Photo Coverage: Donna McKechnie Stars in BUTTERFLIES Reading at Barrington Stage Co.
By: Stephen Sorokoff Jul. 28, 2017
Barrington Stage Company favorite and Tony Award-Winner Donna McKechnie with a group of established Broadway actors were the cast in BSC's Musical Theatre Lab reading of the original musical BUTTERFLIES.
Butterflies features book and lyrics by Kate Chadwick and music by Josh Freilich, with direction by Tony Award nominee Graciela Daniele (The Visit) and music direction by Benji Goldsmith.
Butterflies is the story of Jessica, a former dancer who has been shaped by the disciplined world of ballet and her complex relationship with her teacher, Miss Yvonne. When the adult Jessica learns of Miss Yvonne's death, she is sent into a tailspin of memory, recalling her dreams, her friendships, the performances, the competition, and the female role models that made her who she is. In short, it's a show about two days: the day Jessica stopped dancing, and the day she remembers how to dance again.
In addition to Ms. McKechnie, the cast features Morgan Weed (Broadway: American Psycho) as "Old Jessica," Maya Keleher (Hartford TheatreWorks Next to Normal) as "Young Jessica," Amra-Faye Wright (Broadway: Chicago) as "Carol/Celeste," Amanda Savan (BSC's Songs by Ridiculously Talented...) as "Rose," Katie Schultz as "Margo," Daniela Kaplan as "Tracy," and Harley Sege as "Chloe."
William Finn is the Musical Theatre Lab Artistic Producer and the Artistic Producer & Director of New Play Development is Branden Huldeen.
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.
Photos by Stephen Sorokoff
JuliAnne Boyd, artistic director, William Finn, Musical Theatre Lab Artistic Producer & Cast of BUTTERFLIES
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