Marc Kudisch and Amanda Plummer to Headline Hartford Stage’s Summer and Smoke

Marc Kudisch and Amanda Plummer will play the roles of John and Alma in the Hartford Stage production of Tennessee Williams’ Summer and Smoke, under the direction of Michael Wilson. The show will run August 31-October 1 in Hartford and then will transfer to New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse on January 10; Kudisch will continue in his role at Paper Mill, but Plummer will not be available for that engagement due to a prior commitment to perform Shakespeare With My Father in Montreal.

First seen on Broadway in 1948, Summer and Smoke concerns a Southern spinster and her failed romance. The piece was filmed in 1961, with Geraldine Page and Laurence Harvey in the leads. A 1996 Roundabout Theatre Company revival starred Mary McDonnell and Harry Hamlin.

The cast of the Hartford Stage production includes Terry Beaver (Reverend Winemiller), Jennifer Harmon (Mrs. Winemiller), Nafe Katter (Doctor Buchanan), Stephanie Beatriz (Rosa Gonzales), Mateo Gomez (Papa Gonzalez), Marta Reiman (Nellie Ewell), Johanna Morrison (Mrs. Bassett), Bill Kux (Roger Doremus), Elizabeth Capinera (Rosemary), John Ort (Vernon), and Curtis Billings (Mr. Kramer/Dusty). There is no word on how many of these cast members will reprise their roles at Paper Mill.

The show will feature sets by Tony Straiges, costumes by David Woolard, lighting by Rui Rita, and sound design by John Gromada.

Kudisch is a two-time Tony Award nominee for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Thoroughly Modern Millie; he received Drama Desk Award nominations for See What I Wanna See, Assassins, and Millie. Plummer won a Tony Award for Agnes of God and was nominated for her work in A Taste of Honey and Pygmalion.

For information and tickets, call 860-527-5151 or visit www.hartfordstage.org.