Barrington Stage Company Announces Reduced 2020 Season, With Social Distancing Precautions In Place

Barrington Stage Company will produce a reduced and reprogrammed 2020 season starting in August, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

With the exception of Arthur Miller's The Price, the announced productions for the 2020 season will be postponed to 2021, including Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific; Richard Greenberg's The Assembled Parties; Ain't Misbehavin', directed and choreographed by Camille A. Brown; Lauren Yee's The Great Leap; Nilo Cruz's Anna in the Tropics; Joseph Dougherty's Chester Bailey; the world premiere musical, A Crossing, co-conceived by Joshua Bergasse and Mark St. Germain; and The Youth Theatre's world premiere musical, The Supadupa Kid.

Two of BSC's venues, the St. Germain Theatre and Mr. Finn's Cabaret, will be closed for the season. All BSC performances will take place either at the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage, or at a soon-to-be-announced outdoor venue in Pittsfield, MA.

Out of precaution for actors, creative teams, staff and audiences, BSC will employ best safety practices, including reducing the 520-seat Mainstage to one third of its capacity; increasing the distance between rows and seats; and deep cleaning the theatre after every performance, among other measures. Patrons will be required to wear masks until further notice. BSC will follow all Actor's Equity Association health and safety standards as they become available. BSC's complete safety procedures are available on the company's website at the following link: barringtonstageco.org/distancing.

"We have given a great deal of thought on how to produce a version of our season in the most responsible way, which includes following all guidelines in social distancing to ensure the safety of our actors and audiences," commented Artistic Director Julianne Boyd. "There is a human need to tell and listen to stories and to think, feel and share in a collective group experience that live theatre uniquely provides. We are proud that, given the extensive precautions and preventative measures we have implemented, when it is safe to gather again, we will be there for the Berkshire community."

THE Boyd-Quinson Mainstage SEASON

In addition to The Price (October 1-18), the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage season will now include the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway solo show Harry Clarke (August 5-16), by David Cale, starring BSC Associate Artist Mark H. Dold (BSC's Breaking the Code, Freud's Last Session); and a return engagement of BSC's enormously popular 10x10 New Play Festival (September 10-20). Harry Clarke and The Price will be directed by Julianne Boyd. The 10x10 New Play Festival is directed by Ms. Boyd and Matthew Penn (BSC's Typhoid Mary, The Public Theater's Mother of the Maid, starring Glenn Close).

The Mainstage will also host BSC's Monday Night Concert Series, featuring the legendary jazz and cabaret singer Marilyn Maye (August 24), and singer/songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway performing The Linda Ronstadt Songbook, with Billy Stritch at the piano (August 31).

On September 5, the Mainstage will host a reading of Eleanor, a new one-woman play about the life of Eleanor Roosevelt by BSC Associate Artist Mark St. Germain, and starring Tony Award-winner Harriet Harris (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella).

OUTDOOR VENUE TO BE ANNOUNCED

In anticipation of South Pacific in 2021, BSC will present South Pacific: In Concert (August 21-23) at a soon-to-be-announced outdoor venue in Pittsfield. These outdoor performances, which will also employ all social distancing practices being utilized in the Mainstage, are an opportunity to bring the Pittsfield community together to experience live entertainment after months of isolation.

South Pacific: In Concert will star Alexandra Silber (Fiddler on the Roof) as Ensign Nellie Forbush, Nicholas Rodriguez (Disney's Tarzan) as Emile de Becque, Jordan Craig (The Phantom of the Opera) as Lt. Joseph Cable, Cindy Chang ("Chicago Fire," "America's Got Talent") as Bloody Mary and Mitch Jarvis (Rock of Ages) as Luther Billis, with Gordon Stanley as Captain George Brackett, Meguni Nakamura as Liat, John Preator as Cmdr. William Harbison/Ensemble, Danny Lindgren as Stewpot/Ensemble, and Matt Bauman as Professor/Ensemble.

The nationally recognized Musical Theatre Conservatory, which was scheduled to run from May 26-August 1, has been canceled. The Gala that was to be held on June 26 has been postponed to a later date to be announced.

Additional information on the 2020 Boyd-Quinson Mainstage productions and Outdoor Venue productions follows:

HARRY CLARKE

By David Cale
Starring Mark H. Dold
Directed by Julianne Boyd
Previews begin August 5, 2020
Runs through August 16, 2020

A sexually charged and wickedly funny one-man thriller, Harry Clarke, by acclaimed playwright and solo artist David Cale (Lillian, A Likely Story, NPR's "The Next Big Thing" and Public Radio's "This American Life") and starring BSC Associate Artist Mark H. Dold (BSC's Breaking the Code, Freud's Last Session) is the story of a shy midwestern man leading an outrageous double life as the cocky Londoner Harry Clarke. Moving to New York City and presenting himself as an Englishman, he charms his way into a wealthy family's life as the seductive and precocious Harry, whose increasingly risky and dangerous behavior threatens to undo more than his persona.

MONDAY NIGHT CONCERT SERIES - Marilyn Maye

August 24, 2020

The legendary jazz and cabaret singer Marilyn Maye returns to Barrington Stage after selling out her previous appearances at the theatre. A Grammy-nominated recording artist and musical treasure, her extensive career includes symphony, cabaret and big band concerts throughout the US, and a record 74 appearances on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson."

MONDAY NIGHT CONCERT SERIES - Ann Hampton Callaway: THE Linda Ronstadt SONGBOOK with Billy Stritch

August 31, 2020

Ann Hampton Callaway, one of the leading pop/jazz singers of our time, has created an exciting night of songs and stories in celebration of one of America's most beloved artists, Linda Ronstadt. The show celebrates the many faces of love in Ronstadt's iconic songs from her Stone Poneys days, like "Different Drum" and "Long Long Time," to pop/rock classics like "You're No Good," and "Desperado," to unforgettable classics from her three Nelson Riddle albums, like "What's New" and "Am I Blue," to her iconic duets, which Callaway will perform with her brilliant musical director, Billy Stritch, at the piano.

A reading of the world premiere play - ELEANOR

By Mark St. Germain
Starring Harriet Harris
September 5, 2020

Eleanor brings to life Eleanor Roosevelt, the most influential First Lady the world has ever seen. From her "Ugly Duckling" upbringing to her unorthodox marriage to Franklin, Eleanor puts her controversial life, loves and passions on the stage. This reading will star Tony Award-winner Harriet Harris (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella).

10x10 NEW PLAY FESTIVAL

Directed by Julianne Boyd and Matthew Penn
Performances begin September 10, 2020
Runs through September 20, 2020

The 10x10 New Play Festival, an evening of 10-minute plays by ten authors, originally played February 13-March 8, 2020 to sold out audiences. The Festival is part of Pittsfield, MA's annual Upstreet Arts Festival, a collaborative effort spearheaded by Barrington Stage Company and the City of Pittsfield.

This return engagement of what the Albany Times-Union called "a highlight of the winter theater season" features Five Seconds by Connie Schindewolf; Minor Deviations by Erin Osgood; Closing Doors by John Minigan; Protecting the Innocent by Brent Askari; Stay, Please by Jessica Provenz; Jill Takes a Leap by Scott Mullen; Are You One of Those Robots? by Deirdre Girard; With Improvements By the Actors by Ann Marie Shea; My Body by Rachel Bublitz; and Oy Vey Maria by Mark Harvey Levine. The plays are directed by Ms. Boyd and Matthew Penn (BSC's Typhoid Mary, The Public Theater's Mother of the Maid, starring Glenn Close).

THE PRICE

By Arthur Miller
Directed by Julianne Boyd
Previews begin October 1, 2020
Opens October 4, 2020
Runs through October 18, 2020

In the attic of a condemned Manhattan brownstone in 1968, two long-estranged brothers meet to dispose of their deceased parents' property. Victor is a policeman who sacrificed his education to care for their invalid father who never recovered from the Wall Street Crash; Walter is a successful surgeon who turned his back on his family to concentrate on medicine and personal success. The brothers' confrontation escalates as they negotiate the sale of the family's belongings with an elderly second-hand furniture dealer. Ultimately, they both come to realize the price that each has had to pay for the decisions they made decades ago.

SOUTH PACIFIC: IN CONCERT

Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan
Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener
Concert adaptation by David Ives
Directed by Julianne Boyd
August 21-23

Set on an idyllic South Pacific island during World War II, Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific, winner of 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, intertwines the themes of romance, duty and prejudice to create a story that is at once hilarious, heartbreaking and thought-provoking. Featuring an extraordinary score - including "Some Enchanted Evening," "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair," "Bali Ha'i," "There Is Nothin' Like a Dame" and "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" - South Pacific is an unparalleled and timely classic. The concert adaptation will feature a cast of 16, and a live orchestra.

TICKET INFORMATION

Pricing for the 2020 summer season is $65-$35 for the Mainstage and outdoor venue productions, including the Monday Night Concerts. Tickets for the fall productions of the 10x10 New Play Festival and The Price are $49-35. Preview performance tickets for all shows are $35-25. Single tickets can be purchased by calling 413-236-8888 or emailing
boxoffice@barringtonstageco.org.

Single tickets holders for the previously announced 2020 season can exchange their tickets for another show, get credit for a future show or receive a refund. BSC's box office staff is working remotely; for additional information or to answer any questions, please call 413-236-8888 or email
boxoffice@barringtonstageco.org. Please be patient because the box office is expecting a high volume of calls and emails.