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

BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY RECORD-BREAKING 2013 SEASON
SEASON ATTENDANCE BREAKS 52,000
ON THE TOWN BEST-SELLING MUSICAL;
THE CHOSEN BEST-SELLING PLAY

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, is proud to announce that its 2013 season was the most successful season since its founding in 1995.

Celebrating its 19th season in 2013, BSC presented nearly 300 performances and events on four stages: the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage, the St Germain Stage, Berkshire Museum (Youth Theatre) and Mr. Finn’s Cabaret, along with concerts, staged readings and the free Conversations With… series.

“2013 was a banner year for BSC. We are grateful for the ongoing support of our loyal patrons year in and year out,” said Julianne Boyd, “and are proud to continue bringing top-notch talent and works to our stages, especially as we look ahead to our 20th anniversary season.”

The rarely performed musical On the Town opened the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage season, helmed by Tony-winning director John Rando and Emmy Award-winning choreographer Joshua Bergasse. The production quickly became a hit with critics and audiences alike and, fueled by a rave review in The New York Times, swiftly surpassed all previous ticket and attendance records, reaching nearly 15,000 patrons during its 5-week run.

Following the 2011 sold-out run of Aaron Posner’s adaptation of Chaim Potok’s My Name Is Asher Lev at St. Germain Stage, BSC was thrilled to present Posner’s adaptation of Potok’s beloved novel The Chosen, starring Emmy Award-winner Richard Schiff on the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage. The show was extremely well-received and became the best-selling play in BSC’s history.

BSC’s first foray into Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Julianne Boyd and starring BSC Associate Artists Mark H. Dold, Gretchen Egolf, and Christopher Innvar, was praised by critics and introduced many in our audience to their first experience with Shakespeare. The closing production of the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play Clybourne Park became the best-selling fall show since the 2008 hit To Kill A Mockingbird, demonstrating yet again our audiences’ love of serious, thought-provoking theater.

The St. Germain Stage season included an American premiere and three world premieres (including a new musical from BSC’s acclaimed Musical Theatre Lab) and tackled important social issues with Bashir Lahzar (immigration), Muckrakers (government privacy in the digital age) and Southern Comfort (transgendering). The St. Germain season concluded with BSC Associate Artist Mark St. Germain’s Scott and Hem in the Garden of Allah.

Mr. Finn’s Cabaret, which opened with four cabarets in its new space on the lower level of the Blatt Center in 2012, was programmed with a full expanded season of 14 cabarets (23 total performances) in 2013, including concerts by Tony Award-winner Tonya Pinkins and the talented sister act, Liz Callaway and Anne Hampton Callaway. This season, the 99-seat venue was over 90% capacity and attended by more than 2,000 people.

In 2013, BSC also introduced expanded season pass offerings, including a full season Combo Pass and the introduction of lower-priced passes, starting at just $60 for the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage Season. Bucking the national trend of decreasing subscriptions, BSC’s total season pass sales for 2013 were 22% greater than 2012 pass sales (following an increase of 30% from 2011 to 2012).

Overall, single ticket sales to the 2013 season exceeded $1M for the third consecutive year, and total earned revenue from ticket sales increased 12% over 2012. Attendance was just over 52,000, exceeding 2012 and setting an all-time record. This is also the second year in a row attendance surpassed 50,000. Barrington Stage’s commitment to producing masterful classics and its continued dedication to new works and artists has led to continued increases in revenues and a consistently growing audience base.

20TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

In September, BSC announced that Cole Porter’s musical comedy masterpiece Kiss Me, Kate would open the 20th Anniversary Boyd-Quinson Mainstage Season in June 2014, followed by the world premiere in August of Dancing Lessons, a romantic comedy by acclaimed playwright Mark St. Germain (marking the eighth world premiere of his work at BSC). This has already yielded more than $143,000 in season pass sales for the 2014 season. The full 20th Anniversary Season will be announced in January 2014.

For more information on 2014 season passes or to order today, call 413-236-8888, visit the Box Office at 30 Union Street or go online to 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) is now playing Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre. 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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