Way Off Broadway Theatre to stage Constellations in Prattville

Way Off Broadway Theatre is bringing a relationship drama built on quantum theory and parallel lives to 203 West 4th Street, but only for three performances. Constellations, by Nick Payne, will play Aug. 14 and 15 at 7 p.m. and Aug. 16 at 2 p.m., making the limited engagement one of the most tightly scheduled offerings in Prattville’s cultural calendar.

The production centers on Marianne, a physicist, and Roland, a beekeeper, as their connection unfolds across multiple realities. That structure sets it apart from a standard community-theatre run. Instead of a straight-line romance, the play uses the idea that small choices can send lives in different directions, giving Autauga County audiences a story that mixes emotion, science and questions about fate.

Alex Rikerd and Josh Williams will appear in the cast, with Val Winkelman directing. Winkelman brings substantial professional experience to the Prattville stage. Auburn University at Montgomery identifies her as a Distinguished Research Professor, and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival has recognized her with a Gold Medallion. Her background also includes work with the Texas Shakespeare Festival and costume design for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.

A post-show talkback on Saturday, Aug. 15, is expected to deepen the play’s appeal for students, teachers and theatergoers who want more than a night at the theater. Dr. Matthias Kaminski of the University of Alabama Department of Physics and Astronomy will lead the question-and-answer session, giving the audience a chance to connect the stage story to the science that inspired it. The University of Alabama says Kaminski joined the faculty in 2015 and serves as an associate professor and vice-chair of communication and outreach.

The show also reflects the long role Way Off Broadway Theatre has played in Prattville. The city-funded venue, formed in the fall of 2002 as part of the Prattville Creative and Performing Arts Council, says it exists to provide accessible, high-quality theatrical experiences and support youth camps, workshops and other community programs. Season materials say the company typically stages five shows each year, including a musical and a signature Christmas play, which makes this brief summer engagement stand out as a special event rather than a routine production.

Constellations arrives with a strong professional pedigree as well. The play premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London on Jan. 13, 2012, transferred to the West End later that year and later reached Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in New York City, where it ran from Jan. 13 through March 15, 2015 and earned Tony nominations. In Prattville, that history gives the show added weight: a compact local production with enough ambition to bring physics, romance and performance into the same room.