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Williamstown Theatre Festival Announces 2014 Season Nikos Stage Productions

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Rick Miramontez / Molly Barnett
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

TONY® AWARD-WINNING
WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL
ANNOUNCES
2014 SEASON
NIKOS STAGE PRODUCTIONS

A GREAT WILDERNESS
FOOL FOR LOVE
THE OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON

CHRIS PINE, LAUREN AMBROSE,
PIGPEN THEATRE CO. AND MORE
JOIN THE NIKOS STAGE LINEUP

Williamstown, MA (March 21, 2014) – Williamstown Theatre Festival has announced the 2014 Nikos Stage offerings, completing the 60th Anniversary Season for the Tony® Award-winning theatre company.  The Nikos Stage season kicks off on July 9th with the East Coast premiere of Samuel D. Hunter’s acclaimed play A Great Wilderness (July 9 – 20) and will also include a revival of Sam Shepard’s Fool For Love, directed by Daniel Aukin with Lauren Ambrose (making her Festival debut) and Chris Pine (returning to Williamstown after 12 years), playing July 24 – August 3.   The Nikos Stage season ends with the anticipated return of the PigPen Theatre Co.’s celebrated production of The Old Man and the Old Moon (August 6 – 17).

As previously announced, WTF’s 60th Anniversary Season will also include a revival of Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman’s June Moon, directed by WTF favorite Jessica Stone (July 2-13); the World Premiere of Living on Love by Tony® Award winner Joe DiPietro and Garson Kanin (based on Kanin’s play Peccadillo), with celebrated soprano Renée Fleming in her Festival debut, directed by Tony® Award winner Kathleen Marshall (July 16 – 26), and the highly anticipated revival of Kander and Ebb’s The Visit, featuring Tony® Award winner Chita Rivera, directed by Tony® Award winner John Doyle (July 31 – August 17).
ABOUT THE NIKOS STAGE SEASON

A Great Wilderness | July 9 – July 20, 2014
By Samuel D. Hunter

After decades as the gentle-natured leader of a Christian retreat that endeavors to “cure” gay teens, Walt is packing up his life and preparing for a reluctant retirement. But when his final client quietly disappears into the remote Idaho wilderness, Walt discovers that his previously unwavering moral compass no longer points the way. With profound humanity and subtlety, OBIE Award-winning playwright Samuel D. Hunter navigates complex moral terrain, exploring the shifting motives and inconstant strength of our personal convictions.

Fool For Love | July 24 – August 3, 2014
By Sam Shepard; Directed by Daniel Aukin
With Lauren Ambrose and Chris Pine

Holed up in a seedy motel on the edge of the Mojave Desert, two former lovers unpack the deep secrets and dark desires of their tangled relationship, passionately tearing each other apart.  Beaten down by ill-fated love and a ruthless struggle for identity, can they ultimately live with, or without, each other?  Led by director Daniel Aukin, riveting young actors Chris Pine – returning for the first time to the stage where he launched his career – and Lauren Ambrose, in her Festival debut, bring a raw sexy energy to Sam Shepard’s landmark myth of the new Wild West.

The Old Man and the Old Moon | August 6 – 17, 2014
By PigPen Theatre Co.; Directed by Stuart Carden and PigPen Theatre Co.

The endlessly imaginative PigPen Theatre Co. comes to Williamstown with a luminously lo-fi spectacle that elevates traditional storytelling to high art.  Their fantastical, song-filled tale takes us to the end of the world when an old man abandons his duty of filling the moon with liquid light to search for his missing wife.  With a rollicking array of ever-changing characters, inventive theatrical effects, and an infectious contemporary folk sound, these seven young actor musicians transform the seemingly ordinary into sheer wonder.

TICKETS AND SCHEDULE
Advance orders for single tickets for the 2014 Williamstown Theatre Festival season may be placed starting Wednesday, April 16 through the WTF website (www.wtfestival.org) and by mail using WTF’s season brochure (call 413-597-3400 to join the mailing list).  All advance ticket orders will be processed in late May.  At that time, ticket orders from Festival donors will be given priority and will be filled by descending donor level.  All other advance ticket orders received by May 23, 2014 will be filled in order of date received.  The Williamstown Theatre Festival Box Office will open on June 3rd, 2014 at which point tickets may be purchased online, by phone at 413-597-3400, or in person at the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance Box Office at 1000 Main St (Route 2), Williamstown, MA 02167.

The Festival’s Nikos Stage is an intimate 173-seat venue that regularly sells out in advance from within the pool of Festival donors.  For more information on the benefits of becoming a WTF donor, visit www.wtfestival.org.

WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL
Since 1955, the Williamstown Theatre Festival has brought America’s finest actors, directors, designers, and playwrights to the Berkshires, engaging a loyal audience of both residents and summer visitors. Each WTF season is designed to present unique opportunities for artists and audience alike, revisiting classic plays with innovative productions, developing and nurturing bold new plays and musicals, and offering a rich array of accompanying cultural events including Free Theatre, Late-Night Cabarets, readings, workshops, and educational programs. While best known for its acclaimed productions, WTF is also home to one of the nation’s top training and professional development programs for new generations of aspiring theatre artists and administrators. Now celebrating its 60th Season, WTF was honored with the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 2002 and the Commonwealth Award for Achievement in 2011.

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www.wtfestival.org
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WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL
2014 SEASON SUMMARY

MAIN STAGE

June Moon
July 2 – July 13, 2014
By Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman
Directed by Jessica Stone

Living on Love
July 16 – July 26, 2014
By Joe DiPietro and Garson Kanin
Based on the play Peccadillo by Garson Kanin
Directed by Kathleen Marshall
With Renée Fleming

The Visit
July 31 – August 17, 2014

Book by Terrence McNally
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Choreographed by Graciela Daniele
Directed by John Doyle
With Chita Rivera
NIKOS STAGE

A Great Wilderness
July 9 – July 20, 2014

By Samuel D. Hunter

Fool For Love | July 24 – August 3, 2014
By Sam Shepard
Directed by Daniel Aukin
With Lauren Ambrose and Chris Pine

The Old Man and the Old Moon | August 6 – 17, 2014
By PigPen Theatre Co.
Directed by Stuart Carden and PigPen Theatre Co.