CABARET, A NEW BRAIN, and More Set For Barrington Stage Company's 2023 Season

Barrington Stage Company has announced its 2023 season, that will feature two major musical revivals, two world premiere plays, and two modern classic play revivals. The season kicks off with Cabaret, playing June 14-July 8 on the Boyd-Quinson Stage.

"'You gotta have heart and music.'" Bill Finn wrote those lyrics for his musical A New Brain, and they were my guiding principle as I planned my first season as Artistic Director of Barrington Stage Company," commented Alan Paul. "The 2023 season is a mix of reimagined classics and dynamic new works. Although their subjects are vastly different, each show explores how the human spirit prevails against indomitable odds. The 29th Season is a bridge between past and future, and I am so pleased to celebrate so many of the writers, directors, and actors who have been an essential part of BSC's history. I believe new work is the heart and soul of a theatre, so I am especially excited to produce two world premiere plays, one of which was commissioned by BSC. I am also thrilled to include such core artists as composer/lyricist Bill Finn, playwright Mark St. Germain, and actors Christopher Innvar, Mark H. Dold and Gretchen Egolf. Most gratifying is that Founding Artistic Director Julianne Boyd will return to direct a production. I have inherited a theatre of the highest quality, and I am excited to lead the charge of making world-class theatre in the Berkshires."

BOYD-QUINSON STAGE

The Boyd-Quinson Stage will open with a new production of the 1966 Tony Award winning musical Cabaret (June 14-July 8), which will be directed by Alan Paul and choreographed by Katie Spelman. The legendary show by the team of John Kander & Fred Ebb (Chicago, New York, New York) and a book by Joe Masteroff (She Loves Me) is regarded as one of the great musicals of the 20th century.

Next up will be a revival of Blues for an Alabama Sky (July 18-August 5) by author Pearl Cleage. Originally produced in 1995, this dreamy, atmospheric work set during the Harlem Renaissance has won a newfound appreciation as a contemporary classic that was ahead of its time.

BSC Associate Artist and two-time Tony Award winner William Finn (BSC: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Royal Family of Broadway), will be represented with a rare revival of his deeply personal, wonderfully idiosyncratic musical, A New Brain (August 16-September 9), co-written by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner James Lapine (Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods), and directed by BSC Associate Artist Joe Calarco (BSC: A Doll's House, Part 2; Ragtime; Breaking the Code). Finn commented, "When James Lapine and I worked together on A New Brain for New York City Center's Encores! in 2015, we felt it's less about illness and more about relationships. The show should be done, and I'm thrilled that Alan has chosen it for his first season as Barrington Stage Company's Artistic Director."

A fourth production to be announced will play the Boyd-Quinson Stage from September 27 through October 15.

St. Germain STAGE

The St. Germain Stage season opens with the world premiere of The Happiest Man on Earth (May 24-June 17), a new play by Mark St. Germain (BSC: Eleanor; Dr. Ruth, All the Way; Freud's Last Session), based on the extraordinary 2020 memoir of the same name by Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku (1920-2021), published when Jaku was 100 years old. "Jaku survived the horrors of Buchenwald, Auschwitz and a Nazi Death March," St. Germain commented. "This is an inspirational, life affirming story of a man who believed the power of love can save all of us."

tiny father (July 1-23), by playwright Mike Lew, directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Broadway: Hand to God, Present Laughter) is a co-world premiere play produced by Chautauqua Theater Company and Barrington Stage Company. Lew and von Stuelpnagel previously collaborated on the critically acclaimed Teenage Dick at New York's Public Theater. Lew said, "I am ecstatic that BSC and Chautauqua are teaming up for the world premiere of tiny father and that my longtime collaborator Moritz von Stuelpnagel will come along for the ride. When I first became a parent, I knew the experience would fundamentally alter my perspective, but becoming a NICU parent was another experience entirely. I can't wait for BSC's audience to become the first people ever to witness that journey."

The season will conclude with a revival of Faith Healer (August 1-27), a modern classic by Irish playwright Brian Friel (Dancing at Lughnasa, Translations), starring BSC Associate Artists Christopher Innvar (BSC: The Importance of Being Earnest; A Doll's House, Part 2; Private Lives), Mark H. Dold (BSC: Waiting for Godot, Harry Clarke, Freud's Last Session) and Gretchen Egolf (BSC: A Picasso, Much Ado About Nothing, Private Lives) and directed by Julianne Boyd.

Additional details on the 2023 BSC season, including gala, concerts, and staged readings, will be announced in coming weeks.