Jeff McCarthy in KUNSTLER, RAGTIME, COMPANY and More Highlight Barrington Stage Company's 2017 Season
By: BWW News Desk Jan. 25, 2017
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, announced today its 2017 season.
The 2017 season at BSC will include Kunstler by Jefferson Award winner and Emmy Award nominee Jeffrey Sweet (Flyovers), directed by Meagen Fay (Second City in Chicago), and starring Jeff McCarthy (Broadway's Chicago, BSC's Broadway BounTy Hunter); a production of The Birds by Conor McPherson, directed by BSC Artistic Director JuliAnne Boyd (BSC's Broadway BounTy Hunter, American Son); a new production of Ragtime, directed by Helen Hayes Award winner Joe Calarco (The Burnt Part Boys, Shakespeare's R&J), with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty; and the laugh-out-loud but rarely staged comedy, Taking Steps, by Olivier and Tony Award winner Alan Ayckbourn (The Norman Conquests) in a new production from Tony Award nominated director Sam Buntrock (Broadway's Sunday in the Park with George).
The 2017 season will continue with This by Obie Award winner Melissa James Gibson ("House of Cards") and directed by Christopher Innvar (BSC's The Other Place); Company, with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, choreographed by Jeffrey Page (BSC's Broadway BounTy Hunter) and directed by JuliAnne Boyd, and Gaslight (Angel Street) by PatRick Hamilton.
"For our 2017 season, we are doing what Barrington does best - pairing exciting artists with great, timely pieces for audiences to experience them in a whole new light," said BSC Artistic Director JuliAnne Boyd. "We'll stage new productions of two landmark musicals of the 20th century, two laugh-out-loud comedies, two sensational thrillers, plus welcome back BSC veteran and Broadway star Jeff McCarthy, taking on the role of real-life activist William Kunstler."
THE 2017 BSC SEASON INCLUDES:
KUNSTLER
Directed by Meagen Fay
Starring Jeff McCarthy
Previews begin May 18, 2017
Opens May 21, 2017
Runs through June 10, 2017
On the St. Germain Stage
Barrington Stage presents The Creative Place International/And Theatre Company production of Kunstler starring BSC veteran Jeff McCarthy as the self-described "radical lawyer" and civil rights activist, William Kunstler. The colorful, perpetually rumpled defense lawyer whose best-known clients include the Chicago Seven, inmates involved in the Attica prison riots, and members of the American Indian Movement, makes a case for his often unconventional style, in this wise and revealing play.
THE BIRDS
Previews begin June 15, 2017
Opens June 18, 2017
Runs through July 8, 2017
On the St. Germain Stage
Inspired by Daphne Du Maurier's chilling short story and the basis for Alfred Hitchcock's legendary film, this suspense-filled adaptation by acclaimed Irish playwright Conor McPherson is an emotionally stirring, atmospheric thriller. Mysterious masses of birds have begun to attack at high tide, driving strangers Nat and Diane to take refuge in an isolated, abandoned cabin and to form a bond to survive their haunting new circumstance. Yet if two is company, three is a crowd, as the sudden arrival of a young woman with a mysterious background ruffles feathers and quickly threatens to destroy their so-called sanctuary.
RAGTIME
Book by Terrence McNally
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Based on the novel Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
Directed by Joe Calarco
Previews begin June 21, 2017
Opens June 24, 2017
Runs through July 15, 2017
On the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage
At the dawn of the 20th century when everything is changing...and anything is possible, Ragtime weaves together three distinctly American tales - a stifled upper-class wife, a determined Jewish immigrant and a daring young Harlem musician - united by their courage, compassion and their belief in obtaining the American Dream. Winner of Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Musical Score, this exhilarating, dazzling musical is a timeless celebration of the American Spirit.
TAKING STEPS
Directed by Sam Buntrock
Previews begin July 20, 2017
Opens July 23, 2017
Runs through August 5, 2017
On the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage
Taking Steps is a laugh out-loud, riotously funny comedy. Elizabeth, a former dancer, will do anything to escape the overbearing clutches of her rich husband, Roland, who is poised to buy a haunted house (a former brothel). The dithering, confused Kitty, briefly reunited with her monstrously boring husband, will go to extraordinary lengths to elude his sleep-inducing presence. Put into the mix an inarticulate solicitor and a builder who is a motorcycle maniac and you have one of Ayckbourn's funniest, and most heartfelt, comedies.
THIS
Directed by Christopher Innvar
Previews begin August 3, 2017
Opens August 6, 2017
Runs through August 27, 2017
On the St. Germain Stage
This captures the hilarious yet touching relationships of a circle of friends as they back their way into middle age. "Its confused but lovable characters are drawn with a fine focus and a piercing emotional depth; the dialogue sparkles with exchanges as truthful as they are clever." (New York Times)
COMPANY
Book by George Furth
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Choreographed by Jeffrey Page
Previews begin August 10, 2017
Opens August 13, 2017
Runs through September 2, 2017
On the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage
Winner of 6 Tony Awards, Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking musical is a brilliant ?and wildly funny look at relationships. Over a series of dinner parties, dates and conversations with his friends, the perennially single Bobby attempts to understand the pros and cons of marriage - and the meaning of the word "commitment." A masterpiece by one of the greatest composers of our time.
GASLIGHT (ANGEL STREET)
Directed by TBA
Previews begin October 4, 2017
Opens October 8, 2017
Runs through October 22, 2017
On the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage
gas·light noun
"A form of manipulation through persistent denial, misdirection, contradiction, and lying in an attempt to destabilize and delegitimize a target."
Gaslight, also called Angel Street, and made into a movie starring Ingrid Bergman, is one of the greatest psychological thrillers of all times. It tells the story of Mr. Manningham, a suavely handsome man, who is slowly driving his gentle, devoted wife Bella to the brink of insanity with seemingly overwhelming kindness while sowing seeds of doubt, memory loss and misperceptions. The playwright has built and sustained some of the most brilliant, suspenseful sequences in modern theatre. A surprisingly timely play for 2017.
One additional production for the St. Germain Stage will be announced shortly, along with casting, creative team and full performance schedules. Single tickets for the 2017 season go on sale in March.
Barrington Stage Company is a professional award-winning Equity regional theatre located in the heart of the Berkshires, in Pittsfield, MA. It was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director JuliAnne Boyd and has a three-fold mission: to present top-notch, compelling work; to develop new plays and musicals; and to find fresh, bold ways of bringing new audiences into the theatre-especially young people. Barrington Stage garnered national attention in 2004 when it 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, Mark St. Germain's Freud's Last Session ran more than ten weeks on Stage 2 and 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. BSC's all-time record-breaking musical, On the Town, was originally produced at BSC in 2013. In 2014, it opened on Broadway with BSC as a co-producer, where it was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival. In 2016, Barrington Stage swept the? first Annual Berkshire Theatre Awards by winning 20 out of the 25 awards. In 2016, BSC produced three World Premieres; Presto Change-O, Broadway BounTy Hunter, and American Son, which won the Laurents/Hatcher Award for Best New Play. For more information, visit www.barringtonstageco.org.
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