New works include House on Stilts by Sarah Hammond (July 8); It’s Only a Reading by Tony nominee Maria Tucci and Mary Tannen (July 15); WHADDABLOODCLOTT!!! by Olivier Award winner Hall (July 22); The Blue Deep by Lucy Boyle (July 29); Choir Boy by McCraney (Aug. 5); and Sister Carrie directed and adapted by Steve Lawson (Aug. 12).
Williamstown also announced that Danner (Follies, Butterflies Are Free) and Rabe (The Merchant of Venice) will appear in Boyle's The Blue Deep. Rabe is also scheduled to star in the Williamstown production of A Doll's House beginning July 20.
Here's a look at the plays:
House on Stilts, directed by Kip Fagan, "is a tale of hard longing and unexpected friendship set in the South Carolina low country. Haunted by a tragic Fourth of July accident, Rutherford Stub lives alone in a borrowed house on the edge of Crooktail Island, waiting for the woman across the water to wake up. After years away from home, an old friend and her teenage daughter arrive, wrecking his quiet solitude. In the months between his unhappy birthday and the always-difficult Fourth of July, hermitical Rutherford gets a glimpse of a happier life. But when it's time to let go of the past, can he?"
It’s Only a Reading, directed by Patrick Breen (Next Fall, The Normal Heart), is "set amongst the celebrity-studded hills of Taos, New Mexico. A successful television writer, the hot-shot young actor who starred in his series, and an older actress with whom the writer shares a sordid emotional history get together to read his new play. When the actors discover the play may be more true to life than they first realized, rehearsal quickly evolves into an outrageous struggle between writer and actress for control over the past, the play, and even the poor hapless young actor caught in between." WHADDABLOODCLOTT!!! will be directed by May Adrales. "Upper East Sider Eden Higgenbotham has a cushy life and an even cushier bank account, surrounded by her equally affluent and snobbish friends. Eden’s life changes in an instant, however, after a sudden stroke causes her to contract the very rare Foreign Accent Syndrome, forcing her to speak uncontrollably with a Jamaican accent. Seeking help for this bizarre condition, Eden must reluctantly embrace her new identity as her old life falls apart in this hilarious and quirky new play."
The Blue Deep, directed by Bob Balaban, begins when "Lila Miller returns to her mother’s idyllic summer home in Sag Harbor feeling a little lost and forgotten. Her prodigal return, however, may not be quite as well received by her mother, Grace, as Lila would like. Surrounded by a lovable group of eccentrics including Roberta, a rock ‘n’ roll journalist, and Jorge, a strapping young gardener, both Lila and Grace might just put their pasts behind them and step into the next chapter of their lives as the end of summer draws near."
Choir Boy "is set at the prestigious Charles R. Drew Prep School for boys, where seventeen-year-old Pharus has an insatiable desire to be the finest first tenor in the school’s reputable choir. As the hunt for the culprit of a seemingly unrelated accident unfolds, the entire institution will struggle to protect both Pharus and the school’s reputation in this provocative new play about ambition and self-discovery."
Sister Carrie is based on the novel by Theodore Dreiser. "A provincial girl from Wisconsin arrives in the big city of Chicago where vice and virtue are intertwined, money clashes with desire, and reaching the top depends on what you can sell. But, as Carrie quickly learns, everything that glitters is not necessarily gold. Dreiser’s panoramic saga of aspiration explores the consequences of success in a fast-changing and merciless world."
The Fridays@3 reading series is presented with a $5 suggested donation. Reservations are suggested. Phone (413) 597-3400 or visit the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance in Williamstown to reserve a seat.
