pits

W 59