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

BARRINGTON STAGE CLOSES $7 MILLION CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
Board President Mary Ann Quinson announced at Annual Summer Gala 

One year challenge to raise $350,000 completed before July 2013

(PITTSFIELD, MA)  At Barrington Stage Company’s Annual Summer Gala on Saturday, June 22, Board President Mary Ann Quinson announced that Barrington Stage Company, the award-winning theatre in downtown Pittsfield, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Managing Director Tristan Wilson, had closed their $7 million Capital Campaign, having met the challenge to raise the last $350,000 by July 31, 2013.

In August 2012, Barrington Stage received a new funder challenge of $350,000. BSC committed to raising the additional funds within the one-year time period in order to secure this challenge.

With the closing of the Capital Campaign, Barrington Stage will be able to focus more attention on its artistic initiatives, including the New Works Initiative, which was launched in 2012 with Dr. Ruth, All the Way.

“We are now debt-free,” said Julianne Boyd from her office. “It feels wonderful! We want to thank all of our loyal donors who supported us in this campaign. Now we can concentrate on what we do best: develop and produce plays.”

In 2005 Barrington Stage Company began a $7 million capital campaign to purchase and renovate the former Union Square Theatre, a vintage 1912 vaudeville theatre in disrepair, and the adjacent historic Octagon House, located in downtown Pittsfield, MA.  Renovations began in January 2006 and a sold-out production of West Side Story inaugurated BSC’s first full season in Pittsfield in the completed theatre in June 2007.  The theatre is now a state-of-the-art 520-seat proscenium theatre and the neighboring Octagon House serves as Administrative Offices.

Today, Barrington Stage presents over a dozen shows annually, employs more than 200 seasonal and full-time employees and brings over 51,000 audience members through the doors of the theatre each year.

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 for two years. 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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