Tony Speciale will direct Romeo and Juliet, which will run Sept. 4-26 at the Pamela Brown Auditorium. Following Romeo and Juliet will be Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night, directed by artistic director Waters, Oct. 9-28 at the Pamela Brown Auditorium; and Sam Shepard's dark comedy True West, helmed by Obie Award-winning playwright and director Adam Rapp, Nov. 13-Dec. 9 at the Bingham Theatre.

In 2013, the company's Brown-Forman Series will include Matthew Lopez's The Whipping Man—described as "a moving drama about newfound freedom, the legacy of slavery, redemption and regret"—directed by Meredith McDonough, Jan. 8-Feb. 2, 2013, at the Pamela Brown Auditorium; and the Matthew Sweet and Todd Almond musical Girlfriend, directed by Waters, Jan. 29-Feb. 17, 2013, at the Pamela Brown Auditorium. Featuring music and lyrics by Sweet and a book by Almond, the musical, according to Actors Theatre, follows "two teenage boys—one a social outcast, the other the quintessential jock—[who] explore a relationship during a summer of self-discovery between high school graduation and the rest of their lives."

The 37th Annual Humana Festival of New American Plays, featuring new work that "runs the gamut from comedies to dramas to plays that forge new theatrical territory," will run Feb. 27-April 7, 2013.

Holiday events offered at the Actors Theatre include Dracula, adapted and directed by William McNulty (Sept. 12-Oct. 31, 2012, at the Bingham Theatre); Philip Grecian's A Christmas Story, directed by Drew Fracher (Nov. 7-25 at the Pamela Brown Auditorium); and A Christmas Carol, also directed by Fracher (Dec. 4-23 at the Pamela Brown Auditorium).

Now entering its 49th season, Actors Theatre of Louisville, the State Theatre of Kentucky, is the recipient of a special Tony Award for Distinguished Achievement, the James N. Vaughan Memorial Award for Exceptional Achievement and Contribution to the Development of Professional Theatre, and the Margo Jones Award for the Encouragement of New Plays. The company produces a range of classical and contemporary work with more than 500 performances each season. For more information and tickets, call (502) 584-1205 or visit ActorsTheatre.org.

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ATL is under the leadership of artistic director Les Waters and managing director Jennifer Bielstein.