Bradley Cooper and Patricia Clarkson Set for The Elephant Man at Williamstown Theatre Festival

Bradley Cooper and Patricia Clarkson will star in Bernard Pomerance’s classic play The Elephant Man during the 2012 season at Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts. Directed by Scott Ellis, the production will begin performances July 25 and run through August 5.

The Elephant Man is based on the life of John Merrick, detailing his desperate existence in a Victorian freak show to his days as the toast of London high society. Pomerance weaves Merrick’s tale into a parable on beauty, innocence, and human dignity.

Cooper has appeared on Broadway in Three Days of Rain. His Williamstown Theatre Festival credits include The Understudy. He has appeared on film and TV in The Hangover, Limitless, The A-Team, The Hangover Part II, Nip/Tuck, Alias and Kitchen Confidential.

Clarkson’s Broadway credits include The House of Blue Leaves and Eastern Standard. She made her Williamstown Theatre Festival debut in 1984 and has appeared in The Ride Down Mount Morgan. Her film and TV credits include The Green Mile, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Shutter Island, Friends With Benefits and Pieces of April, for which she earned an Oscar nod.

In addition to The Elephant Man, Williamstown Theatre Festival has added a reading of Here Lies Love at the Hunter Center at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Here Lies Love, created by David Byre, directed by Alex Timbers, and with music by Byrne and Fatboy Slim, will play workshop performances from July 25 through August 5. As previously announced, Here Lies Love will premiere at the Public Theater on April 2, 2013.