Summer L. Williams

 From an exciting new voice in American theatre comes this enlightening story about the bonds that unite us, and the journey of experiencing grief. Everyman Theatre presents Jump by Charly Evon Simpson and Directed by Summer L. Williams. 

Vineyard Theatre and WP Theater are now presenting the World Premiere of sandblasted at Vineyard Theatre (108 East 15th Street), playing until March 13. 

Vineyard Theatre and WP Theater have announced that the World Premiere of sandblasted will add a week of performances ahead of its opening night on February 27 at Vineyard Theatre (108 East 15th Street). sandblasted began previews on February 6 and will now play until March 13. 

Vineyard Theatre and WP Theater have released rehearsal photos of the upcoming World Premiere of sandblasted. Previews begin on February 6 with opening night set for February 27 at Vineyard Theatre (108 East 15th Street).

WP Theater will welcome audiences back to the theater for their 2021-2022 Season, which will continue to lift up the work of Women+ theater artists in creative new ways.The 2021-22 Season kicks off August 2 – 5 with Monica Bill Barnes & Company’s Many Happy Returns, an inventive and intimate new dance piece. 

The Vineyard has just announced its new season, which will include productions of Is This A Room, conceived and directed by Obie Award winner Tina Satter; and the Center Theatre Group, Goodman Theatre and Vineyard Theatre production of Dana H., by Obie Award winner Lucas Hnath and directed by Obie Award winner Les Waters. Both shows will come to Broadway's Lyceum Theatre (149 W 45th Street, New York, NY), playing on a rotating schedule.

1776 will now play May - July 2022 in the Loeb Drama Center before it plays at Roundabout Theatre Company in fall 2022 and begins a national tour in February 2023.  WILD in Concert is a new musical starring Idina Menzel, which was created by Tony and Obie Award-winning playwright V (formerly Eve Ensler).

Summer L. Williams, associate artistic director and co-founder of Company One Theatre is, among other goals, using this time as a chance to reset. She ponders, a?oeHow do I take advantage of this chance to reimagine the way I think or work? I am finding things that I thought were internal pressures that are actually external pressures.a??

For a long time within their history, Company One has cornered the market in Boston for selecting those cutting-edge new works that are able to effectively spark conversations and juxtaposing them against each other in ways that are both productive and incendiary. Hats off to Director of New Work, Ilana M Brownstein, as well as National New Play Network (NNPN) Producer in Residence, Jasmine Brooks, and the entire administrative staff for selecting, through NNPN, such a well-crafted text for a rolling premiere. Jung, who may be best known in Boston for her equally nuanced play, Cardboard Piano, does not stoop to begin with a message, as seems to be in vogue for playwrights right now. She does not set out to teach us anything in a certain, straightforward lecture subdivided into all-too-interchangeable dialogue. Instead, the genesis of her play seems to center around the hypothetical. As one character explains in a moment of meta-theatricality, the evening is nothing more than a series of 'what if?'s. What if a young boy was adopted from Korea by a a?oenot-future-orienteda?? white couple who have given up on having any biological children of their own? What if, once that couple is able to conceive, the boy is again put up for adoption? What if he is adopted by a lesbian couple, and his adoptive father is not entirely thrilled with the prospect of two women raising a boy? By asking these questions and not providing answers, Jung has effectively done what so many playwrights and their commissioners claim to want. She has created a work with the potential to generate conversations that lead to growth and change. Set against the thorough dramaturgical work one can expect from Company One, the production introduces issues within the idea of transracial adoption, America's systems for adoption, and the thin line between a?oevulnerability and violencea??.

New Repertory Theatre presents Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. This biographical play with music by Lanie Robertson tells the incredible story of an icon who consistently battled racism, abuse, and addiction for her chance to sing. The production runs March 28 through April 19, 2020 in the MainStage Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA. Tickets start at $25 and may be purchased by calling the New Rep Box Office at 617-923-8487 or visiting newrep.org. Student, senior, and group discounts are available, as well as free tickets for WIC/EBT cardholders.

New Repertory Theatre is delighted to announce that Lydia Harrell will star as Billie Holiday in their upcoming production of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill.

SpeakEasy Stage Company presents the New England premiere of the 2018 Lucille Lortel Award-winner for Outstanding Play (tie), Jocelyn Bioh's SCHOOL GIRLS; OR, THE AFRICAN MAN GIRLS PLAY, directed by Summer L. Williams. A Ghanaian-American playwright, Bioh sets the play in 1986 at a top boarding school in Ghana. The action centers on self-anointed queen bee Paulina (Ireon Roach) who aspires to win the Miss Ghana Beauty Pageant in order to represent her country in the coveted Miss Global Universe Pageant. When Headmistress Francis (Crystin Gilmore) introduces Ericka (Victoria Byrd), a new student from Ohio, just before the audition, Paulina is unexpectedly faced with a formidable challenger, not just for the competition, but also for the attentions and loyalty of her crew.

Kitchen Theatre Company launches its 2017-2018 Season with Smart People, a sharp and provocative new comedy by Lydia R. Diamond. Summer L. Williams, Associate Artistic Director of Company One Theatre (Boston, MA), directs. Performances of Smart People began at the Kitchen Theatre Company in The Percy Browning Theatre on September 3. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Kitchen Theatre Company launches its 2017-2018 Season with Smart People , a sharp and provocative new comedy by Lydia R. Diamond. Summer L. Williams, Associate Artistic Director of Company One Theatre (Boston, MA), directs. Performances of Smart People begin at the Kitchen Theatre Company in The Percy Browning Theatre on September 3.

Kitchen Theatre Company launches its 2017-2018 Season with Smart People, a sharp and provocative new comedy by Lydia R. Diamond. Summer L. Williams, Associate Artistic Director of Company One Theatre (Boston, MA), directs. Performances of Smart People begin at the Kitchen Theatre Company in The Percy Browning Theatre on September 3.

BARBECUE is a play about which one cannot say too much without ruining its considerable effect. Here's the minimalist FYI, things you need to know but that won't give anything away. It is written by Robert O'Hara, directed by Summer L. Williams, and features an ensemble cast of ten actors who all give great performances and disappear into their richly drawn characters. Taking place on a raised pavilion in a pastoral park, the lovely setting belies the serious nature of the subjects (substance abuse, family dysfunction, race) that BARBECUE serves up on a platter. And one more thing - it's a comedy.

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston presents Barbecue by Robert O'Hara, directed by Summer L. Williams and running April 7 - May 7, 2017. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the company!

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston has announced its cast and creative team for Barbecue by Robert O'Hara, directed by Summer L. Williams and running April 7 - May 7, 2017.

The New England premiere of Robert O'Hara's BOOTYCANDY at SpeakEasy Stage Company is based on the author's own experiences of growing up black and gay in America. Similar in structure and tone to THE COLORED MUSEUM, it is a series of loosely connected vignettes that rely on humor and satire to confront racial, sexual, and cultural stereotypes. Summer L. Williams directs an outstanding cast of five actors who portray nearly two dozen characters.

From tonight, March 12, to April 9, 2016, SpeakEasy Stage Company will present the New England Premiere of BOOTYCANDY, a shockingly funny and saucy spin on race, sex, and sexuality, written by award-winning playwright and director Robert O'Hara.