Theater News

Williamstown Theatre Festival Adds Leon Addison Brown, Andrew Samonsky, and More

The festival also announces creative teams for its productions, including a new director of ”The Member of the Wedding”.

Leon Addison Brown has joined the cast of The Member of the Wedding at Williamstown Theatre Festival.
Leon Addison Brown has joined the cast of The Member of the Wedding at Williamstown Theatre Festival.
(© David Gordon)

Williamstown Theatre Festival has announced additional cast and creative team members to the 2018 season.

Azudi Onyejekwe and Andrew Samonsky will join Eden Espinosa, Natalie Joy Johnson, and more in Lempicka (July 19-August 1). Portia and Ray Anthony Thomas will star alongside Joshua Boone, Alfie Fuller, and Christopher Livingston in Artney Jackson (July 11-22). And Leon Addison Brown and James Waterston have been added to the cast of The Member of the Wedding (August 5-19).

Also, Gaye Taylor Upchurch will now direct The Member of the Wedding, with the previously announced Lila Neugebauer having to withdraw because of a personal matter.

The additional creative team members for the Main Stage productions are as follows:

The Closet (June 26-July 14): Allen Moyer (scenic designer), Jessica Pabst (costume designer), Japhy Weideman (lighting designer), and Jane Shaw (sound designer)

Lempicka: Riccardo Hernandez (scenic designer), Montana Levi Blanco (costume designer), Tony Award winner Natasha Katz (lighting designer), Nevin Steinberg (sound designer), Remy Kurs (music supervisor), Cian McCarthy (orchestrations), Charity Wicks (music director), and Raja Feather Kelly (choreographer)

The Member of the Wedding: Bray Poor (sound designer)

And the additional creative team members for the Nikos Stage productions are as follows:

The Sound Inside (June 27-July 8): Alexander Woodward (scenic designer), David Hyman (costume designer), Heather Gilbert (lighting designer), Daniel Kluger (original music and sound designer), and Aaron Rhyne (projections designer)

Artney Jackson: Arnulfo Maldonado (scenic designer), Emilio Sosa (costume designer), Isabella Byrd (lighting designer), and Stowe Nelson (sound designer)

Seared (July 25-August 4): Tim Mackabee (scenic designer), Tilly Grimes (costume designer), David Weiner (lighting designer), and Palmer Hefferan (sound designer)

Dangerous House (August 8-19): Tony nominee Dane Laffrey (scenic designer), Dede Ayite (costume designer), Lap Chi Chu (lighting designer), and Palmer Hefferan (sound designer)

The festival has also announced special events through the season, including a sneak peek reading of Greg Keller's The Jokers featuring Marin Ireland, Morgan Spector, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Gerry Bamman, and Debra Monk; and Ophira Eisenberg's Playing the Odds, which she is performing as part of the Hot Spot, a series that shines a spotlight on a performer or group, on August 4.

Finally, the lineup for the festival's popular Fridays@3 reading series is as follows (all readings will take place at the Clark Auditorium):

Sharyn Rothstein's Tell Me I'm Not Crazy, featuring Mark Blum and Jame Kaczmarek (July 6).

Halley Feiffer's Saying Goodbye to the People I Love From My Bathtub, directed by Trip Cullman, and featuring Feiffer, Paola Lazaro, Deborah Rush, and Ryan Spahn (July 13).

Donald Margulies's Long Lost, directed by Tony winner Daniel Sullivan, and featuring Kelly AuCoin (July 20).

Secret Soldiers, with book by Marsha Norman, and music and lyrics by Zoe Sarnak; directed by Leigh Silverman; and featuring Jamar Williams (July 27).

Sylvia Khoury's Selling Kabul, featuring Omar Metwally and Marjan Neshat (August 10).