By Adam Hetrick
21 May 2009

Brooks Ashmanskas, Bob Dishy and Reg Rogers
photo by Aubrey Reuben

Tony Award nominees Brooks Ashmanskas, Bob Dishy and Reg Rogers will appear in the world premiere of Jonathan Marc Sherman's Knickerbocker at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in July.

Williamstown artistic director Nicholas Martin stages the production, scheduled to run July 8-19 on the Nikos Stage. Sherman is the playwright of Women and Wallace, Sophistry and Things We Want.

In addition to Ashmanskas (Fame Becomes Me, The Ritz, Gypsy), Dishy (Sly Fox, The Price) and Rogers (Holiday, The Understudy), Knickerbocker will feature Peter Dinklage (Uncle Vanya, "The Station Agent"), Rightor Doyle (The Nosemaker's Apprentice), Annie Parisse ("Law & Order," Becky Shaw) and Susan Pourfar (The Singing Forest, Swimming in the Shallows).

Knickerbocker will have designs by set designer Alexander Dodge, costume designer Gabriel Berry, lighting designer Philip Rosenberg and sound designer Alex Neumann.

Here's how Williamstown press notes for the premiere read: "'Are you ready?' The question looms over Jerry as the months tick by and his unborn son grows from the size of a peach to the size of, well, a baby. As the birth date creeps ever nearer, will the advice, encouragement and warnings of friends and family make Jerry more or less ready? The awe and terror of becoming a new parent shines through Sherman's newest comedy as he examines whether one can ever truly be ready for parenthood."

Williamstown has also announced that actor Bradley Cooper ("Nip/Tuck"), who was to appear in True West this summer, has withdrawn from the production for personal reasons. Cooper was slated to replace original company member Rob Corddry in the staging that co-stars his brother, Nate Corddry. Cooper's replacement will be named shortly.

For more information on WTF, visit WilliamstownTheatreFestival.