Williamstown Theatre Festival has announced casting and additional members of the creative team for the world premiere of Pamela Palmer, written by Tony Award nominee David Ives, directed by his longtime collaborator, Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie; additional creative team members for Sara Porkalob’s Dragon Mama, Part II of the Dragon Cycle directed by Andrew Russell, starting performances tonight; and additional creative team members for Rachel Bloom’s Death, Let Me Do My Show directed by Seth Barrish, starting performances on Friday, July 5.
Additionally, due to popular demand, Alex Edelman has added a third performance of his new comedy offering and Caitlin Sullivan will direct the previously announced reading of Beth Hyland’s SYLVIA SYLVIA SYLVIA, which is part of WTF’s Fridays@3 reading series.
WORLD PREMIERE PLAY
Pamela Palmer
By David Ives
Directed by Walter Bobbie
Featuring Tina Benko, Clark Gregg, Max Gordon Moore, and Becky Ann Baker
Tuesday, July 23 through Saturday, August 10 on WTF’s CenterStage
The cast for Pamela Palmer will feature Tina Benko as ‘Pamela Palmer,’ Clark Gregg, as ‘The Detective,’ Max Gordon Moore as ‘The Husband,’ and Becky Ann Baker as ‘The Mother.’
The play will also feature scenic design by Alexander Woodword, costume design by Amanda Roberge, lighting design by Landon K. Elder, and sound design by Dan Moses Schreier
The author of “innumerable clever comedies” (New York Times), Ives puts a noir spin on an existential romance in this world premiere play. Pamela Palmer (Tina Benko) lives a seemingly perfect life with her husband (Max Gordon Moore) at Wishwood but has a bizarre suspicion something’s wrong, only for them both to become entangled with the detective (Clark Gregg) she hires to investigate. Pamela Palmer goes undercover as a plainclothes philosophical look at the human condition.
STARTING PERFORMANCES TONIGHT
Dragon Mama, Part II of the Dragon Cycle
Written By & Starring Sara Porkalob
Directed by Andrew Russell
Through Sunday, July 14 on WTF’s CenterStage
The creative team for Dragon Mama will include scenic design by Ningning Yang, costume design by Yu’seph Cornish, lighting design by Indigo Garcia, and sound design by Erin Bednarz.
Porkalob, who is called an “incandescent force and phenomenon” (Boston Globe), transforms the Festival’s CenterStage into a vast canvas of emotion, humor, and resilience. With her powerful voice and an evocative collection of ‘90s R&B hits, Porkalob vividly brings to life the complex tapestry of her mother Maria’s early years and queer identity, affirming the power of family, the importance of self-discovery, and the indomitable spirit of those who dare to dream beyond their circumstances.
STARTING PERFORMANCES FRIDAY, JULY 5
Death, Let Me Do My Show
Written By & Starring Rachel Bloom
Directed by Seth Barrish
Through Sunday, July 14 on WTF’s MainStage
The creative team of Death, Let Me Do My Show will include scenic design by Tony Award winner Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Kristin Isola, lighting design by Aaron Copp, sound design by Alex Neumann and Beth Lake, and projection design by Tony Award winner Hana S. Kim.
From the co-creator and star of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” comes a one-woman musical comedy that is definitely NOT about the ever-present specter of death. Bloom’s new show is filled with raunchy and escapist material that will in NO way explore the pandemic and all the tumultuous events that ensued in her personal life. NOTHING will stop Rachel from partying like it’s 2019!
ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE ADDED
Tony Award winner Alex Edelman’s New Comedy Offering
Saturday, July 20 at 5 PM and 8 PM; & Sunday, July 21 at 2 PM on WTF’s MainStage
Due to popular demand, Alex Edelman has added a third performance of his new comedy offering on WTF’s MainStage. Tickets for the recently added, Sunday, July 21 at 2 PM performance are on sale now.
This summer, the good boy comes home. After a wildly successful run of Just For Us on Broadway, for which he received a Special Tony Award, and on the recently released HBO special, Edelman returns to Williamstown with a fresh batch of all new comedy. Called “one of the funniest minds of his generation – or maybe any generation” (Washington Post), this new stand-up show will delight and enlighten. Edelman will be joined by Williamstown’s very own comedian, Maggie Crane, who according to Entertainment Now, allows us “to not only find the funny, but also to find the empathy.”
FRIDAYS@3 DIRECTOR ANNOUNCED
SYLVIA SYLVIA SYLVIA
Written By Beth Hyland
Directed by Caitlin Sullivan
Friday, July 19 at 3 PM in the Auditorium at the Clark Art Institute
Caitlin Sullivan, a graduate of Williams College, will direct Sarah Hyland’s SYLVIA SYLVIA SYLVIA which is the recipient of WTF’s 2024 L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award and Hyland is WTF’s 2024 Jay Harris Commission recipient.
A once-celebrated novelist, grappling with writer’s block, confronts the ghosts of her past, threatening to unravel both her sanity and her artistic vision.
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2024 WTF SUMMER SEASON
The season’s fully staged shows will be produced in a new space for the Festival: the intimate 150-seat CenterStage, a state-of-the-art versatile performance space in Williams College’s ‘62 Center for Theatre & Dance (1000 Main St, Williamstown, MA 01267) that includes orchestra and balcony seating on three sides. The CenterStage season will include Sara Porkalob’s Dragon Mama, Part II of The Dragon Cycle, directed by Andrew Russell from Tuesday, July 2 through Sunday, July 14, and the world premiere of David Ives’ Pamela Palmer directed by Walter Bobbie (Chicago, Venus in Fur) playing Tuesday, July 23 through Saturday, August 10.
In the MainStage, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Rachel Bloom will bring her critically acclaimed musical comedy Death, Let Me Do My Show, directed by Seth Barrish, from Friday, July 5 through Sunday, July 14.
On Sunday, July 28 at 3 PM, Tony and Olivier Award winner Gavin Creel and his band-mates Madeline Benson and Chris Peters will host an up-close and spectacular afternoon of music to benefit Williamstown Theatre Festival.
“WTF IS NEXT,” the expansive glimpse into a new vision for the Tony Award-recognized Festival taking place Thursday, August 1 through Sunday, August 4 throughout the community of Williamstown. This ambitious new model will surround WTF’s regular summer programming with a robust schedule of not-to-be-missed experiences. From the moment they arrive and throughout this special weekend, guests will be immersed in activities and events that combine the transformative power of theater with the stunning natural beauty of the Berkshires: memorable morning and midday activities, curated experiences, vibrant late-night programming, and more. Central to “WTF IS NEXT” is the Festival’s commitment to fostering community and deepening connections through a broadened concept of theater. For ticketing information, a complete itinerary, and updates on the “WTF IS NEXT” weekend, please visit: www.wtfestival.org/main-events/wtf-is-next2024/
And WTF’s beloved cabaret series will return to the specially created Festival Stage in the MainStage Theater, curated by Asmeret Ghebremichael, with Tony Award nominee Christopher Fitzgerald advising, and music direction by Joel Waggoner.
The Plastic Bag Store, created, written, designed, and directed by Robin Frohardt, with music by Freddi Price, produced by Pomegranate Arts, and presented with MASS MoCA (housed in Building 1: 1040 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247) runs Thursday, May 9 through Monday, September 2.
WTF’s Fridays@3 reading series, curated by the Festival’s Artistic Associate, Lianna Rada-Hung will take place at 3 PM in the Auditorium at the Clark Art Institute (225 South Street, Williamstown, MA 01267). This year’s lineup includes at the very bottom of a body of water by Benjamin Benne, directed by Cat Rodríguez on Friday, July 12; SYLVIA SYLVIA SYLVIA by Beth Hyland, directed by Caitlin Sullivan on Friday, July 19; Indigo Dreams by Melis Aker, directed by Kate Whoriskey on Friday, July 26; and KILL CORP by Sofia Alvarez, directed by Portia Krieger on Friday, August 2.
This year’s developmental workshops include Alone & Alive written and performed by Joel Waggoner, directed by Brandon Ivie taking place July 18-20; and Marcel On The Train by Marshall Pailet and Ethan Slater, directed by Marshall Pailet, produced by Mix and Match Productions (Maxwell Beer and Mitch Marois) taking place July 30-31.
ABOUT WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL
For seven decades, the Tony Award-recognized Williamstown Theatre Festival has brought emerging and professional theater 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, the 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning Cost of Living, and Lempicka.
Learn more about Williamstown Theatre Festival at www.wtfestival.org.
