Steven Pasquale Joins Kelli O'Hara for Far From Heaven at Williamstown; Creative Team Set

By Adam Hetrick
21 Jun 2012

Steven Pasquale
Steven Pasquale
Photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN

Steven Pasquale will co-star with Kelli O'Hara in the Williamstown Theatre Festival premiere of Far From Heaven, the new musical by Tony Award nominees Scott Frankel, Michael Korie and Tony winner Richard Greenberg.

Pasquale (Reasons to Be Pretty, "Rescue Me") has been cast in the role of Frank Whitaker opposite four-time Tony nominee O'Hara (The Light in the Piazza, South Pacific, Nice Work...) as his wife, Cathy Whitaker, who has her world shattered through a series of revelations and emotional encounters.

Based on the 2002 film of the same title, Far From Heaven has a score by Grey Gardens and Finding Neverland songwriters Frankel (music) and Korie (lyrics) and a book by Greenberg (Take Me Out). Tony nominee Michael Greif (Grey Gardens, Rent, Next to Normal) will direct the July 19-29 run.

The cast also features JB Adams (Annie) as Morris Farnsworth, Nancy Anderson (A Class Act) as Eleanor Fine, Quincy Tyler Bernstine ("Rachel Getting Married") as Sybil, Brandon Victor Dixon (The Color Purple) as Raymond Deagan, Sarah Jane Everman (Promises, Promises) as Doreen/Connie/Patti Page, Alison Fraser (Gypsy) as Mona Lauder, Kate Hamilton as Nancy, Chris Hoch (La Cage aux Folles) as Stan Fine, Crystal Lucas-Perry (WTF's A Streetcar Named Desire) as Esther, Preston Martin as Blond Son, Alexa Niziak as Janice Whitaker, Charlie Plummer as David Whitaker, Michael James Shaw as Musician/Gus, Mary Stout (Jane Eyre) as Mrs. Leacock and Tony Yazbeck (Gypsy) as Dick Dawson.

Here's how the musical is billed: "Cathy Whitaker seems to be the picture-perfect wife and mother in 1957 suburban Connecticut. But roiling beneath the surface, secret longings and forbidden desires cause her world to unravel – with incendiary consequences. With a lush score that is both jazz-inflected and hauntingly lyrical, Far From Heaven is a powerful story of romance, betrayal, intolerance and a woman grappling with her identity in a society on the verge of great upheaval."

Following its Williamstown debut, Far From Heaven will arrive Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in spring 2013. Williamstown casting, with the exception of O'Hara, does not indicate casting for the New York bow.

Designing Far From Heaven are Allen Moyer (scenic design), Catherine Zuber (costume design), Kenneth Posner (lighting design), Nevin Steinberg (sound design) and Peter Nigrini (projections design). Larry Yurman (Grey Gardens) is music director and orchestrations are by Tony Award winner Bruce Coughlin (The Light in the Piazza, Grey Gardens).

Williamstown has also announced the design team for Neil Simon's The Last of the Red Hot Lovers, staged by Jessica Stone, July 11-22. The cast includes the newly announced Leslie Bibb ("Iron Man"), who joins Brooks Ashmanskas (Present Laughter), Susie Essman ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") and Lili Taylor ("Six Feet Under").

The design team includes Alexander Dodge (scenic design), Philip Rosenberg (lighting design), Clint Ramos (costume design), Drew Levy (sound design) and Aaron Rhyne (projections design).

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