Barrington Stage to present staged reading of Mark St. Germain’s “Dancing Lessons” September 1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
BSC Press Director, Charlie Siedenburg, 551-655-0968

Barrington Stage Company presents a staged reading of
Dancing Lessons
A New Play by Mark St. Germain
Starring John Cariani and Heidi Armbruster
Directed by Julianne Boyd
Boyd-Quinson Mainstage, September 1 at 7pm
Post-Show Talkback to follow

(PITTSFIELD, MA) Barrington Stage Company, the award-winning theatre in downtown Pittsfield, MA, under the leadership of Julianne Boyd, Artistic Director, and Tristan Wilson, Managing Director, will present a staged reading of Dancing Lessons, a new play by Mark St. Germain.

Directed by Julianne Boyd, Dancing Lessons stars John Cariani (BSC Much Ado About Nothing) and Heidi Armbruster (BSC Uncle Vanya, The Violet Hour), Sunday, September 1 at 7pm at the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage, 30 Union Street, Pittsfield.  Tickets are $15 (reserved seating).  For tickets call 413-236-8888 or purchase online at www.barringtonstageco.org.  There will be a post-show discussion with the cast, playwright and director following the reading.

Dancing Lessons centers around a young man with high-functioning autism (Asperger’s syndrome) as he tries to navigate a relationship with a Broadway dancer, now sidelined with injuries. She learns how to deal with her disabilities while he gets a glimpse of the emotional and transformational power of dance.

Dancing Lessons was commissioned through the generosity of Judith Goldsmith and is part of BSC’s New Works Initiative.

Heidi Armbruster (Senga Quinn) Broadway: Time Stands Still. New York Theater: LCT3 Disgraced (Pulitzer Prize for Drama), Keen Company (Drama League Nomination for Tea and Sympathy), The Mint, Red Bull, New Georges and Playwright’s Realm. Extensive regional credits including Uncle Vanya and The Violet Hour with Barrington Stage Company.  Film and TV: My Man Is A Loser (upcoming), Michael Clayton, The Northern Kingdom, The Smurfs, The Following, 30 Rock.  MFA from ACT (ACT’s 2013 Rising Star Award recipient).

John Cariani (Ever Montgomery) At BSC: Much Ado About Nothing. As an actor, John has appeared on and off Broadway, at regional theaters across the country, and in several films and television shows. He is also a playwright, and is probably best known for his first play, Almost, Maine. Originally from Presque Isle, Maine, John is a graduate of Amherst College.

Mark St. Germain (Playwright) At BSC: World premieres of Scott and Hem in the Garden of Allah, Dr. Ruth, All The Way, The Best of Enemies, Freud’s Last Session, The God Committee, Ears on a Beatle, and Ciao! as well as the 2006 production of The Collyer Brothers at Home & Period Piece. He has also written the plays Camping with Henry and Tom and Forgiving Typhoid Mary. Mark wrote the musical comedy, The Fabulous Lipitones, with John Markus. With Randy Courts he wrote the musicals The Gifts of the Magi, Johnny Pye and Jack’s Holiday. His musical Stand by Your Man was written for Nashville’s Ryman Theater. Television includes “The Cosby Show”. Mark is proud to be a Board Member and Associate Artist at BSC, a member of the HB Writer’s Lab, and honored to have his name on the Stage 2 theatre.

Julianne Boyd co-founded the Barrington Stage Company in January 1995. She has directed many productions at BSC, including Much Ado About Nothing, Dr. Ruth, All the Way, The Best of Enemies, The Crucible, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, A Streetcar Named Desire, West Side Story, and Follies. Ms. Boyd conceived and directed the Broadway musical Eubie!, a show based on the music of Eubie Blake which starred Gregory Hines and garnered three Tony nominations.  She has also worked extensively in New York and in regional theatres where her directorial credits include As You Like It and Tea at the Old Globe Theatre; Sweet and Hot: The Songs Of Harold Arlen at the McCarter Theatre and La Jolla Playhouse. From 1992 to 1998 Ms. Boyd served as President of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, the national union representing professional directors and choreographers in the U.S.

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 and played more than 1,000 performances. 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 775 performances. 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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