LENOX, MA (May 15, 2018) – WAM Theatre is delighted to announce that tickets are now on sale for their fall main stage production of Ann by Holland Taylor, starring Jayne Atkinson (TV’s House of Cards, Madam Secretary), and directed by WAM’s Artistic Director, Kristen van Ginhoven. Tickets were originally slated to go on sale mid-summer, but due to anticipated demand for this limited engagement, WAM has decided to open up sales now.
A one woman tour-de-force, Ann is a hilarious and spirited portrait of Ann Richards, legendary Governor of Texas. Written by award-winning actress and writer Holland Taylor (Two and a Half Men), Ann is an inspiring play that brings us face to face with the complex, colorful, and captivating character, with a personality bigger than the state she governed. In a year when so many women are running for office across all platforms, this play resonates deeply with our current climate.
Ann is a co-production with Dorset Theatre Festival, where the play will be performed from August 29-September 1, 2018. WAM will present Ann in the Berkshires from October 19-28 at the Tina Packer Playhouse at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA. Tickets for the limited engagement in Dorset are going fast, and when they’re gone they will refer eager ticket-buyers to WAM’s seven-performance run in the Berkshires. Consequently, WAM is opening ticket sales earlier than ever.
Playwright Holland Taylor.
The late Ann Richards, Governor of Texas from 1991-1995
“Kristen van Ginhoven and WAM have long inspired me personally for the amazing work they do on behalf of women,” shared Dina Janis, Artistic Director of Dorset Theatre Festival. “With the Festival’s commitment to gender equity in theatre and to women’s voices in particular, this project seemed like a perfect opportunity for collaboration between our theaters. Jayne Atkinson is arguably one of our nations finest actors, and a play written by the terrific Holland Taylor that celebrates one of my favorite political rock stars – Ann Richards – feels like a true celebration of all that is possible.”
In keeping with their double philanthropic mission, WAM Theatre will be donating 25% of the box office proceeds from Ann to a beneficiary to be named at the July 25 Gala at the Berkshire Equestrian Center in Richmond, MA. Since its founding in 2010, WAM Theatre has donated more than $41,500 to thirteen non-profit organizations. For more information on tickets to the Gala, please visit: http://www.wamtheatre.com/wam-gala-2018/
Performances of Ann the first weekend are Friday, October 19 at 7:30pm (preview), Saturday, October 20 at 7:30pm (opening), and Sunday, October 21 at 2pm; and Friday, October 26 at 7:30 pm, Saturday, October 27 at 2pm & 7:30pm, and Sunday, October 28 at 2pm the second weekend. Tickets start at $30. Tickets for the low-priced Preview performance on Friday, October 19 at 7:30 pm are $25 & $30. All tickets are available through the Shakespeare & Company box office at 413-637-3353 or online at tickets.shakespeare.org.
The box office, located at 70 Kemble Street in Lenox, is open from 11 am-3 pm, plus 90 minutes prior to any performance. Closed Mondays.
For more information on WAM Theatre and Ann, visit: wamtheatre.com/ann
October 19-28Annby Holland TaylorStarring Jayne Atkinson
Directed by Kristen van Ginhovenat the Tina Packer Playhouse at Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, MA
http://www.wamtheatre.com/ann/
A portion of box office proceeds will be donated to a beneficiary to be announced at the WAM Gala on July 25, 2018.Tickets start at $30.
Preview tickets to the October 19 performance at 7:30pm are $25 & $30.
Available through the Shakespeare & Company box office at 413-637-3353 or online at tickets.shakespeare.org.
No Berkshire, Senior, Teacher or Military Discount
Student tickets are available for $15 each and may be purchased over the phone at 413-637-3353 or in person at the Shakespeare & Company Box Office. Student tickets are not available for purchase online.
Friday, October 19 at 7:30pm (Preview)
Saturday, October 20 at 7:30pm (Opening Night)
Sunday, October 21 at 2pm
Friday, October 26 at 7:30pm
Saturday October 27 at 2pm and 7:30pm
Sunday, October 28 at 2pm (Closing)
Jayne Atkinson has enjoyed a long and varied career as an actress, director, and producer. A graduate of Northwestern University and Yale Drama School, she has appeared in regional theatre, off-Broadway, and Broadway.
Jayne made her Broadway debut in a revival production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons. Other Broadway credits include The Rainmaker (Tony nomination), Our Town with Paul Newman, Enchanted April (Tony nomination, Drama Desk nomination; Outer Critics Circle Award) and Blithe Spirit with the wonderful Angela Lansbury . She has also appeared off-Broadway in a number of productions, including The Art of Success (Drama Desk nomination) and The Skriker (Drama Desk nomination).
Many may recognize Jayne from her film and television roles. Her feature film credits include Free Willy 1&2, The Village and Syriana. On television she is known for her guest appearances on the hit series The X-Files, Gossip Girl, Chicago Med and The Good Wife, among others. As a recurring character, she has played Karen Hayes on the award-winning 24, Erin Strauss on Criminal Minds, Secretary of State Catherine Durant on the popular Netflix Series House of Cards and most recently she can be seen opposite Tea Leoni as Vice President Teresa Hurst on Madam Secretary.Directing and producing credits include benefit productions of Motherhood Out Loud and Can You Hear Me, Baby?, for WAM Theatre and the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. She also runs Jadana Productions, which specializes in entertainment development. Her other areas of expertise include coaching and teaching. In her spare time, she promotes women’s causes, travels, participates in fundraisers. She is married to actor Michel Gill. Together they have one son.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: Kristen van Ginhoven
(Director) WAM Theatre: The Bakelite Masterpiece, In Darfur (New England Premiere), Emilie (New England Premiere), The Old Mezzo (World Premiere), The Attic, The Pearls and Three Fine Girls and Melancholy Play Elsewhere: Disgraced, I and You (Chester Theatre), Waxworks (Williams College), The Whale (Adirondack Theatre Festival), 10 Minute Play Festival (Barrington Stage Company), Petticoats of Steel (Capital Repertory Theatre), Footloose (Cohoes Music Hall), Children’s Hour (Siena College), Vendetta Chrome(Emerson College). Selected assistant directing: The Physicists, 42nd Street(Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada), Two Men of Florence (Huntington Theatre) Sleuth, Absurd Person Singular (Barrington Stage Company). Training: Dalhousie University (BA), Queen’s University (BEd), Emerson College (MA). Et cetera: Kristen is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and a theatre artist for the International Schools Theatre Association. She was a member of the 2013 Lincoln Center Director’s Lab and is a member of the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction at the Stratford Festival of Canada. Kristen is the co-founder and Artistic Director of WAM Theatre. Website: www.WAMTheatre.com
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT: Holland Taylor
Holland Taylor took Broadway by storm as writer and star of Ann, a one-woman show about the late Texas Governor Ann Richards, which resulted in rave reviews, a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress, and a filmed version of the 2016 production in which Holland starred at ZACH Theatre in Austin, Texas, bringing Governor Richards back home. The New Yorker has called Holland Taylor “the first vaudeville Gentile we ever saw.” Her New York stage performances include Bess in Breakfast with Les and Bess, as well as the original productions of Butley, opposite Alan Bates, and A.R. Gurney’s The Cocktail Hour. She still holds her head high after taking over for Eve Arden, opening the historic flop Moose Murders. In Los Angeles she has performed in Kindertransport, and played opposite Christopher Lloyd in Yasmina Reza’s The Unexpected Man at the Geffen. She has worked extensively in film and television, appearing in Romancing the Stone, Jewel of the Nile, To Die For, Next Stop Wonderland, One Fine Day, George of the Jungle, The Truman Show, Happy Accidents, Spy Kids (2 & 3), Keeping the Faith, Legally Blonde, and Baby Mama, with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. On television, Holland has been nominated for an Emmy seven times, winning Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for the sexually popular Judge Roberta Kittleson on The Practice. Among her numerous series starring roles: The Powers that Be, Norman Lear’s short-lived but highly acclaimed political satire; Bosom Buddies, with Tom Hanks; and, of course, the juggernaut, Two and a Half Men, with her dear boys: Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and number 3 son, Ashton Kutcher. She has performed narrations for the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Esa-Pekka Salonen and John Adams, and narrated the Harry Potter Suite for John Williams at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Following her Broadway run in Ann, Holland appeared in Kepler’s Dream, an inspiring film for a young audience, and in New York she played another character who never leaves the stage and talks a LOT in Pulitzer prize-winner David Lindsay-Abaire’s dark comedy Ripcord, at the Manhattan Theatre Club.
Our 2018 sponsors include Adams Community Bank, Baystate Financial, Berkshire Bank Foundation, Berkshire Magazine, Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing, Blue Q, Brabson Library & Educational Foundation, Canyon Ranch, The Charles H. Hall Foundation, CMW Retirement Plan Services LLC, Custom Business Solutions, The Dylandale Foundation, The Feigenbaum Foundation, Frankie’s Ristorante Italiano, the Garden Gables Inn, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Guido’s Fresh Marketplace, International Schools Theatre Association, Interprint, Lee Bank, Maggie Barry, Massachusetts Cultural Council, J.H. Maxymillian, Inc., Methuselah Bar and Lounge, Natracare, No. Six Depot Roastery and Café, Onyx Specialty Papers, Inc., RB Design Co., The Rookwood Inn, The Dr. Robert C. and Tina Sohn Foundation, The Rogovoy Report, Rouge Restaurant & Bistro, Salisbury Bank, T Square Design Studio, Toole Insurance, a. von schlegell & co.
WAM Theatre is also supported in part by grants from the Alford-Egremont Cultural Council, Lee Cultural Council, Lenox Cultural Council, New Marlborough Cultural Council, Pittsfield Cultural Council, Cultural Council of Northern Berkshires, Otis Cultural Council, Richmond Cultural Council, Sandisfield Cultural Council, and the Washington Cultural Council – local agencies that are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
Based in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, WAM Theatre is Where Arts and Activism Meet. The company was co-founded in 2010 by Canadian director, actor, educator, and producer Kristen van Ginhoven. WAM’s vision is to create opportunity for women and girls through the mission of theatre as philanthropy.
Inspired by the book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, WAM donates a portion of the proceeds from its theatrical events to organizations that benefit women and girls.
Since 2010, WAM Theatre has donated more than $41,500 to thirteen nonprofit organizations and provided paid work to more than 200 theatre artists. In addition to the main stage productions and special events, WAM Theatre’s activities include a comprehensive educational outreach program and the Fresh Takes Play Reading Series. For more information, visit www.WAMTheatre.com
Tickets for WAM Fall MainStage Show “Ann” Now On Sale! LENOX, MA (May 15, 2018) - WAM Theatre is delighted to announce that tickets are now on sale…
