Williamstown Theatre Festival's World Premiere of WE ARE CONTINUOUS Begins Performances Tonight

 

Williamstown Theatre Festival will celebrate a bustling week of programming at WTF including tonight's first performance of we are continuous, tomorrow's first performance of Just For Us, and Sunday's one-time-only benefit performance of Jimmy Naughton & Friends, and announces casting for tiny father, the final reading in the Fridays@3 series.

we are continuous, the world premiere WTF commission written by Harrison David Rivers and directed by 2020 WTF Foeller Fellow Tyler Thomas, playing through Sunday, August 14 on the Nikos Stage, features Leland Fowler, Tom Holcomb, and Brenda Pressley. 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? This exquisitely-wrought play explores how people can change and how love can evolve. we are continuous is a Williamstown Theatre Festival Commission. WTF Commissions are made possible through the Andrew Martin-Weber New Play and Musical Commissioning Program.

After multiple critically acclaimed, sold-out, extended runs off-Broadway, and a run at the Greenwich House Theater, Just For Us, performed by Alex Edelman, is taking to the Main Stage for six performances from Wednesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 6. A New York Times Critic's Pick, 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.

An exclusive benefit concert, Jimmy Naughton & Friends, starring two-time Tony Award® winner and legendary actor and director James Naughton will take place on Sunday, August 7 on the Main Stage. Featuring songs from Naughton's repertoire, anecdotes from his storied career, and accompanied by special guests, Kelli O'Hara, Greg Naughton, and Kiera Naughton. This will be a one-time-only musical event that guests won't want to miss. Proceeds from Jimmy Naughton & Friends will benefit Williamstown Theatre Festival.

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 conclude this Friday, August 5 with 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, featuring Maureen Sebastian and Andy Lucien.

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.

During the 2022 Summer Season, a limited number of $30 tickets are available

for every Festival performance as part of a new affordable-tickets pilot program, AccessTix. AccessTix is part of the Festival's comprehensive ticket accessibility program, which includes $20 tickets for Massachusetts EBT and ConnectorCare Card to Culture members, as well as $30 Adult and $20 Youth Student "Rush" tickets that can be purchased at the Box Office two hours prior to each performance (subject to availability). More information about these programs can be found at www.wtfestival.org/shows-events/#BoxOffice.

As of July 8, The Berkshire Flyer provides 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.

As previously announced on June 30, Williamstown Theatre Festival no longer will require proof of vaccination, boosters, or negative COVID-19 tests. 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

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

WORLD PREMIERE

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

Sound Design: Mauricio Escamilla

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.

tiny father | Friday, August 5

Nikos Stage

Fridays@3

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, Andy Lucien

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.

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

Main Stage - Special Event

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.

Jimmy Naughton & Friends | Sunday, August 7

Main Stage - Benefit Concert

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.