Williamstown Festival Will Include ‘Animal Crackers’ and ‘Bridges of Madison County’

Hey, you got “Animal Crackers” in my “Bridges of Madison County”! No, you got “Bridges of Madison County” in my “Animal Crackers”! There may be no resolving this debate, but whether you’re a fan of madcap comedy or musicals adapted from best-selling romance novels, this summer’s Williamstown Theater Festival will have something to offer you, judging by Monday’s announcement of its lineup.

This year’s festival will open on June 26 with “Animal Crackers,” the Marx Brothers farce (with a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, and music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby) that introduced characters like Captain Spaulding, the explorer who once shot an elephant in his pajamas. (And how it got in his pajamas, he’ll never know.) This revival is adapted and directed by Henry Wishcamper, and will run through July 14; no casting was immediately announced.

The lineup also includes the world premiere of “The Bridges of Madisn County,” a musical adapted from that Robert James Waller novel about a lovelorn Italian woman and the photographer who reawakens her passion for structural spans, among other things. The musical features a book by Marsha Norman; music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown; and is directed by Bartlett Sher. It is scheduled to run from Aug. 1 through 18. While Kelli O’Hara played the lead female role in a 2011 workshop, no casting was announced.

Other works announced on Monday include a revival of “Pygmalion” starring Robert Sean Leonard and directed by Nicholas Martin; “American Hero,” a new play by Bess Wohl and directed by Leigh Silverman; a new production of Tom Stoppard’s thriller “Hapgood,” featuring Kate Burton and directed by Evan Yionoulis; and “Johnny Baseball,” a mus! ical about the curse of the Boston Red Sox, with a book by Richard Dresser, music by Robert Reale, lyrics by Willie Reale and directed by Marc Bruni. “Johnny Baseball” had its premiere in 2010 at the American Repertory Theater.