FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
BSC Press Director Charlie Siedenburg
551-655-0968
BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY
Announces Complete 2012 Season
Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, Philip King’s comedy See How They Run
and Lord of the Flies join Fiddler on the Roof for Mainstage Season
St. Germain Stage: New England premiere of Lungs by Duncan Macmillan,
Mark St. Germain world premiere, Dr. Ruth, All the Way starring Debra Jo Rupp, and the East Coast premiere of Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph’s The North Pool
BSC Musical Theatre Lab – 7th Season kicks off with Joe Iconis’ The Black Suits
Youth Theatre to present Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
(PITTSFIELD, MA) January 26, 2012 – At a press conference held at Barrington Stage Company’s St. Germain Stage (formerly Stage 2), Artistic Director Julianne Boyd announced the complete season of performances that will take place in Downtown Pittsfield in the Mainstage Theatre, Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center (formerly Stage 2) and Youth Theatre in 2012. Single tickets will go on sale February 15. Mainstage FlexPasses and Stage 2 Passes are on sale now by calling 413-236-8888 or online at www.barringtonstageco.org.
MAINSTAGE SEASON
Tradition…
Performances for the previously announced Mainstage production season opener Fiddler on the Roof will be from June 13 through July 14. The press opening is Sunday, June 17 at 5pm.
Fiddler will be directed and choreographed by Gary John La Rosa with music direction by Darren R. Cohen. La Rosa, a Fiddler on the Roof veteran performer and director/choreographer, makes his BSC debut.
Fiddler on the Roof, the Tony Award-winning musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and book by Joseph Stein, based on characters and stories created by Sholom Alecheim, features one of the most beloved scores in the history of the American theatre – “Tradition,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” and “Far from the Home I Love.” Fiddler tells the universal tale of Tevye, the milkman, who tries to hold on to ‘tradition’ as the world around him and his family changes in the little village of Anatevka.
Fiddler on the Roof is sponsored by Berkshire Bank and Cranwell Resort.
Arthur Miller’s award-winning drama
All My Sons, winner of the first Tony Award for Best Play in 1947, is Arthur Miller’s acclaimed drama and will be directed by Julianne Boyd. Performances of All My Sons are from July 19 through August 4, with a press opening on Sunday, July 22 at 5pm.
Set in post-World War II, this landmark American drama examines the relationships between fathers and sons and the price of living the American Dream. An explosive secret threatens to tear the family apart in this powerful play about the conflict between business ethics and taking responsibility for one’s actions.
All My Sons is sponsored by Rhoda Herrick.
A hilarious farce takes the stage
John Rando, who directed last season’s musical hit Guys and Dolls, returns to Barrington Stage to helm the 1945 British comedy See How They Run by Philip King. Performances are from August 9 – 26, with a press opening on Sunday, August 12 at 5pm.
See How They Run is a brilliantly funny, quintessentially English farce about a young vicar’s wife who tries to fit into a small tightly knit town. Misinterpreted scandal and mistaken identities ensue in this “dizzyingly well-confected” comedy. (VARIETY)
A timeless novel adapted for the stage
Barrington Stage Company’s fall production will be the New England premiere of one of the 20th century’s greatest novels, William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, adapted for the stage by Nigel Williams. Lord of the Flies will be presented on the Mainstage from October 3 through 21. The press opening is Sunday, October 7 at 3pm.
A coming-of-age adventure story begins with a group of English school boys stranded on an island and ends with them as savages, playing life and death games. Lord of the Flies has been named one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century by TIME Magazine and ranked #25 out of 100 on the Modern Library 100 Best Novels list.
ST. GERMAIN STAGE (formerly Stage 2) SEASON:
Director Aaron Posner (BSC’s My Name is Asher Lev) returns to direct St. Germain Stage Season Opener
Aaron Posner, adapter/director of last season’s hit production of My Name is Asher Lev, returns to direct the 2012 St. Germain Stage Season Opener – the New England premiere of Lungs by Duncan Macmillan. Performances are May 23 through June 10, with a press opening on Sunday, May 27 at 3pm.
A couple negotiates sex, parenthood, and responsibilities large and small in Duncan Macmillan’s intimate drama about chance, change and consequence.
“There’s nothing quite like considering whether or not to bring another human being into the world to make you acutely aware of how very messed up the world seems right now” – Duncan Macmillan, playwright.
From Freud to Dr. Ruth!
Barrington Stage announces New Works Commission
Celebrated playwright and author of BSC’s longest-running hit play, Freud’s Last Session, Mark St. Germain’s new play Dr. Ruth, All the Way will premiere at St. Germain Stage from June 19 through July 15. The press opening is Saturday, June 30 at 8pm. Directed by Julianne Boyd, Dr. Ruth stars television’s Debra Jo Rupp (That 70s Show) and BSC alum Ring ‘Round the Moon, To Kill A Mockingbird and The Laramie Project.
Everyone knows the pioneering radio and television sex therapist Dr. Ruth but few know the incredible journey that preceded it. From fleeing the Nazis in the Kindertransport and joining the Haganah in Jerusalem as a scout and sniper, to her struggles to succeed as a single mother coming to America, Dr. Ruth, All the Way is filled with the humor, honesty and life-affirming spirit of Karola Ruth Siegel, the girl who became “Dr. Ruth.”
Dr. Ruth, All the Way marks the first production of BSC’s New Works Initiative, in which playwrights and musical theatre writing teams will be commissioned to write work that BSC will eventually produce. Mark St. Germain’s commission for Dr. Ruth, All the Way is underwritten by Sydelle and Lee Blatt and Beth Sapery and Rosita Sarnoff.
An East Coast Premiere
The East Coast premiere of Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright Rajiv Joseph’s The North Pool, a psychological cat-and-mouse thriller about a Middle Eastern student and his assistant high school principal, begins performances July 26 through August 11 at St. Germain Stage. The press opening is Sunday, July 29 at 3pm. Giovanna Sardelli, who staged the world premiere of Joseph’s Animals Out of Paper, directs The North Pool. Rajiv Joseph authored last season’s hit Broadway play Bengal Tiger at the Front Gate that starred Robin Williams.
MUSICAL THEATRE LAB
Barrington Stage Company’s Musical Theatre Lab, under the leadership of William Finn Artistic Head and Julianne Boyd, Artistic Director, kicks off its seventh season with the garage rock band musical The Black Suits from August 16 through September 2 at St. Germain Stage.
The Black Suits—with music and lyrics by Iconis, and a book co-written with Robert Maddock—will receive a workshop production under the direction of John Simpkins (NYU’s Parade/Artistic Director of the Tri-Arts Playhouse).
A high school garage band on suburban Long Island tries to win The St. Anne’s Battle of the Bands. Two teens struggle to learn how to be real friends as the inevitability of adulthood threatens to pull them apart. A musical about dreams, blood, Pop Tarts, records, drug runs, blue hair, the St. Anne’s Battle of the Bands and the undying transformative coolness of rock n’ roll music.
BSC YOUTH THEATRE – NEW VENUE – BERKSHIRE MUSEUM
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
Be Our Guest! at Berkshire Museum (39 South Street, Pittsfield) from July 25 through August 12.
Step into the enchanted world of Broadway’s modern classic, Beauty and the Beast. Based on Disney’s Academy Award-winning animated feature, the stage version features favorite film songs and new ones, too! With music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, audiences will be transported to the heart of French provincial life as you follow the tale of Belle and the Beast in a story of love, courage and transformation.
BSC’s Youth Theatre production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast will be directed and choreographed by Christine O’Grady. BSC is thrilled to be collaborating with Berkshire Museum in presenting Beauty and the Beast in the Museum’s theatre. The two not-for-profits will work together to bring quality youth productions to Pittsfield. Auditions for Berkshire County youth will be held in March. Greylock Federal Credit Union and The Berkshire Eagle are sponsors of the Youth Theatre production.
All shows, casting and schedule subject to change.
Affordable Theatre For All Continues In 2012
- BSC is bringing back the popular “15@15” – fifteen tickets to every Mainstage performance available on a first-come, first-served basis for $15 each.
- Low-priced previews continue at $15 and $20 for the first two performances at the Mainstage and $15 at St. Germain Stage (formerly Stage 2). Additional discounted tickets will be available for $35 and $40 at Fiddler on the Roof during the first week of performances.
- $15 tickets for youth 18 and younger will be offered again for all performances except Saturday evenings.
- BSC’s new membership program, #bsc35, continues in 2012 with $15 tickets available to select dates of Mainstage and St. Germain Stage performances for patrons ages 18-35.
- Senior discounted tickets to all Mainstage matinee performances are $38 and $25 for all Stage 2 matinees.
Single tickets will go on sale February 15, 2012. Subscriptions for the Mainstage and St. Germain Stage (Stage 2) seasons are now available. Mainstage FlexPasses start $108 and Stage 2 Passes start at just $81. Groups of 15 or more should contact Group Sales at 413 236-8888 for additional discounts. For information on shows, subscriptions and tickets call 413-236-8888 or visit 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’s Circle-in-the-Square Theatre 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 to the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater and then to New World Stages and has played more than 500 performances. Barrington Stage was voted “Best Live Theatre” by The Berkshire Eagle readers in 2011 and was named “Best Theatre Company” in Metroland’s Best of the Capital Region 2009-2011.
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