Every day is opening night.

Workshop performance of David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s “Here Lies Love” to play WTF

 

O&M Co.

Rick Miramontez / Molly Barnett
212.695.7400
rick@oandmco.com / molly@oandmco.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL
ADDS A WORKSHOP PERFORMANCE OF
DAVID BYRNE’S “HERE LIES LOVE”
TO 2012 SEASON

NEW THEATRICAL EVENT WITH
MUSIC BY DAVID BYRNE AND FATBOY SLIM
DIRECTED BY ALEX TIMBERS
TO PLAY FIVE PERFORMANCES AT MASS MoCA

New York, NY  (4/20/2012) –Artistic Director Jenny Gersten has announced that Williamstown Theatre Festival will present a workshop presentation of Here Lies Love, a new theatrical event created by Grammy and Academy Award-winner David Byrne and directed by Tony Award nominee Alex Timbers, with music by Byrne and multi MTV Award-winner Fatboy SlimHere Lies Love is a collaboration with WTF's artistic neighbor, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) and The Public Theater in New York City.   After a three week rehearsal residency at MASS MoCA, the show will play five workshop performances over four days, from June 21-24, 2012, at the Hunter Center for the Performing Arts at MASS MoCA (87 Marshall Street, North Adams, MA).  The Public will present the World Premiere of Here Lies Love in the spring of 2013.  

“I'm excited to be back at MASS MoCA.  I did their very first art installation!  I've been working on this project for a long time, and I think the former industrial space there will be the perfect place and opportunity to see if this piece works,” Byrne said about the project.   “It was always intended for a space like this — so thrilling for me that this worked out. I’m grateful to Williamstown Theater Festival for making this happen.  Since I performed these songs at Carnegie Hall there are at least five new ones, which I think puts a whole new spin on the story and I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks.”

Within a throbbing dance club environment, in Here Lies Love, David Byrne and Fatboy Slim deconstruct the astonishing journey of Filipina First Lady Imelda Marcos, from her meteoric rise to her descent into infamy. This wholly immersive spectacle combines disco beats, adrenaline-fuele choreography, and a remarkable 360-degree scenic and video environment — going beyond Imelda’s near-mythic obsession with shoes to explore true questions of power and responsibility.  Directed by two-time Obie Award winner Alex Timbers (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson; Peter and the Starcatcher), Here Lies Love is neither period piece nor mere biography, neither play nor musical, but a unique theatrical experience that raises the pulse and quickens the blood – all filtered through the remarkable vision of David Byrne, one of the great American artists of the last half century.

 

TICKET INFORMATION
Here Lies Love is produced in association with The Public Theater and supported in residence by MASS MoCA.  Tickets will go on sale Friday, April 20th, 2012 and will be available through the MASS MoCA box office at www.massmoca.org or by calling (413)-662-2111.


WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL
2012 SEASON SUMMARY

MAIN STAGE:

The Importance of Being Earnest
By Oscar Wilde
Directed by David Hyde Pierce
June 26 – July 14, 2012

Far From Heaven
Book by Richard Greenberg
Music by Scott Frankel
Lyrics by Michael Korie
Directed by Michael Greif
With Kelli O’Hara
July 19 – 29, 2012

A Month in the Country
By Ivan Turgenev
Translated by Richard Nelson, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky
Directed by Richard Nelson
August 1 – 19, 2012

NIKOS STAGE:

The Blue Deep
By Lucy Boyle
Directed by Bob Balaban
With Blythe Danner
June 27 – July 8, 2012

Last of the Red Hot Lovers
By Neil Simon
Directed by Jessica Stone
July 11 – 22, 2012

The Elephant Man
By Bernard Pomerance
Directed by Scott Ellis
With Patricia Clarkson and Bradley Cooper
July 25 – August 5, 2012

WHADDABLOODCLOT!!!
By Katori Hall
Directed by May Adrales
Presented in association with Signature Theatre
August 8 – 19, 2012

ADDITIONAL PRODUCTIONS

THE HUNTER CENTER AT MASS MOCA
Here Lies Love
Created By David Byrne
Directed by Alex Timbers
Music by David Byrne & Fatboy Slim
June 21 – 24, 2012


FREE THEATRE
At Poker Flats
The Valley of Fear
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Adapted by Steve Lawson
Directed by Lila Neugebauer
July 18 – 27, 2012

WTF TICKETS AND SCHEDULE

Advance ticket orders for the 2012 Williamstown Theatre Festival season may be placed through the Festival's website (www.wtfestival.org) or by mail order using the season brochure (call 413-597-3400 to join the mailing list).  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 25, 2012 will be filled in order of date received.

The Festival's Nikos Stage is an intimate 173-seat venue that regularly sells out in advance from within the pool of Festival donors.

The Williamstown Theatre Festival Box Office will open on June 5th, 2012 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.

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 our 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 under the leadership of Artistic Director Jenny Gersten, WTF was honored with the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 2002 and the Commonwealth Award for Achievement in 2011.