Pittsfield, MA—Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG) and Artistic Director, CEO Kate Maguire are pleased to announce the cast and creative team for The Legend of Georgia McBride, the hilarious and heartfelt comedy by Tony Award-winning playwright Matthew López, running July 31 through August 16 at The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield.
A joyful, big-hearted comedy about identity, transformation and finding your voice, The Legend of Georgia McBride follows Casey, a struggling Elvis impersonator in Panama City, Florida, whose act is replaced by a drag show just as he and his wife learn they have a baby on the way and rent overdue. When an unexpected opening gives Casey the chance to step into the spotlight in a whole new way, what begins as an act of necessity becomes a journey of self-discovery, family and the courage to become someone new.
Opening Night is Sunday, August 2 at 6pm. Beginning at 5pm, patrons will gather for a pre-show reception featuring light refreshments and specialty cocktails served by special guest bartender and beloved Berkshire drag performer Bella Santarella. The cast features David Adkins as Eddie, Shayne Haley as Rexy, Emilie Kouatchou as Jo, Kyle Taylor Parker as Miss Tracy Mills, E. Gray Simons III as Jason and Michael Wartella as Casey.
Wartella returns to BTG following appearances in The Elephant Man, Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Rhapsody: The Music of Queen and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, with Broadway credits including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Tuck Everlasting and Wicked.
Parker made his Broadway debut in the original company of the Tony Award-winning Kinky Boots and later starred as Lola on Broadway and in the First National Tour.
Kouatchou, currently recurring on HBO’s The Gilded Age, made her Broadway debut as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera and recently toured nationally with the Tony Award-winning Stereophonic.
Adkins has appeared in numerous BTG productions over the past 30 years and recently directed 1776 at The Colonial Theatre. Haley returns for his ninth production as an actor with BTG, while Simons, a longtime BTG favorite, has portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in BTG’s A Christmas Carol for the past two seasons and will return to the role again this holiday season.
The production is directed and choreographed by Isadora Wolfe, who returns to BTG after many seasons collaborating with the company as a performer, choreographer and co-director.
Wolfe is an Artistic Associate for Punchdrunk in the UK and previously served as Associate Artistic Director and Resident Director for the New York City production of Sleep No More. She is on faculty at The Juilliard School and is a Fellow at NYU’s Center for Ballet and the Arts.
The creative team includes scenic designer Randall Parsons, costume designer Amy Avila, lighting designer Matthew E. Adelson, sound designer Evan Dibbs, dialect coach Jennifer Scapetis and intimacy coordinator Vik Abbott-Main. Jason Hindelang serves as stage manager. Casting is by Kelly Gillespie and Caparelliotis Casting.
Playwright Matthew López is the Tony and Olivier Award-winning author of The Inheritance and became the first Latiné writer to receive the Tony Award for Best Play. His plays also include The Whipping Man, Somewhere, Reverberation, Zoey’s Perfect Wedding and The Legend of Georgia McBride. López co-wrote the book for the Broadway musical Some Like It Hot and made his feature directorial debut with Red, White & Royal Blue.
Tickets for The Legend of Georgia McBride are available by calling the BTG Box Office at (413) 997-4444 or visiting BerkshireTheatreGroup.org. For more information, visit berkshiretheatregroup.org.
