Barrington Stage Company announces 2021 season
PITTSFIELD — Barrington Stage Company (BSC) today released its season lineup, which will feature four productions staged indoors at the theater’s Boyd-Quinson Stage (30 Union Street) and three productions staged outdoors under a tent at BSC’s Production Center (34 Laurel Street).
Outdoor performances at the Production Center will include “Who Could Ask for Anything More? The Songs of George Gershwin,” “Boca” by Jessica Provenz, and a third production to be announced. Indoor productions on the Boyd-Quinson Stage include: “Chester Bailey” by Joseph Dougherty, “Eleanor” by Mark St. Germain, the world premiere of “Sister Sorry” by Alec Wilkinson, and the world premiere of “A Crossing” co-conceived by Joshua Bergasse and Mark St. Germain.
Last year, BSC prepared its Boyd-Quinson Stage for socially distanced productions and will use those practices for its new indoor season. The changes include reducing the theater’s seating to one-third of capacity, increasing the distance between rows and seats, improved HVAC and air circulation, and deep cleaning after every performance. BSC’s safety measures were previously approved by medical professionals, Actors’ Equity Association, and the Pittsfield Board of Health. All audience members will be required to wear masks until further notice.
Outdoor season at the BSC Production Center
Under a tent at the Production Center, the company will launch the season with “Who Can Ask for Anything More? The Songs of George Gershwin” (June 10–July 3), a concert celebrating the work of one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century. Conceived by BSC Founder and Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Darren R. Cohen, with musical direction by Cohen and choreography by Jeffrey L. Page, Boyd will direct a cast of Broadway performers through some of the most-beloved songs in the Gershwin songbook, including “I Got Rhythm,” “Embraceable You” and “Summertime.”
From July 30–August 22, the theater will present a BSC commission, the world premiere of “Boca,” an evening of short comedies about seniors living it up and going off the rails in the Sunshine State, by Jessica Provenz and directed by Boyd.
A third production (July 9–24) will be announced soon.
Indoor season at the Boyd-Quinson Stage
The Boyd-Quinson Stage will open with “Chester Bailey” (June 18–July 3) by Emmy Award winner Joseph Dougherty (“thirtysomething,” “Pretty Little Liars”), and starring the father-and-son duo of Tony Award winner Reed Birney (“House of Cards”) and Ephraim Birney (“Gotham,” “The Americans”) as doctor and patient in a potent World War II drama, directed by Ron Lagomarsino (“Picket Fences,” “Ally McBeal”).
Next up will be a full staging of the new one-woman play “Eleanor” (July 16–August 1), about first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, by BSC Associate Artist Mark St. Germain and starring Tony Award winner Harriet Harris, following its popular streamed reading at BSC last fall.
The world premiere of “Sister Sorry” (August 12–29) follows, and is a new play by The New Yorker writer Alec Wilkinson, loosely based on a true crime confession, and directed by Richard Hamburger.
The Boyd-Quinson Stage season concludes with a BSC commission, the world premiere of “A Crossing” (September 23–October 17), a new dance musical co-conceived by BSC Associate Artist Joshua Bergasse and Mark St. Germain, with book by St. Germain, music and lyrics by award-winning songwriter Zoe Sarnak, created in association with Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, and directed and choreographed by Bergasse.
Special events
Streamed Virtual Reading of the 2020 Burman New Play Award Winner
“Get Your Pink Hands Off Me Sucka and Give Me Back”
by Daniella De Jesús
June 4-6
While studying abroad in Spain, Solandra, a young Dominican-American woman, finds herself alone in the throne room of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand, whose portraits come alive, transporting her to 1492. Meanwhile, on the island of what we now refer to as “Hispaniola,” Anacaona awakens, terrorized by a violent nightmare, which she soon learns is prophetic. As Anacaona struggles to save her community from invasion, Solandra contends with her racial identity, attraction to white men, and their attraction to her.
Photo: Vivacity Media Group / Broadway.com
Elizabeth Stanley in concert
Outdoors under the tent at the BSC Production Center
June 28
Stanley, a Grammy Award winner and Tony Award nominee, will perform a special one-night-only concert.
Staged reading of a BSC-commissioned play
“Andy Warhol” in Iran by Brent Askari
Boyd-Quinson Stage
Date TBD
In 1976, Andy Warhol, having re-invented himself as the portrait painter of the rich and famous, travels to Tehran to meet the Shah of Iran’s wife, the Empress Farah Pahlavi. In Andy Warhol In Iran, the iconic American painter visits the country to take Polaroids of the Empress, see the crown jewels, and eat cheap caviar — only to encounter a young revolutionary who throws his plans into turmoil.
Celebrating Black Voices
Outdoors under the tent at the corner of Linden & Center Streets
August 3–8
Join the festivities in a week-long celebration of local Black artists, featuring a poetry jam, a storytelling event, an evening of jazz, a presentation of Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I A Woman,” and two talent shows with cash prizes. All events are free. Reservations are strongly recommended.
—A.K.
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Bennington College receives donation of 500 works of contemporary art
BENNINGTON, Vt. — Bennington College recently announced it has received a gift of some 500 works of art to benefit Art for Access, a fundraising program launched in 2018. Art for Access celebrates the College’s legacy in the visual arts by pursuing dual goals: expanding and enhancing Bennington’s art holdings for teaching, enrichment, and enjoyment and to raising funds for scholarships through the sale of art, advancing the College’s commitment to equity, diversity, and access.
The gifted works — including prints, photographs, paintings, drawings, and sculpture — are from the collection of art patron and curator Melva Bucksbaum (1933–2015). Bucksbaum was a risk-taking collector who focused on the artist, not art-world trends, and supported artists through her philanthropic work and studio acquisitions. She served as a trustee of the Whitney Museum of American Art and on many other boards including the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, The Drawing Center, and the International Council of the Tate, London.
The artworks were donated by Mary Bucksbaum Scanlan, Melva Bucksbaum’s daughter. Mary, an alumna from the class of 1991, serves on the Bennington College board of trustees and is co-chair of the Art for Access Committee. Mary previously donated 120 works of art from her mother’s collection to the College in 2019.
“My mother believed that art was part of our shared cultural heritage and collected what she loved — works by emerging or local artists, as well as work by artists of great renown. I am so happy that her collection will benefit both today’s Bennington students and future generations of students. I know she would be, too,” said Bucksbaum Scanlan.
The gift includes works by emerging and established artists from across the globe, including John Bankston, William Copley, Enrique Martínez Celaya, Douglas Gordon, Sabine Hornig, Virginia Lavado, Rosa Loy, Raul Martinez, Tracy Moffat, Aurie Ramirez, and Sandra Vásquez de la Horra. Approximately half of the works donated will be used for teaching and enrichment of the campus and the community.
Through a partnership with Stair in Hudson, New York, a leading regional auction house, some 250 works from this donation will be sold in a single-sale auction on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 to benefit Art for Access. Included in the sale are works by well-known, emerging, and mid-career artists in a myriad of styles, media, and price-points. Highlights include works by Cleve Gray, Donald Sultan, Justine Kurland, Stylianos Schicho, Ellen Phelan, Paul Pfeiffer, Harding Meyer, David Salle, Elena Figurina, Holly Coulis, Scott Covert, and Eric Fischl. All proceeds from the auction will fund Art for Access scholarships.
—A.K.
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Jams in the Hamlet free concert series to run May-October in Hillsdale Hamlet Park
HILLSDALE, N.Y. — A monthly concert series, Jams in the Hamlet, will be held in Hillsdale Hamlet Park and hosted by the Hillsdale Hamlet Committee. Performances will be held on the third Saturday of the month, from May to September, and on the second Saturday of October (to coincide with Pumpkin Fest). The series will feature professional musicians performing a different musical genre each month.
Local sponsors include Taconic Ridge Farm, Hawthorne Valley Farm Store, Random Harvest Market, and the Hillsdale Economic Development Committee, with more to be announced. Funds for the event are also being raised through the sale of Jams in the Hamlet merchandise and an online concert by event promoter Garrin Benfield on April 25.
The concert series is produced by Hillsdale residents Benfield and his husband Jason Durant, along with the Hillsdale Hamlet Committee. Concerts will be held from 5-7 p.m., with the park opening for guests at 4 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. Some seating will be available, but attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets.
Hillsdale Hamlet Park is located at the intersection of Routes 22 and 23 in the Hamlet of Hillsdale, halfway between Hudson, N.Y. and Great Barrington, Mass. Refreshments will be available for purchase from Hillsdale’s Roe Jan Brewing Co., Little Apple Cidery, Mama Lo’s BBQ, and Bacon’s Pizza. Local non-profit, community-driven organizations will be on site to provide information to the community. COVID-19 precautions will be followed in compliance with the New York State Health Department.
Concert lineup
May 15: Bluegrass with Sleepy Hollow String Band
June 19: Classical with Hudson Festival Players
July 17: Jazz with the Hudson Valley Jazz Quartet
August 21: Singer/songwriters Kerri Powers and Lisa and Lori Brigantino
September 18: Children’s performer and Grammy nominee Brady Rymer and Claudia Mussen
October 9: Community Talent Night at Pumpkin Fest
—A.K.
