Williamstown Theatre Festival Ending Record SeasonTammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
07:51PM / Monday, August 22, 2011 | |
 The musical "Ten Cents a Dance" featuring the tunes of Rodgers and Hart closes out the Williamstown Theatre Festival. |
Williamstown Theatre Festival is reporting a banner season. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williamstown Theatre Festival wraps up what it's calling a record season this week that's brought thousands to the Village Beautiful.
According to a statement from the theater, August box office sales are double last year's with Tuesday, Aug. 16, as biggest day for sales this year, beating the opening day for ticket sales in June.
More than 40,000 people from 44 states, Canada and the United Kingdom filled seats to see any or all of the three Main Stage producations, five on the Nikos Stage and nearly 200 other public performances ranging from the free theater to works in progress to student productions.
This is all despite what some local critics are calling an uneven first season for new Artistic Director Jenny Gersten. Indeed, the theater is crediting the current production "10 Cents a Dance" — which as received both raves and rasberries — for an uptick in hotel and restaurant traffic this month.
In any case, Gersten's doing what more recent directors haven't been able to do: Not only fill seats but sell them out.
"The theater this year has really brought more people into town," said Judy Giamborino, president of the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce. She's been hearing on the street and in local stores of an increase in traffic and more cash registers chinging. "What I'm really hearing from people and walking the street is that the Williamstown Theatre Festival is coming back to what the theater was."
Giamborino credited Gersten and the team she's put together, including Eric Kerns, director of development, and Joe Finnegan, general manager.
"There's something about the mix they've had this year," she said. "The show are fabulous, the actors are great.
"She's got the draw, she's got really good people, everything came together. ... If she did this within her first year, well ... ."
Local business will get to hear of Gersten's plans for next year when she appears as the keynote speaker at the annual Williamstown Chamber of Commerce dinner in November.
The theater company has also brought in or hired locally some 412 people including staff, apprentices and artists and established a production center for set design in the Blackinton Mill.
In its statement, theater officials expressed gratitude to the "Williamstown community and Williams College for its generosity toward and support of another wonderful summer of theater in the Berkshires."
Tickets are still available for "Ten Cents a Dance," which closes the 2011 season on the Main Stage on Sunday, Aug. 28. Attempts to speak with WTF representatives were not immediately successful.
For a different take, read BerkshireFineArts. The full press release is here:
Williamstown, MA (8/22/11) – In the final week of the 2011 season, Williamstown Theatre Festival (WTF) celebrates a summer of incredible artists and audiences.
This season, WTF presented three productions on the Main Stage including Jon Robin Baitz’s Three Hotels, the Nicholas Martin directed She Stoops to Conquer, and the American premiere of John Doyle’s Ten Cents a Dance. On the Nikos Stage, WTF presented the David Cromer directed A Streetcar Named Desire, Lewis Black’s One Slight Hitch, the Sam Gold directed A Doll’s House, the East Coast premiere of Bess Wohl’s Touch(ed), and The Civilians’ You Better Sit Down: tales from my parents’ divorce. In addition to these productions, 188 public performances including Free Theatre, Fridays @ 3, SITSTANDWALKLIEDOWN, and dozens of productions created by WTF’s workshop program of directing and design interns, apprentices, and non-Equity actors entertained the Williamstown audience.
2011 August sales are double that of August 2010, and on August 16 the box office reported a record day of sales for this year, beating the typical watermark of Box Office opening day in June. The success of Ten Cents a Dance is certainly contributing to the local economy, as WTF has heard anecdotally that hotel occupancy and restaurant business is up this month. WTF is proud to have supported the Berkshires community by bringing nearly 40,000 audience members from 44 states, Canada, and the United Kingdom while they attended the work of 412 members of the WTF Company including staff, apprentices, and artists!
There is still one week left to catch Ten Cents a Dance, closing the 2011 season on the Main Stage on August 28.
WTF is grateful to the Williamstown community and Williams College for its generosity towards and support of another wonderful summer of theatre in the Berkshires!
TICKETS AND SCHEDULE
Tickets for the 2011 Williamstown Theatre Festival season are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.wtfestival.org, by phone at (413) 597-3400, or in person at the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance, 1000 Main St. (Route 2), Williamstown, MA 01267. New curtain times for all Main Stage and Nikos Stage shows are as follows: Tuesday - Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Saturday & Sunday at 2:00 p.m. For more schedule details, visit www.wtfestival.org.
WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL
The Williamstown Theatre Festival brings award-winning actors, directors, and playwrights to the Berkshires, engaging a loyal audience of both residents and summer visitors. A WTF season covers a broad range of theatrical endeavors, revisiting classic plays with exciting new productions on its Main Stage, developing and nurturing bold new works on the Nikos Stage, and offering audiences a rich array of cultural events including Free Theatre, Late-Night Cabarets, readings, workshops, and educational programs like the Greylock Theatre Project–a program for children in neighboring North Adams. While best known for its acclaimed productions, WTF is also home to unparalleled training and professional development programs serving new generations of aspiring theatre artists and managers. WTF was honored with the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 2002 and the Commonwealth Award for Achievement in 2011. The Festival welcomes Jenny Gersten as its new Artistic Director for the 2011 season.
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