Barrington Stage Company, the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA, under the leadership Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Managing Director TriStan Wilson, announces 2011 season casting for its upcoming productions.
Questions of life and death are settled over pots of tea in Lee Blessing's Going to St. Ives, starring Gretchen Egolf (BSC's Private Lives, A Picasso) and Myra Lurcetia Taylor (Roundabout's Nine), directed by Tyler Marchant (BSC's Freud's Last Session, A Picasso). Performances of Going to St. Ives are at Stage 2 from June 22 through July 9, with a press opening on June 26 at 3pm.
The lives of two extraordinary women intersect: May N'Kame, a member of the African elite who is the mother of a murderous dictator, and Dr. Cora Gage, a world-renowned eye surgeon who lost her son tragically years before. In this thriller-like political and psychological drama, the two women start sharing a terrible secret, at the core of which is their gnawing feeling of guilt over the fate of their respective sons. The power and passion of two strong women in an all-too-possible modern day situation is examined, as we see both women's political and personal agendas that go way beyond treating a patient...or being one.
Celebrated playwright and author of BSC's longest-running hit play, Freud's Last Session,
Mark St. Germain will premiere his play The Best of Enemies on the Mainstage from July 21 through August 6. The press opening is Wednesday, July 27 at 7pm. Directed by
Julianne Boyd, The Best of Enemies received a staged reading at BSC last summer. The production stars
John Bedford Lloyd (Broadway's The Rainmaker, Tartuffe, Some Americans Abroad), Aisha Hinds (TV's Detroit 1-8-7, Weeds, HawthoRNe, and True Blood),
Clifton Duncan (Encores! Lost in the Stars), and
Susan Wands (HBO's Boardwalk Empire).
Inspired by the best-selling book by Osha Gray Davidson, The Best of Enemies is a true story about the relationship between C.P. Ellis (an Exalted Cyclops of the KKK) and Ann Atwater (a black civil rights activist) during the desegregation of the Durham, NC schools in 1971. The Best of Enemies exposes the poison of prejudice in the hearts of Atwater and Ellis who, by facing each other, are forced to face the worst, and best, in themselves.
The Game, based on the 18th century scandalous novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, returns to Barrington Stage where it received its world premiere in 2003 to critical raves and audience acclai
M. Starring Drama Desk winner
Rachel York (Broadway's Victor/Victoria and City of Angels) and
Graham Rowat (Broadway's Guys and Dolls and LoveMusik) star in the delicious roles of the Marquise de Merteuil and Valmont. Returning to BSC in featured roles are Broadway veterans
Heather Ayers (Madame de Tourvel),
Joy Franz (Madame de Rosemonde) and
Christianne Tisdale (Madame de Volanges). Directed by
Julianne Boyd, The Game features a musical score by Megan Cavallari, and book and lyrics by
Amy Powers and
David Topchik. The Game will feature choreography by
Daniel Pelzig and music direction by
Darren R. Cohen. Performances of The Game on the Mainstage are from August 11 through August 28, with a press opening on Wednesday, August 17 at 7pm.
Adapted for the stage and directed by Aaron Posner,
Chaim Potok's My Name Is Asher Lev follows the journey of a young Jewish painter torn between his Hasidic upbringing and his desperate need to fulfill his artistic promise. When his artistic genius threatens to destroy his relationship with his parents and community, young Asher realizes he must make a difficult choice between art and faith. This stirring adaptation of a modern classic presents a heartbreaking and triumphant vision of what it means to be an artist. Starring Dan Cantor (BSC's Wonder of the World),
Adam Green and
Renata Friedman, My Name is Asher Lev performs on Stage 2 from August 18 through September 4. The press opening is Sunday, August 21 at 3pm.
Casting for the BSC
Musical Theatre Lab premiere of Mormons, Mothers and Monsters running July 14 through 31, will be announced soon.
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's Circle-in-the-Square Theatre 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 to the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, where it resumed performances on January 14, 2011. For more information, log on to
www.barringtonstageco.org.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos
