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BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY ANNOUNCES 2019 SEASON
FEATURING FIVE NEW WORKS
INCLUDING FOUR WORLD PREMIERES
ON THE BOYD-QUINSON MAINSTAGE
INTO THE WOODS
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
Originally Directed on Broadway by James Lapine
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
Musical Direction by Darren R. Cohen
Directed by Joe Calarco
A New Play
GERTRUDE AND CLAUDIUS
By Mark St. Germain
Based on the novel by John Updike
Directed by Julianne Boyd
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
FALL SPRINGS
Music and Lyrics by Niko Tsakalakos
Book and Lyrics by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
Musical Direction by Vadim Feichtner
Directed by Stephen Brackett
From BSC’s Musical Theatre Lab
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
AMERICAN UNDERGROUND
By Brent Askari
Directed by Julianne Boyd
Bonnie & Terry Burman New Play Award
ON THE ST. GERMAIN STAGE
HOLD THESE TRUTHS
By Jeanne Sakata
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
AMERICA V. 2.1: THE SAD DEMISE & EVENTUAL EXTINCTION OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO
By Stacey Rose
Directed by Logan Vaughn
Bonnie & Terry Burman New Play Award Grand Prize Winner
TIME FLIES AND OTHER COMEDIES
By David Ives
IF I FORGET
By Steven Levenson
Directed by Jennifer Chambers
2019 YOUTH THEATRE PRODUCTION
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
RAGTAG THEATRE’S HANSEL AND GRETEL
Book by Sam LaFrage
Music and Lyrics by Lewis Flinn and Sam LaFrage
(Pittsfield, MA– February 8, 2019) Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in the Berkshires (Pittsfield, MA) under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, announced today its 25th Anniversary season, which will feature four world premieres, including the new musical from BSC’s Musical Theatre Lab, Fall Springs by Niko Tsakalakos and Peter Sinn Nachtrieb; America v. 2.1: The Sad Demise & Eventual Extinction of The American Negro by Stacey Rose; American Underground by Brent Askari; and Ragtag Theatre’s Hansel and Gretel, commissioned by BSC.
“For our 25th season we are celebrating some of the brilliant undiscovered playwrights whose work is on the pulse of what’s happening in America today,” said Artistic Director Julianne Boyd. “These writers have created stories that could not have been written 10 or 20 years ago – we celebrate their bravery and vision of the world as they see it today.”
The first production on the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage, Into the Woods, features music and lyrics by 13-time Tony Award winner Stephen Sondheim, a book by James Lapine (Sunday in the Park with George) and original Broadway direction by James Lapine. Orchestrations are by Jonathan Tunick (Sweeney Todd) with musical direction by BSC Associate Artist Darren R. Cohen (BSC’s West Side Story) and direction by BSC Associate Artist Joe Calarco (BSC’s Ragtime).
BSC will present a new play by BSC Associate Artist Mark St. Germain (Dancing Lessons, Freud’s Last Session), Gertrude and Claudius, based on the novel by John Updike, featuring direction by Julianne Boyd (BSC’s West Side Story, Company). Commissioned by Orlando Shakespeare Theater, it will receive its World Premiere in Orlando opening February 20th, 2019.
Gertrude and Claudius will be followed by a World Premiere Musical from BSC’s Musical Theatre Lab, Fall Springs, featuring music and lyrics by Niko Tsakalakos (BSC’s Pool Boy), book and lyrics by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb (Boom), musical direction by BSC Associate Artist Vadim Feichtner (BSC’s The Royal Family of Broadway) and direction by Stephen Brackett (Broadway’s Be More Chill).
The final production on the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage will be the World Premiere of American Underground, by Brent Askari (Digby’s Home) and directed by Julianne Boyd. American Underground is the recipient of a Bonnie & Terry Burman New Play Award.
Kicking things off on the St. Germain Stage will be Hold These Truths by Jeanne Sakata (Actress – Calligraphy), followed by the World Premiere of the Bonnie & Terry Burman New Play Award Grand Prize Winner, America v. 2.1: The Sad Demise & Eventual Extinction of The American Negro by Stacey Rose (The Danger: A Homage to Strange Fruit), directed by Logan Vaughn (MCC’s The Light). The season continues on the St. Germain Stage with Time Flies and Other Comedies by David Ives (Venus in Fur), concluding with If I Forget by Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen) and directed by Jennifer Chambers (BSC’s The Cake).
The 2019 Youth Theatre Production will be Ragtag Theatre’s Hansel and Gretel, featuring a book by Sam LaFrage (Ragtag Theatre’s Cinderella), and music and lyrics by Lewis Finn (Broadway’s Lysistrata Jones) and Sam LaFrage. For the first time in its history, BSC has commissioned a new musical for its Youth Theatre production. The World Premiere of Hansel and Gretel is by Ragtag Theatre Company, currently in residency with the Youth Theatre program. Ragtag Theatre’s goal is to empower and inspire audiences to live big colorful lives and to embrace what makes them different.
THE 2019 BOYD-QUINSON MAINSTAGE PRODUCTIONS INCLUDE:
INTO THE WOODS
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
Originally Directed on Broadway by James Lapine
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
Musical Direction by Darren R. Cohen
Directed by Joe Calarco
Previews begin June 19, 2019
Opens June 22, 2019
Runs through July 13, 2019
“Anything can happen in the woods.” This is the promise, and premise, of the much-loved Tony Award-winning musical Into the Woods. A childless baker and his wife endeavor to lift their family curse by journeying into the woods, where they encounter Rapunzel and her mother; Cinderella; Jack (of Beanstalk fame); Little Red Riding Hood and other classic fairy tale characters. Their stories become entangled in unexpected ways – revealing what happens after “happily ever after.” The wickedly witty score weaves a magical spell, warning “be careful what you wish for.”
GERTRUDE AND CLAUDIUS
A New Play by Mark St. Germain
Based on the novel by John Updike
Directed by Julianne Boyd
Previews begin July 18, 2019
Opens July 21, 2019
Runs through August 3, 2019
Passion. Deception. Power. A love story for the ages based on the brilliant book by John Updike, told through the uncanny lens of Mark St. Germain. A provocative prequel to Hamlet. 2018 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award Winner.
The World Premiere of FALL SPRINGS
From BSC’s Musical Theatre Lab
Music and Lyrics by Niko Tsakalakos
Book and Lyrics by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
Musical Direction by Vadim Feichtner
Directed by Stephen Brackett
Previews begin August 9, 2019
Opens August 14, 2019
Runs through August 31, 2019
Boulders, buildings and the occasional bartender are being swallowed in the ground due to fracking. And that’s only the beginning… From the creator of Pool Boy comes Fall Springs, an irreverent, funny and relevant new musical. The town of Fall Springs is cash-strapped but sits directly on top of America’s largest reserve of cosmetic essential oils. It has big dreams but at what cost? With new fracking techniques being recklessly implemented, the ground beneath Fall Springs is crumbling. “The show is exhilarating, refreshing, hilarious and moving all at once.” –Ars Nova
Bonnie & Terry Burman New Play Award
The World Premiere of AMERICAN UNDERGROUND
By Brent Askari
Directed by Julianne Boyd
Previews begin October 2, 2019
Opens October 6, 2019
Runs through October 20, 2019
An interracial couple enjoys a visit from their college-aged son when a young Muslim woman arrives at their back door looking for safe passage via a new Underground Railroad. This riveting thriller takes us inside a stark vision of an unapologetic America.
THE 2019 ST. GERMAIN STAGE PRODUCTIONS INCLUDE:
HOLD THESE TRUTHS
By Jeanne Sakata
Previews begin May 22, 2019
Opens May 25, 2019
Runs through June 8, 2019
An unsung American hero, Gordon Hirabayashi, fought passionately for the Constitution against an unexpected adversary: his own country. During World War II, he refused to report to a relocation camp with thousands of families of Japanese descent, launching a 50-year journey from college to courtroom and eventually to a Presidential Medal of Freedom. “Stunning! A brilliant portrayal of a genuine hero.”—Huffington Post
Bonnie & Terry Burman New Play Award Grand Prize Winner
The World Premiere of AMERICA V. 2.1: THE SAD DEMISE & EVENTUAL EXTINCTION OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO
By Stacey Rose
Directed by Logan Vaughn
Previews begin June 14, 2019
Opens June 20, 2019
Runs through June 30, 2019
Set in the not too distant future, America v. 2.1 is a day in the life of a troupe of Black actors who are charged with re-enacting the revised history of the once-thriving American Negro. It quickly becomes a day of reckoning as the troupe is forced to face the parallels their own lives draw to the lives of the very Negroes whose stories they are compelled to tell.
TIME FLIES AND OTHER COMEDIES
By David Ives
Previews begin July 5, 2019
Opens July 10, 2019
Runs through July 27, 2019
Welcome to the hilarious world of America’s foremost comedic playwright and to an evening filled with some of the funniest short plays ever written. The New York Times says “Ives is wizardly…magical and funny…a master of language. He’s an original.”
IF I FORGET
By Steven Levenson
Directed by Jennifer Chambers
Previews begin August 1, 2019
Opens on August 4, 2019
Runs through August 31, 2019
A powerful tale of a Jewish-American family and a culture at odds with itself. Three siblings reunite to celebrate their father’s 75th birthday. As destructive secrets and long-held resentments bubble to the surface, they negotiate — with biting humor and razor-sharp insight — how much of the past they’re willing to sacrifice for a chance at a new beginning. “Passionate and provoking! Brainy in its arguments and visceral in its emotions!” –The New York Times
2019 Youth Theatre production
The World Premiere of Ragtag Theatre’s HANSEL AND GRETEL
Book by Sam LaFrage
Music and Lyrics by Lewis Flinn and Sam LaFrage
Previews begin July 25, 2019
Opens July 28, 2019
Runs through August 10, 2019
Ragtag Theatre’s Hansel and Gretel follows a troupe of poor “Italian” actors as they present an interactive, twisted version of the well-known fairy tale in a brand-new way. It will be the wackiest Hansel and Gretel you’ve ever seen! Winner of the Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Family Show, Ragtag Theatre Company is a group of diverse artists dedicated to creating fresh and inclusive theatre for families.
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Single tickets for the 2019 season will be on sale March 4, 2019.
ABOUT BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY
Barrington Stage Company (BSC) is an award-winning regional theatre located in Pittsfield, MA, in the heart of the Berkshires. Co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, BSC has a three-fold mission: to present top-notch, compelling work; to develop new plays and musicals; and to find fresh, bold ways of bringing new audiences into the theatre—especially young people.
Barrington Stage commissioned and produced the world premiere of Christopher Demos-Brown’s American Son, which also won the Laurents/Hatcher Award as Best New Play in 2016 and recently concluded a Broadway run, starring Kerry Washington.
Barrington Stage first garnered national attention in 2004 when it premiered William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s musical hit The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which later transferred to Broadway where it won two Tony Awards. In 2009, BSC premiered Mark St. Germain’s Freud’s Last Session, which later moved Off Broadway and played for two years. St. Germain’s Becoming Dr. Ruth (which premiered at BSC as Dr. Ruth, All the Way) played Off Broadway at the Westside Theatre. BSC’s all-time record-breaking musical On the Town was originally produced at BSC in 2013 before transferring to Broadway, where it was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival. In 2016, Barrington Stage swept the first annual Berkshire Theatre Awards by winning 20 out of the 25 awards. In 2017, BSC produced the much-lauded revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Company, starring Aaron Tveit. BSC has won the Best of the Berkshires Readers’ Choice for Best Live Theatre for the past two years. 2019 marks BSC’s 25th Season Anniversary.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT
WWW.BARRINGTONSTAGECO.ORG
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