Intiman artistic director Bartlett Sher directs the production set to open Oct. 13 through Nov. 20 at the Washington company's stage.

The Grover's Corners, New Hampshire-set Our Town will feature Skerritt, Celia Keenan-Bolger (The Light in the Piazza) as Emily and newcomer Joaquín Torres as George in a twenty-four member, multicultural ensemble who will also "perform original musical compositions and vocal arrangements," according to a release.

"Our Town combines Wilder’s formal experimentation with themes and ideas that are deeply American," said Sher in a statement. "Our theatres need to reflect our communities, and our community is extremely multicultural. We’re doing the play in period, but casting it in such a way that it’s completely multicultural. It’s not going to change how the actors speak, what they wear, where they are — but we are now a new kind of 'our town.'"

The company also includes Earl Alexander, Vincent Balestri, Laurence Ballard, Patti Cohenour, Philip Davidson, Dominique Duncan, Justin Emeka, Allen Gilmore, Jose J. Gonzalez, Jarvis Antonio Green, Josephine Howell, Alyssa Keene, Lisa Li, Kelly Mak, Ella Mora, Jeanne Paulsen, Larry Paulsen, Andrew J. Peterson, Max Piscioneri, Lukas Shadair and Erwin Thomas.

The creative team for Our Town includes Christopher Akerlind (scenic and lighting), Elizabeth Caitlin Ward (costumes), Peter John Still (sound) and dialect coach Judith Shahn. The (actual) stage manager is Wendiana Walker. Skerritt is known for his turns in such films as "M*A*S*H," "Alien," "Steel Magnolias," "A River Runs Through It," "Top Gun" and the television series "Picket Fences." His stage credits include a production of Love Letters with Kathy Baker and Lee Remick.

Director Sher recently directed the world premiere of Craig Lucas' Singing Forest and is slated to return to the helm of Lucas and Adam Guettel's musical The Light in the Piazza for its forthcoming Broadway debut after directing the Goodman Theatre run in Chicago.

"The American Cycle" program will continue to bring "large-scale productions of resonant works that will explore the American character," according to a release. The five-year initiative will also include Frank Galati's adaptation of John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath," Richard Wright's "Native Son," Robert Penn Warren's "All the King's Men," and Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Tickets to Our Town at the Intiman, 201 Mercer Street at Seattle Center, can be purchased at (206) 269-1900. For more information on the, visit www.intiman.org.