The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival (PSF) 2022 season will almost be back to full power.

There will be only one William Shakespeare play, “Much Ado About Nothing.”

There will be no plays in repertory.

“Extreme Shakespeare” will not be staged.

The PSF 31st season at DeSales University, Center Valley, includes “A Chorus Line” and movie, television and Broadway star Tony Todd returning in an August Wilson play, “Fences.”

“A Chorus Line” and “Fences” were postponed from the PSF 2020 season because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shutdown.

“You’ll see that we’re doing fewer large-cast plays,” says PSF Producing Artistic Director Patrick Mulcahy, in his 19th and last season at the helm.

“We’re not doing two plays in rep and we’re not doing the extreme Shakespeare. Because our building [Labuda Center for the Performing Arts] is of a certain size, so from a COVID management perspective, you just have to limit the number of bodies that are interacting,” Mulcahy says.

“Extreme Shakespeare” is when a PSF cast arrives with lines memorized, chooses costumes from the wardrobe department, and with no director, performs a play by Shakespeare. It’s also known as the “original practices model” because it’s believed that plays did not have a director per se in Shakespeare’s time.

Repertory is when a cast rotates in and out of two plays on the same stage, often on the same day.

“What’s great is that, though the world is a mess, you can get a break from the mess or get a refreshing perspective on what’s around us and what it is to be human,” says Mulcahy of the PSF season.

“A Chorus Line,” June 22 - July 10, Main Stage, directed by PSF Associate Artistic Director Dennis Razze, is the PSF 2022 season exception to the rule of large casts.

There are 26 in the cast of “A Chorus Line,” with four off-stage covers, 17 on the line, dancers who don’t make the cut, plus the characters of Zach and Larry. The story line has to do with dancers auditioning for the chorus line of a Broadway show.

“We will also have every one double-understudied,” says Mulcahy. “It’s not uncommon for ‘Chorus Line’ to have multiple layers of understudies. It reduces the possibility of canceling the show.”

“Only one musical a decade usually wins a Pulitzer Price. This is one of them.

“And this is such a great cast. We’ve made so sure that they are triple-threats.

“For the choreographer, Luis Villabon, it’s his 33rd ‘Chorus Line,’” Mulcahy says.

“August Wilson’s ‘Fences,’” July 27 - Aug. 7, Main Stage, starring Tony Todd, who did the one-person August Wilson play, “How I Learned What I Learned,” for the PSF 2021 summer season, in the lead role of Troy Maxson, has a cast of six.

“When I first moved to New York City as an actor this [‘Fences’] was the first play I saw on Broadway. It set the bar really high. It’s foundational to American theater in the 20th century. Every time I re-read it, I’m struck by how good it is. It’s universal. It’s fathers and sons and husbands and wives,” says Mulcahy.

The sole Shakespeare play, “Much Ado About Nothing,” July 13 - Aug. 7, Schubert Theatre, directed by Matt Pfeiffer, has a cast of 18.

“Much Ado About Nothing” is in keeping with PSF not doing a Shakespeare play until at least 10 years has passed.

Pfeiffer is in his 23rd season at PSF. Some 25 years ago, Mulcahy directed the children’s show, “Snow White.” “And there was this sophomore intern, Matt Pfeiffer, playing Grumpy. I love that his career has taken this trajectory.”

Even though PSF is back to producing and performing shows live and for in-person audiences, theater-goers are to wear face masks. Requirements are those of Actors Equity union and other theater unions. PSF is basically following Broadway theaters protocol.

“Our whole job is predicting the future. We were trying to predict what COVID would look like nine months in advance. As it turns out, our season is a pretty good match as to where we are,” says Mulcahy.

“Our staff will be tested regularly. Everybody will be fully vaccinated. We have Merv 13 filters installed. It’s Equity requirements,” Mulcahy says.

The PSF Summer 2022 Season includes, on the Main Stage, the children’s show, “Shakespeare for Kids,” July 28 - Aug 6, and in Schubert Theatre, the children’s show, “Little Red,” June 3 - Aug 6, and “Every Brilliant Thing,” June 7 -19, and a staged reading of “The River Bride,” July 1 - 3.

In a March press release announcing the season, Mulcahy stated,” “For me and for the Festival, this is a season of both renewal and metamorphosis. It’s regenerating to return to full attendance indoors, as well as moving forward again with productions planned for previous seasons.

“Our mission has always been to reach the widest possible audience with great theater, and I’m pleased that my final season will reflect a further step to animate and actualize that mission.”

Tickets: Box Office, Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, DeSales University, 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley; www.pashakespeare.org; 610-282-WILL [9455]