The Williamstown Theatre Festival was conceived in winter 1954 by news director of Williams College Ralph Renzi and chairman of the drama program David C. Bryant. They wanted to use the Adams Memorial Theatre on the college campus as a venue for a resident summer theatre company. They were joined by several college employees and sought support from the Board of Trade, local businessmen and Williamstown residents.
The first season was co-directed by Bryant and Nikos Psacharopoulos, a professor at Yale Drama School. Intending to produce 10 plays in 10 weeks, they assembled a 26-member theatre company that included students from Williamstown, Yale actors and alumni, and young New York professionals.
Bryant left Williams the following year, and Psacharopoulos took over the festival as its artistic director. He decided to focus on works by renowned international playwrights, such as Tom Stoppard, Bertholt Brecht, Tennessee Williams, Jean Anoulih, George Bernard Show, Jean Giraudoux, and Anton Chekhov. In the 1960s and early 1970s, the Williamstown Theatre Festival became known for its innovative interpretations of classic plays such as The Threepenny Opera, Peer Gynt, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Galileo, and The Seagull.
Over more than six decades of the festival’s existence, it has welcomed many celebrities. Famous actors who’ve performed at Williamstown include Marcia Henderson (she was raised in Williamstown and performed in the first play of the 1954 WTF), Calista Flockhart, Bradley Cooper, Paul Giamatti, Olympia Dukakis, Kate Burton, Richard Chamberlain, Nathan Lane, Christopher Walken, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Sigourney Weaver.
In 2002, the Williamstown Theatre Festival received the Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre as an especially distinguished regional theatre. It is the highest theatrical honor in the United States awarded by the American Theatre Wing. Some shows produced for WTF were transferred to Broadway, including The Bridges of Madison County, The Man Who Had All the Luck, and One Mo' Time.
Throughout its entire existence, WTF has remained faithful to its main goals: to bring renowned actors to Williamstown, to discover and promote new talent, to introduce theatergoers to original versions of classical plays and new plays by contemporary playwrights, and to attract new audiences by producing high-quality and ambitious works.
Photo: wtfestival.org
