FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Barrington Stage Press Director, Charlie Siedenburg
551-655-0968
BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY TO PRESENT STAGED READING OF
MARK ST. GERMAIN’S NEW ROMANTIC COMEDY, DANCING LESSONS
MARCH 8 AT MCLA CHURCH STREET CENTER, NORTH ADAMS
(PITTSFIELD, MA) 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, will present a staged reading of Dancing Lessons, the new romantic comedy by playwright Mark St. Germain, on March 8 at 7pm at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) Church Street Center, Eleanor Furst Roberts Auditorium (corner of Church and Porter Streets), North Adams, MA. The Dancing Lessons staged reading is sponsored by Cricket Creek Farm in Williamstown, MA.
Directed by Barrington Stage Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, Dancing Lessons stars John Cariani and Brenna Palughi. John Cariani made his BSC debut as ‘Dogberry’ in last summer’s Much Ado About Nothing. Cariani is also the playwright of the popular play Almost, Maine and is currently starring in the play’s Off-Broadway revival. Recently seen in John Grisham’s A Time to Kill on Broadway, Brenna Palughi makes her BSC debut.
Dancing Lessons centers on a young man (Cariani) with high-functioning autism (Asperger’s syndrome) as he tries to navigate a relationship with a Broadway dancer (Palughi), now sidelined with injuries.
Following the staged reading, there will be Q&A and reception with the cast and playwright Mark St. Germain.
Dancing Lessons is sponsored by Sydelle and Lee Blatt & Judith Goldsmith. Dancing Lessons is sponsored in part by an Art Works Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Dancing Lessons was commissioned through the generosity of Judith Goldsmith and is part of BSC’s New Works Initiative.
Dancing Lessons marks the ninth play by Associate Artist Mark St. Germain that BSC will produce, and the eighth world premiere of his work. Barrington Stage presented a staged reading of Dancing Lessons in September 2013.
Barrington Stage will present the world premiere of Mark St. Germain’s comedy, Dancing Lessons, directed by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, with performances from August 7-24, 2014 on the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage.
During the run of Dancing Lessons, BSC will engage audiences through special discussions on Asperger’s and Autism Spectrum conducted in partnership with community organizations such as the College Internship Program, whose main office is in Pittsfield, MA.
Barrington Stage’s staged reading of Mark St. Germain’s Dancing Lessons will take place at MCLA’s Church Street Center, Eleanor Furst Roberts Auditorium (corner of Church and Porter Streets), North Adams, MA. For directions and campus map www.mcla.edu. Tickets to the staged reading of Dancing Lessons are $15 and on sale now. Please note this is general admission seating. For more information, call the Barrington Stage Box Office at 413-236-8888 (or toll-free at 855-TIX-2BSC) 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, 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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