National Press Contacts
Matt Ross Public Relations – (212) 756-1248
Matt Ross / Nicole Capatasto / Claire Wojciechowski

Berkshire Press Contact
Charlie Siedenburg – 551-655-0968
Charlie_siedenburg@yahoo.com

 

  

BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY
ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL
PRODUCTIONS & WORLD PREMIERE READING FOR 2017 SEASON

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A READING OF
THE WORLD PREMIERE NEW MUSICAL

BUTTERFLIES

Book & Lyrics by Kate Chadwick, Music by Josh Freilich
Directed and Choreographed by Graciela Daniele
July 28, 2017 at BSC

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SPEECH & DEBATE

By Tony Award Winner and Pulitzer Prize Finalist
STEPHEN KARAM
Directed by Jessica Holt
On the St. Germain Stage
July 13 – July 29, 2017

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2017 YOUTH THEATRE PROGRAM PRODUCTION

BYE BYE BIRDIE

Book by Michael Stewart, Lyrics by Lee Adams, and Music by Charles Strouse.
Directed & Choreographed by Julianne Katz
At the Berkshire Museum (39 South Street) in Pittsfield, MA.
July 26 –Aug 13, 2017

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(Pittsfield, MA– March 10, 2017) Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Managing Director Tristan Wilson, announced today a reading of the new musical Butterflies, as well as two additional productions, during their upcoming 2017 season.

BSC will present the World Premiere reading of the new musical, Butterflies, with a book and lyrics by Kate Chadwick and music by Josh Freilich, and directed by Tony Award nominee Graciela Daniele (The Visit). Butterflies is the story of Jessica, a former dancer who has been shaped by the disciplined world of ballet, and her complex relationship with her teacher, Miss Yvonne. When the adult Jessica learns of Miss Yvonne’s death, she is sent into a tailspin of memory, recalling her dreams, her friendships, the performances, the competition, and the female role models that made her who she is. A reading will be presented on Friday, July 28 at 2pm at Barrington Stage Co., and a limited number of seats will be available to the public. 

Beginning July 13, 2017 on the St. Germain Stage will be SPEECH & DEBATE by Tony Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Stephen Karam (Broadway’s The Humans) and directed by Jessica Holt (Alliance Theatre’s Ugly Lies The Bone).  Three teenage misfits in Salem, Oregon discover they are linked by a sex scandal that’s rocked their town. When one of them sets out to expose the truth, secrets become currency, the stakes get higher, and the trio’s connection grows deeper in this searching, fiercely funny dark comedy with music. SPEECH & DEBATE opens July 16, 2017 and runs through July 29, 2017.

The 2017 Youth Theatre Program production will be BYE BYE BIRDIE. The winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, BYE BYE BIRDIE features a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse, BYE BYE BIRDIE will be directed and choreographed by Julianne Katz (Crazy For You at Lincoln Center, Assistant Choreographer). Set in the height of rock ‘n’ roll, BYE BYE BIRDIE takes place in Sweet Apple, Ohio, where hip-thrusting music heartthrob Conrad Birdie is scheduled to give a lucky Sweet Apple teen “One Last Kiss” before being drafted into the Army. Conrad’s rock ‘n’ roll ways give the teens Birdie fever, shocking the parents with moral indignation and placing songwriter-agent Albert Peterson along with his savvy sweetheart, Rosie, right in the thick of things. BYE BYE BIRDIE begins performances at the Berkshire Museum (39 South Street) in Pittsfield, MA on July 26 and runs through August 13, 2017.

The previously announced 2017 season at BSC will include Kunstler by Jefferson Award winner and Emmy Award nominee Jeffrey Sweet (Flyovers), directed by Meagen Fay (Second City in Chicago), and starring Jeff McCarthy (Broadway’s Chicago, BSC’s Broadway Bounty Hunter); a production of The Birds by Conor McPherson, directed by BSC Artistic Director Julianne Boyd (BSC’s Broadway Bounty Hunter, American Son); a new production of Ragtime, directed by Helen Hayes Award winner Joe Calarco (The Burnt Part Boys, Shakespeare’s R&J), with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty; and the laugh-out-loud but rarely staged comedy, Taking Steps, by Olivier and Tony Award winner Alan Ayckbourn (The Norman Conquests) in a new production from Tony Award nominated director Sam Buntrock (Broadway’s Sunday in the Park with George). 

The 2017 season will continue with This by Obie Award winner Melissa James Gibson (“House of Cards”) and directed by Christopher Innvar (BSC’s The Other Place); Company, with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, choreographed by Jeffrey Page (BSC’s Broadway Bounty Hunter) and directed by Julianne Boyd, and Gaslight (Angel Street) by Patrick Hamilton.

Casting, creative team and full performance schedules will be announced shortly.

Single tickets for the 2017 season go on sale March 13, 2017.

ABOUT BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY

Barrington Stage Company is a professional award-winning Equity regional theatre located in the heart of the Berkshires, in Pittsfield, MA.  It was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and 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 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, Mark St. Germain’s Freud’s Last Session ran more than ten weeks on Stage 2 and 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. BSC’s all-time record-breaking musical, On the Town, was originally produced at BSC in 2013.  In 2014, it opened on Broadway with BSC as a co-producer, 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 2016, BSC produced three World Premieres; Presto Change-O, Broadway Bounty Hunter, and American Son, which won the Laurents/Hatcher Award for Best New Play.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT
WWW.BARRINGTONSTAGECO.ORG

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