Pittsfield, MA – Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG) and Kate Maguire (Artistic Director, CEO) are delighted to announce casting for two of its summer 2023 shows: Million Dollar Quartet, a three-time Tony Award–nominated once-in-a-lifetime musical evening back by popular demand with some of the same cast as 2017 and Photograph 51, an intriguing portrait of the race to discover the mysteries of the DNA double helix.

At The Colonial Theatre

Based on a true story, the three-time Tony Award–nominated once-in-a-lifetime musical evening, Million Dollar Quartet, brings you into the recording studio with icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins one night in December 1956 when the four icons came together for a monumental night of music. Director Greg Santos commented, “The super talents that make up our Company of Million Dollar Quartet will have you standing and applauding and yelling like you’re at the most amazing rock n’ roll concert you’ve ever attended!”   

Back by popular demand and with some of the same cast members as the last time it played at The Unicorn Theatre in 2017, this three-time Tony Award–nominated once-in-a-lifetime musical evening brings audiences into the recording studio with icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. Based on a true story and set on December 4, 1956, Million Dollar Quartet follows the tale of these four legendary musicians as they come together for one monumental night of music at Sun Records in Memphis. This smash-hit musical includes classic tunes such as: “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Fever,” “Walk the Line,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Who Do You Love?,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Hound Dog,” and more.

This production will be directed by Greg Santos and feature Zach Cossman as Sam Phillips, Kroy Presley as Jay Perkins, Billy Rude as Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Scott Sheets as Johnny Cash, Trey Snyder as Fluke, Colin Summers as Carl Perkins, Alesandro Viviano as Elvis Presley and Emma Wilcox as Dyanne.

The creative team of Million Dollar Quartet consists of direction and choreography by Greg Santos, music direction by Colin Summers, scenic design by Baron Pugh, costume design by Arthur Oliver, lighting design by José Santiago, sound design by Nathan Leigh, stage management by Sarah Kelso and assistant stage management by Rachel Kaufman.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Zach Cossman (Sam Phillips) Off-Broadway: Revolution in the Elbow… (Mr. Elbow) [World Premiere], Blue Man Group (Blue Man), Regional/International: Kinky Boots (Charlie Price) [Norwegian Cruise Lines] Footloose (Ren McCormack) [Norwegian Cruise Lines], The Rocky Horror Show (Brad Majors) [Bucks County Playhouse], Million Dollar Quartet (Fluke) [Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Fulton Theatre, Maine State Music Theatre, Cape Playhouse, Bucks County Playhouse, Casa Mañana], BUDDY: The Buddy Holly Story (Jerry Allison) [Bucks County Playhouse, Kimmel Center, NCTheatre, Casa Mañana], Striking 12 (Drums and Everyone Else) [TUTS: Underground], Band Geeks (Jake) [Regional & West Coast Premieres], Guys and Dolls (Harry the Horse), Anything Goes (Evelyn Oakleigh), 9 to 5 (Dwayne).

Kroy Presley (Jay Perkins) is excited to be joining Berkshire Theatre Group for their 2023 production of Million Dollar Quartet. His debut as Jay Perkins was at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina in the summer of 2016. Kroy began playing bass at the age of 8. After studying music at CPCC located in his home town of Charlotte, NC, he began performing music in live venues and theaters nationally as well as internationally. He now spends most of his time traveling and performing all over the world with focus on upright and electric bass playing.

Billy Rude (Jerry Lee Lewis) is thrilled to be shakin’ the Berkshires with such a great team here on the magnificent Colonial Theatre stage. Credits include: Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre, Marriott Theatre, The Billings Symphony, South Coast Repertory, Pacific Conservatory Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, Maples Repertory Theatre and more. Nat’l Tour credits: Jerry Lee Lewis in Million Dollar Quartet (BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Nomination Best Actor in A Musical). TV/Film credits: Chicago PD. Billy has been a proud union member of Actors Equity Association since 2018 and works as a music producer and fine-leather artist outside of his theatrical/TV/Film work.

Bill Scott Sheets (Johnny Cash) Musical theatre credits include: Million Dollar Quartet Christmas (’21, ’22 Nat. Tour), Million Dollar Quartet (Norwegian Cruise Line, Paramount Theatre/Chicago, The Phoenix Theatre Company, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Group, PCPA) and Ring of Fire (Palace Theater, Capital Repertory Theatre). Concert credits: Million Dollar Reunion, December of ’63. Original Cast Album: Million Dollar Quartet Christmas. Born and raised in Owasso, OK, Bill received his Bachelor’s in Music Education at Oklahoma State University.

Trey Snyder (Fluke) is a drummer/percussionist from Charlotte, North Carolina. He has performative experience in an array of ensemble settings, including rock bands, jazz combos, wind ensembles, and orchestras. He attended the Berklee College of Music from 2018–2020 then transferred to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he graduated in May of 2022 with a BA in Music under the tutelage of world renowned percussionist Rick Dior. He is happy to be reprising his role as Fluke as part of the Million Dollar Quartet!

Colin Summers (Carl Perkins) is a NYC based writer, composer and performer. He is a writing/performing company member with The New York Neo-Futurists, and has performed in their long-running show Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind since 2014, and contributed to their podcast Hit Play since 2020. Colin’s solo performance Steve: A Docu-Musical was awarded “Best Production Of A Musical” at the 2016 New York Innovative Theater Awards. He also writes and performs original music under the name Scrawnyman (available wherever you stream music). When not writing and performing his own work, he performs anywhere actor/musicians are needed including Ring Of Fire and countless productions of Million Dollar Quartet on land and sea. Colin is thrilled to be returning to BTG reprising his favorite role!

Alessandro Viviano (Elvis Presley) is extremely excited to be making his Berkshire Theatre Group debut! He is lucky enough to be portraying “The King” for the third time, previously at Theatre by the Sea and The Argyle Theatre. Some of the past regional credits include: The Age of Innocence (McCarter Theater/Hartford Stage); A Christmas Carol (Hartford Stage); Five Points (Goodspeed FoNM); Sweeney Todd, 1776, Jesus Christ Superstar, Les Miserables, Peter Pan (Connecticut Repertory Theater). In addition to theater, Alessandro has been working on camera in various shorts as well as a new Amazon streamer Sami.

Emma Wilcox (Dyanne) Berkshire Theatre Festival debut! BFA in Musical Theatre from Montclair State University. National Tour: Legally Blonde. Regional: Theatre By the Sea (Million Dollar Quartet, Footloose, Cinderella), A Charlie Brown Christmas (NYC Company), Titusville Playhouse (A Chorus Line).

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

Colin Escott (Co-Author) was born in England and now Escott lives near Nashville, Tennessee. He is the author of Good Rockin’ Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll, the first in-depth account of the Sun Records story. His book Hank Williams – The Biography has been adapted into the movie I Saw the Light, starring Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen. His multi-CD box set, The Complete Hank Williams, won a Grammy, and another of his productions, B.B. King – King of the Blues

Million Dollar Quartet

book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux

original concept and direction by Floyd Mutrux

inspired by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins

direction and choreography by Greg Santos

musical direction by Colin Summers

at The Colonial Theatre

Previews: Tuesday, June 27 at 7pm and Wednesday, June 28 at 7pm

Opening/Press Night: Thursday, June 29 at 7pm

Closing: Sunday, July 16 at 2pm

Tickets: Preview: $60

Tickets: $75; Teen (12-17) $38; Premium Seats $125

At The Unicorn Theatre

Photograph 51 is an intriguing portrait of British scientist Rosalind Franklin and her often overlooked role in the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure. Director David Auburn said of the play, “Postwar England. In a small lab at Cambridge, the brilliant and iconoclastic scientist Rosalind Franklin plays a critical role in the discovery of the structure of DNA. But will her contribution be obscured by history and the scientific establishment? Anna Ziegler’s dazzling play takes us on a riveting intellectual and emotional adventure, and I’m thrilled to be directing a stellar cast led by BTG favorites Rebecca Brooksher and David Adkins.”

Set in the 1950s, the age of scientific discovery, when researchers are scrambling to be the first to unlock the mysteries of DNA. Among these scientists is Franklin, an underappreciated genius working as the sole woman in her field of study. When one of her photographs shows the structural outline of DNA for the first time, her competitors James Watson and Francis Crick are rapt with attention. Watson and Crick’s ambition to become the first to create a working model of DNA, coupled with Franklin’s stubbornness, leads the two men to gain notoriety as the first to complete and discover the DNA model and leave Franklin out of the history books.

A balance of the historical, romantic and scientific, Photograph 51 is a touching play about ambition, isolation and the race for greatness.

For this production, Wednesday 2pm matinees are mask required performances.

This production is directed by David Auburn and will feature David Adkins as Maurice Wilkins; Shaun Anthony as Don Caspar; Rebecca Brooksher as Rosalind Franklin; Christian Coulson as Francis Crick; Brandon Dial as Ray Gosling; and Allen Tedder as James Watson.

The creative team of Photograph 51 consists of direction by David Auburn, scenic design by Bill Clarke, costume design by Elivia Bovenzi Blitz, lighting and projections design by Daniel J. Kotlowitz, sound design by Scott Killian, stage management by Jason Weixelman and casting by Caparelliotis Casting.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
David Adkins (Maurice Wilkins) has performed in numerous productions at Berkshire Theatre Group over the last thirty years. He appeared last season in Bram Stoker’s Dracula and in Edward Albee’s Seascape by Edward Albee. He has worked On and Off Broadway, in resident theatres across the country, and guest starred extensively on television, most recently for NBC on New Amsterdam. Others include: Madam Secretary, Evil, Homeland, Blacklist, The Good Wife, Elementary, The Americans (two seasons), Happy-ish, Without a Trace, Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, Black Jaq: a pilot directed by Forest Whitaker, and the Ben Franklin mini-series on PBS.

Shaun Anthony (Don Caspar) is thrilled to be making his BTG premiere this summer as Don Caspar in Photograph 51. He recently appeared at HERE MainStage in Soho (Dodi and Diana – Jason). Some favorite theatre credits include: Reasons To Be Pretty (The Geffen), Red (Ensemble Theatre Company), Noises Off, Richard III, Oliver (A Noise Within), The Road To Appomattox (The Colony Theatre), King Lear, Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare OC), Laughing Stock (Milwaukee Rep), The Winter’s Tale (Dallas Shakespeare). Staged readings at Playwrights Horizons and Signature Theatre. TV: The Blacklist, FBI: Most Wanted, For Life, The Good Fight. Juilliard graduate (MFA-Group 49).

Rebecca Brooksher (Rosalind Franklin) is thrilled to be back on stage at BTG! This will be her 7th collaboration with David Auburn and Berkshire Theatre Group: favorites include Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Anna in Anna Christie. Nearby she’s also worked at Chester Theater and Barrington Stage. New York credits include: Burn This and The Real Thing (Broadway), The Roads To Home (Primary Stages), Loot (Red Bull), Dying City (Lincoln Center, Lortel nomination Best Actress) and Love’s Labor’s Lost (The Public Theater). Favorite regional credits include: Golden Age (The Kennedy Center), She Stoops to Conquer and Twelfth Night (McCarter Theatre), Camp David (The Alley) and Mr. Wolf (Cleveland Playhouse). TV: Blacklist, The Sinner, Elementary, Love Monkey, Ugly Betty, The Confession, Happy-ish, The Good Wife, Canterbury’s Law, Cold Souls. Currently, you can catch Rebecca as Claire Scott on the CBS show FBI: Most Wanted.

​​Christian Coulson (Francis Crick) Theatre includes: Dutch Masters (Berkshire Theatre Group), The XIXth (The Old Globe), Richard II (Pennsylvania Shakes), The Changeling (Red Bull), Travesties (McCarter), Everything You Touch (Rattlestick), A Picture of Autumn (Mint), Ghosts (The Gate, London), Festen (UK tour), Journey’s End (West End), Romeo and Juliet (Liverpool Playhouse). Television includes: The Equalizer, High Fidelity, Blue Bloods, Nashville, Mozart in the Jungle, Nurse Jackie, The Good Wife, The Last King, Forsyte Saga, Little Britain, Love in a Cold Climate. Movies include: Burrow, Bite Me, Love Is Strange, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, The Hours. Audiobooks include: Carmageddon, The Winter Soldier, In Memoriam, The Stars We Share, Fireborne, Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. Based in NYC.

Brandon Dial (Ray Gosling) The Public Theater: A Raisin in the Sun. Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival: Much Ado About Nothing, Cymbeline, Into the Woods. Smith Street Stage: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Training: MFA NYU.

Allen Tedder (James Watson) Berkshire Theater Group Debut! Allen’s other professional credits include: Broadway: To Kill a Mockingbird. Off-Broadway: Othello (Delacorte Theater). The Alchemist (Red Bull Theater) Regional: Flyin’ West (IRT), PlayMakers Repertory Company. Training: UNC Chapel Hill; The Juilliard School (Group 47).

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM:
Anna Ziegler (Playwright) Anna Ziegler is an award-winning playwright whose widely produced play Photograph 51 won London’s 2016 WhatsOnStage award for Best New Play. It was selected as a “Best of the Year” play by The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post (twice) and The Telegraph. In 2017, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Manhattan Theatre Club and The Geffen Playhouse premiered her play Actually (winner of the Ovation Award in Los Angeles for Playwriting of an Original Play) and Roundabout Theatre Company produced The Last Match. Her play The Wanderers, now running at Roundabout Theatre Company (winter 2023), won the 2018 San Diego Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Play and BOY was nominated for the 2016 John Gassner Award by the Outer Critics Circle. Her work has been produced on the West End (Photograph 51, starring Nicole Kidman, winner of the Evening Standard Award for Best Actress), at major theaters around the U.S. and in Australia, Japan, Italy, Germany, India and Sweden. It’s been developed at the Sundance Theatre Lab, The O’Neill Playwrights Conference, The Ojai Playwrights Conference, NY Stage & Film, Soho Rep and the Cape Cod Theatre Project, amongst others. She holds commissions from Roundabout, Second Stage Theater and Grove/Whitman Productions. She is developing television and movie projects with Paramount, Defiant by Nature and Leviathan Productions.

David Auburn (Director) is Associate Artistic Director at BTG, where he has directed Dracula, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Skin of Our Teeth, The Petrified Forest, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Anna Christie, A Delicate Balance, Period of Adjustment and Sick . His plays include Summer 1976, The Adventures of Augie March (based on the Saul Bellow novel), Lost Lake, The Columnist and Proof (2001 Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, New York Drama Critics Circle Award). Film work includes The Girl in the Park (writer/director), Georgetown and The Lake House.

Bill Clarke (Scenic Designer) is pleased to return to BTG, where he previously designed Dracula, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Skin of Our Teeth and Coastal Disturbances. He designed A Walk in the Woods on Broadway; Off-Broadway work includes: Misalliance (Pearl), So Help Me God! (Lortel), The Daughter-In-Law (Mint), June Moon (Drama Dep’t), Lemon Sky (Keen Co), Ann Magnuson’s You Could Be Home Now (NYSF), and new plays at Manhattan Theater Club and WPA. Production Designer for indie film The Master Cleanse. Regional: Seattle Rep, Old Globe, A.R.T., Huntington, McCarter, Asolo, Milwaukee Rep, Indiana Rep, Rep Theater of St Louis, Alliance, Geva, Alley, Arizona Theater Co, Denver Center, Cleveland Playhouse, Barrington Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse and Pioneer Theater. MFA, Yale School of Drama. Awards: Hollywood Dramalogue, San Diego Theater Critics Circle, IRNE.

Elivia Bovenzi Blitz (Costume Designer) is a costume designer based in New York City. She has spent the past six seasons in The Berkshires designing costumes for Berkshire Theatre Group and Barrington Stage Company. For BTG: Edward Albee’s Seascape, Once, White Christmas, The Wizard of Oz and Shirley Valentine. For BSC: A Glass Menagerie, Typhoid Mary, The Birds, American Underground, If I Forget, Kunstler, Peerless and Time Flies and Other Comedies, for which she was nominated for a 2019 Berkshire Theatre Critics Award for Outstanding Costume Design. Over the course of her career, she has worked on Broadway, Off Broadway and regionally. She has worked at the Guthrie Theater, The Public Theater, Alliance Theatre, Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, Two River Theater, Hartford Stage, LaMaMa, Ars Nova, NYU, Yale and Troy Foundry Theater, among others. She holds an MFA in Design from the Yale School of Drama and is an Adjunct Professor of Fashion History at FIT. Proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829.

Daniel J. Kotlowitz (Lighting & Projections Designer) has designed over 23 productions at BTG, going all the way back to 1994, including: Dracula, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Skin of our Teeth, A Delicate Balance, Endgame and Macbeth. He has also designed for the NY Shakespeare Festival, Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, The New Federal Theatre, The Astor Place, The Huntington Theatre, Trinity Repertory Theatre, Centerstage, St. Louis Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Aslo Rep, Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cleveland Playhouse, George St, Milwaukee Rep, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Shakespeare and Company, Northern Stage and Portland Stage. He has designed projections for productions at the Cherry Lane, 57 E. 57, Northern Stage, JAG and Merrimack Rep Theater. His work with performance artist Diamanda Galas has been seen all over Europe and the U.S. Kotlowitz is the Leon E. Williams professor of Theatre at Dartmouth College.

Scott Killian (Resident Composer/Sound Designer) Photograph 51 marks Scott Killian’s 53rd production with BTG—for which he is enormously grateful. NYC venues include: Primary Stages: Final Follies; Manhattan Theatre Club: Sarah, Sarah; Five by Tenn, A Picasso (Lucille Lortel nom.), The Other Side; Red Bull Theatre: Volpone, Duchess of Malfi, Women Beware Women, Edward the Second; Rattlestick Theatre: Steve and Idi, Miss Julie; MCC: Side Effects; WestSide Arts Theatre: Clever Little Lies. Many regional theaters, including: George Street Playhouse (over 25 productions), The Alley Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre(DC), Huntington Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, Cincinnati Playhouse, Baltimore’s Center Stage, Vancouver Playhouse, Theatre Calgary, et al. Original music for dance: Zvi Gotheiner (Resident Composer), Shapiro and Smith Dance (Resident Composer), Cherylyn Lavagnino (Artistic Associate), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Nikolais-Louis Dance, The Jose Limon Company.

Jason Weixelman (Production Stage Manager) is excited to be celebrating his 9th season with Berkshire Theatre Group. Previous BTG: Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Shirley Valentine, Nina Simone: Four Women, The Importance of Being Earnest, Holiday Memories, Godspell, Outside Mullingar, Naked, Arsenic and Old Lace, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. Broadway: Wicked, The King and I (2015 LCT Revival). Off-Broadway: Between the Lines, Which Way to the Stage, Othello, Old Hats. Regional: Paper Mill Playhouse, Barrington Stage, George Street Playhouse, Arden Theatre, Gulfshore Playhouse, Skylight Music Theatre, Santa Fe Opera. Numerous readings and workshops. BTG Artistic Associate. Member of Actors’ Equity.

Photograph 51

written by Anna Ziegler

directed by David Auburn

on The Larry Vaber Stage at The Unicorn Theatre

Previews: Thursday, June 15 at 7pm and Friday, June 16 at 7pm
Opening/Press Night: Saturday, June 17 at 7pm
Closing: Saturday, July 1 at 7pm
Tickets: Preview: $45
Tickets: $56

Season Discounts & Ticket Information 

BTGY (Young Adult)

Young adults between the ages of 18 and 30 can purchase one ticket to any BTG produced show for $30 (fees included). This offer is available by phone or in person only. Additionally, one BTG presented show ticket may be purchased for 10% off the single ticket price (rental events not included).

EBT Card to Culture Program EBT Card to Culture is a collaboration between the Mass Cultural Council and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services’ Department of Transitional Assistance. This is available to anyone with EBT, WIC, or ConnectorCare Insurance. This offer includes two tickets to the majority of BTG’s shows at the rate of $5 each. All additional fees are also waived. These tickets are subject to availability as seating is limited. This offer is available by phone or in person only.

Berkshire ResidentFull-time Berkshire residents receive a 25% discount on show tickets to any BTG produced show. Limit two tickets per patron per performance. Exclusions include previews, openings, special events and Saturday evening performances. Tickets must be purchased by phone or in person at our box office. A valid Berkshire County driver’s license is required when picking up tickets.

Massachusetts Teachers Association Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) members are eligible for a discount of 20% off orders to any BTG show. Education is a core value of BTG, and we appreciate those who are doing the work in our community. To redeem this discount, mention it while ordering over the phone at 413-997-4444, or in person at our box office.

AAA

AAA members are eligible for 10% off on orders to any BTG show. To redeem this discount, mention it while ordering over the phone at 413-997-4444, or in person at our box office.

Mask Requirement for Select Performances at The Unicorn Theatre At The Unicorn Theatre, Wednesday 2pm matinees are mask required performances.

Tickets for these exciting summer season productions are on sale now. All plays, schedules, casting and prices are subject to change. To purchase tickets, visit www.BerkshireTheatreGroup.org or contact our box office by calling 413-997-4444.

The box office is open Tuesday through Sunday 12pm-5pm or on any performance day from 12pm until curtain.

BTG’s Pittsfield Campus is located at 111 South Street, (The Colonial Theatre) Pittsfield, MA.

BTG’s Stockbridge Campus is located at 6 East Street, (The Unicorn Theatre) Stockbridge, MA.

Safety Protocols

For safety protocols please visit BTG’s COVID-19 information page:

www.berkshiretheatregroup.org/covid-19-information/
About Berkshire Theatre Group

The Colonial Theatre, founded in 1903, and Berkshire Theatre Festival, founded in 1928, are two of the oldest cultural organizations in the Berkshires. In 2010, under the leadership of Artistic Director and CEO Kate Maguire, the two organizations merged to form Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG). Berkshire Theatre Group’s mission is to support wide ranging artistic exploration and acclaimed performances in theatre, dance, music and entertainment. Every year, BTG produces and presents performances to over 68,000 attendees and, through our Educational Program, serves over 10,000 Berkshire County school children annually. In July

2020, Berkshire Theatre was the first company in the United States to earn approval from

Actors’ Equity Association to produce a musical (Godspell) in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic.