Williamstown Slate Includes Renée Fleming in Living on Love, Chita Rivera in The Visit and More | Playbill

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News Williamstown Slate Includes Renée Fleming in Living on Love, Chita Rivera in The Visit and More The Williamstown Theatre Festival has announced additional details of its 2014 main stage season, which will include opera star Renée Fleming in the Joe DiPietro-Garson Kanin world premiere Living on Love, Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman's comedy June Moon and the previously reported production of Kander and Ebb's The Visit, starring Chita Rivera.

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Chita Rivera in rehearsal Photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN

The season will open with a revival of Lardner and Kaufman's June Moon, running July 2-13. Jessica Stone will direct. According to Williamstown, "Earnest and gullible young lyricist Fred Stevens boards a train in Schenectady bound for the Big Apple, determined to make a name for himself in the thriving Tin Pan Alley scene. However, the life he’s imagined is rife with seductive distractions - namely dames - that threaten to derail his dream of penning the next big ditty."

Living on Love, Tony-winning Memphis writer DiPietro's adaptation of Kanin's Pecadillo, will premiere July 16-26 under the direction of Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes, Nice Work If You Can Get It).

Opera star Fleming, according to Williamstown, will play "celebrated diva Rachel DeAngelis. When her husband, the fiery and egomaniacal Maestro Vito DeAngelis, becomes enamored with the lovely young lady hired to ghostwrite his long-delayed autobiography, Rachel retaliates by hiring her very own – and very handsome – ghostwriter to chronicle her life as an opera star. As the young writers try to keep themselves out of the story while churning out chapters, the high-energy – and high-maintenance – power duet threatens to fall out of tune for good."

As first reported by Playbill.com, Tony Award-winning director John Doyle (Sweeney Todd, Company) will stage the John Kander and Fred Ebb musical The Visit July 31-Aug. 17, with Rivera (The Rink, Kiss of the Spider Woman) returning to the central role of Claire. Tony nominee Graciela Daniele (Ragtime, The Rink, Drood) will choreograph.

The Visit has music by Kander, lyrics by the late Ebb and a book by Terrence McNally (Mothers and Sons, Master Class, Ragtime). According to Williamstown, "Broadway legend Chita Rivera portrays Claire Zachanassian, an often-widowed millionairess who pays a visit to her hardship-stricken birthplace. The locals hope she’ll bring them a new lease on life, but little do they know her offer to revitalize the town comes at a dreadful price."

Ticket packages are currently on sale at WTFestival.org. Single tickets will go on sale in April.

 
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