The Torch-Bearers, a Fresh Look at Kelly's Backstage Comedy, Begins in Williamstown

By Adam Hetrick
July 29, 2009

Tony Award nominee Dylan Baker's adaptation of George Kelly's 1922 showbiz comedy, The Torch-Bearers, starring Tony winners John Rubinstein, Katie Finneran and Andrea Martin, begins performances at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts July 29, continuing to Aug. 9 on the Festival Main Stage.

In addition to Rubinstein (Children of a Lesser God), Finneran (Noises Off) and Martin (Exit the King, My Favorite Year), Baker directs Katherine McGrath (The Music Man, A Tale of Two Cities), Jessica Hecht (Howard Katz, After the Fall), Emmy winner Edward Herrmann ("The Practice"), Yusef Bulos (Fiddler on the Roof), Phillip Goodwin (Tartuffe), Lizbeth MacKay (All My Sons), John Doherty and Becky Ann Baker (All My Sons).

The Torch-Bearers, according to Festival notes, "is a side-splitting 1920s farce in which a troupe of amateur actors rehearses and performs a show-stopping new play — or try to with all their might. Their stage is riddled with comedic drama, suspense, and good old-fashioned witty mayhem."

The Williamstown production features designs by set designer David Korins, costume designer Ilona Somogyi, lighting designer Rui Rita, sound designer Alex Neumann and music by Michael Garin.

For tickets visit WilliamstownTheatreFestival.