FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
BSC Press Director Charlie Siedenburg, 551-655-0968
Barrington Stage Company to Host
Pittsfield Community Night July 31 at Berkshire Museum
Following HAIRSPRAY JR. 7:00pm performance
(Pittsfield, MA) Barrington Stage Company, the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Managing Director Tristan Wilson, will host a Pittsfield Community Night in conjunction with its Youth Theatre production of Hairspray JR., on July 31 after the 7pm performance at Berkshire Museum (39 South Street) in Pittsfield, MA.
There will be a panel discussion following the performance (runs approx. 85 min.) featuring the cast, BSC company members and Pittsfield community leaders who confront some of the same issues, such as racism and discrimination that are tackled in Hairspray JR.
Panelists include Shirley Edgerton, Program Director of Youth Alive and Rights of Passage; Adam Hinds, Pittsfield Program Coordinator for the Shannon Grant – Pittsfield’s Gang Prevention Initiative; and Will Singleton, President of the local chapter of the NAACP.
Hairspray JR. takes place in Baltimore, Maryland in 1962 and tackles the serious issues surrounding the African-American Civil Rights Movement, including racism, integration, diversity and tolerance.
Together, with members of the cast of Hairspray JR. the discussion will explore questions such as:
What, if any, racial tensions exist in elementary & middle schools today?
In the community in general?
How we can teach our children tolerance & acceptance?
How can we use different forms of art to express difficulties of race relations?
Do we have a shared vision of the future City of Pittsfield?
A reception will follow the discussion. To reserve your tickets, call the BSC Box Office at 413–236-8888.
Performances of Barrington Stage Company’s Youth Theatre production of Hairspray JR. are now through August 10, at Berkshire Museum, 39 South Street, Pittsfield. Performance times are Wed-Fri at 7pm; Wed/Thurs/Sun at 2pm; Sat at 12:30pm and 3:30pm. Box Office: 413-236-8888 or order online at www.barringtonstageco.org.
About Barrington Stage Company
Barrington Stage Company, a professional award-winning Equity regional theatre located in the heart of the Berkshires, in Pittsfield, MA, was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd. Barrington Stage’s mission is three-fold: to present top-notch, compelling work; to develop new plays and musicals; and to find fresh, bold ways to bringing new audiences into the theatre—especially young people. Barrington Stage garnered national attention in 2004 when it workshopped, and 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 2009/2010 Barrington Stage produced the world premiere of 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 in 2012) played Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre in fall 2013. Barrington Stage was voted “Best Live Theatre” by The Berkshire Eagle readers in 2011 and 2012 and was named “Best Theatre Company” in Metroland’s Best of the Capital Region 2009-2012.
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