The stars come out in Williamstown. (l to r) David Hyde Pierce, Tyne Daly, Bob Balaban and Blythe Danner. Larry Murray photos.

It could be called a battle between the old and the new, but next Thursday’s opening of the Williamstown Theatre Festival (WTF) will set a precedent as not one, but two plays open on the same night. To underscore the seriousness of the battle to come, Artistic Director Jenny Gersten pulled out all the stops for a media event yesterday afternoon at the Williams Inn. The “battle” if it could be called that, is mostly for the critics who have to decide which one to see and review. The choices are a fabulous old Oscar Wilde comedy on the Main Stage, The Importance of Being Earnest, and a new drama from playwright Lucy Boyle, The Blue Deep which is slated for the Nikos Stage.

For the gathering of theatre writers and local reporters, Gerstein let the director and star of each production make their own case for seeing their show. David Hyde Pierce, who played Niles Crane on Frasier for eleven years and won two Emmys for his work is directing The Importance of Being Earnest,and Tyne Daly (television’s “Cagney and Lacy”) will be playing Lady Bracknell, the famous role sometimes played en travesti.

Bob Balaban (l) and Blythe Danner share a laugh during the photo session. Larry Murray photo.

Speaking for The Blue Deep was its star, Blythe Danner, and director, Bob Balaban. There was a Q & A session with the media, followed by one on one interviews with each of the principals.

This writer looks forward to writing more detailed reviews which will be posted as the first shows open at the end of the month.

Pierce was inspired to take a new approach with the usual proper English drawing room accents of Earnest, which conjure up Dawnton Abbey and mixing them up with Guys and Dolls. This happened, he says, ” from hearing Damon Runyon’s voice in Oscar Wilde’s characters.” When reading the play he found, it works “equally well in a gangster accent or a British accent.” In my one on one interview, I asked Tyne Daly if she would be carrying a machine gun and wearing a fedora, but she told me she was sworn to secrecy about the details.

David Hyde Pierce explains his take on the Oscar Wilde play, much to Tyne Daly’s amusement.

Meanwhile, in the other corner, director Bob Balaban wasn’t spilling too many beans either. While he has participated in several readings of the work, he still likes to surprise the audience.Turns out he has known the writer of The Blue Deep since she was five years old, and was drawn to the project by his friendship with Danner.

Said Danner: “It’s so deep and insightful. After I read it, I just had to do it.” As with so many plays, it takes place in the Hamptons, and explores the relationship between a mother and daughter.

Even though all four are deep into their rehearsals, individually each of the quartet has been renewing their love affair with Williamstown – they have all appeared here at previous points in their career. Blythe Danner had a real “remember when” moment as she climbed the stairs to the old Adams Theatre, now the Nikos, when the memories of past summers in Williamstown came flooding back.

David Hyde Pierce made his way down Spring Street to get his salami sandwich from Brendan Burns, whose brush with fame left Facebook followers aflutter. The next day he atoned and had one with veggies and hummus.

It’s summer in Williamstown, and the theatre people are back in town. What could be better than that.

In other news, WTF’s Jenny Gersten also announced that due to popular demand, Here Lies Love has added a performance on Wednesday, June 20 at 8:00pm. The production will then continue its sold out scheduled run of performances from June 21 through 24 at the Hunter Center for the Performing Arts at MASS MoCA (87 Marshall Street, North Adams, MA). All evening performances will be followed by talkbacks by co-creator David Byrne and director Alex Timbers. Here Lies Love is a co-production between the Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Public Theater, and MASS MoCA (where the workshop is in residence). Tickets and information on the wait list policy are available through the MASS MoCA box office at http://www.massmoca.org or by calling 413-662-2111.

Also, Far From Heaven will add an additional performance to its schedule on Wednesday, July 25 at 2:00pm. The Preview Production begins performances on July 19 and runs through July 29. Due to the technical demands of the ambitious physical production of Far From Heaven, the show will no longer have a matinee on Thursday, July 19 at 2:00pm and instead begin performances at 7:30pm that same evening.