For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Clary
MrMikeClary1@gmail.com
518-267-0683
April 4, 2024
Great Barrington Public Theater unpacks summer season. Set to stage three premieres, running May 31-August 11, in two theaters at the Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock.
Recognized for consistently bringing top-flight new theater to the Berkshires, this summer Great Barrington Public Theater will stage three brand-new works, from a day in the park that rescues the possibility of love, to a speakeasy cabaret that introduces Berkshire audiences to a powerhouse singer with an amazing stage presence.
"We’ve put together a fantastic lineup of brand-new shows,” GBPT Artistic Director Jim Frangione says. “We want to offer audiences an array of choices with a range of programming, from heartfelt drama to rousing cabaret and comedy. We’re, of course, once again working with and showcasing tremendously talented artists and crews that call the Berkshires and neighboring towns home. This is going to be a season for everyone who loves great stories, great theater and high entertainment.”
The season opens with the world premiere of Dog People (May 31-June16), in the Liebowitz black box theater. It’s a meaningful, affective story by respected actor-playwright Leigh Strimbeck, who developed the script as a member of Berkshire Voices, the playwriting cohort affiliated with GB Public. Dog People is about two people, two dogs, one day in the park. The dogs are rescues and the people need rescuing. Who rescues who? GBPT Associate Artistic Director Judy Braha will direct the soon-to-be cast two-hander.
Leigh Strimbeck, Dog People playwright.
GBPT Associate AD Judy Braha will direct.
Next, opening on the McConnell Theater mainstage, comes the American premiere of Survival of the Unfit (July 6-July 21) It’s an honest, take-no-prisoners parlor dramedy by Oren Safdie. A recent hit at the Moscow Theater of The Modern Play, Survival of the Unfit takes audiences to a mercilessly comic meet-the-parents dinner party where honesty is dished up, along with just desserts. Touching on themes of love, loss, loyalty, and acceptance of others shortcomings, it redefines what family means. Matt Penn will direct the four-person cast.
Oren Safdie, Survival of the Unfit playwright.
Matt Penn directs Survival of the Unfit.
GBPT’s final show of the high summer weeks, Night at the Speakeasy (July 26-Aug. 11), is the premiere of an alluring new, full-stage cabaret show spotlighting Janelle Farias Sando, whose performance at GBPT’s 2023 gala at St. James Place rattled the rafters and brought the audience to its feet.
Janelle Farias Sando brings a powerhouse voice to Night at the Speakeasy.
Actor-director Wendy Welch will direct the saucy cabaret performance.
A wonderful actor and singer, flagged by American Theater Magazine as a name to watch, and most recently in performance at the March 2024 Broadway Cares benefit, Janelle Farias Sando brings electrifying presence and vocal range to her stage roles.
Under the direction of Wendy Welch, plans are to seat the audience on the stage in the mix of an after-hours, bootleg club, for a saucy performance of Broadway show tunes, all-time classics from the American and some surprising genre crossovers.
Audiences will get a preview of Night at the Speakeasy at the GB Public benefit bash, 6pm, June 7, in the Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock. The evening will include hors d'oeuvres and cocktail reception before a first look at the late-night club show.
The company performs at the Liebowitz and McConnell Theaters in the Daniel Arts Center, five minutes from downtown Great Barrington, on the campus of Bard College at Simon’s Rock, 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230. Tickets to the new season and June 7 benefit go on sale April 12 on the GBPT website and by phone 413-372-1980 or email GBPTboxoffice@gmail.com.
The coming summer also brings together a production of Shakespeare & Company in association with GB Public. Flight of the Monarch, written by Jim Frangione, directed by Judy Braha and featuring Allyn Burrows and Corrina May will play Aug. 3-25 in Shakespeare & Company’s Elayne P. Bernstein Theater. This dark comedy set on Cape Cod explores how two siblings’ lifelong connections unravels when one loses her way and makes a bold request. Tickets to Flight of the Monarch are available on the Shakespeare & Company site and box office (413) 637-3353.
Also on the calendar, coming April 11, 5pm at the Triplex Cinema, Great Barrington, a one-time-only screening of Freud's Last Session to benefit GBPT and the Triplex. Based on Mark St. Germain’s award-winning play, the film stars Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Goode. There’s a talkback with Mark St. Germain after the screening and a post-show lobby reception featuring food and wine. Tickets to this special event are available on the Triplex website.
Leading into summer, GBPT invites all theater lovers to a continuing series of FREE events, presented at St. James Place, 352 Main St., Great Barrington
Tuesday, April 30th, 7pm
FREE reading of a varied selection of brand new, 10-minute short plays from Berkshire Voices. Co-directed by Liam Castellan and Joshua Briggs, the play titles and casts will be named soon.
Thursday, May 1st, 7pm
FREE reading of latest version of Anne Undeland’s marvelous new play Madame Mozart, The Lacrymosa, featuring actors Tara Franklin and Ryan Winkles, with Larry Wallach playing excerpts on piano. Directed by GB Public Associate Artistic Director Judy Braha.
Tuesday, May 14th, 7pm
FREE reading of a new full-length play from Berkshire Voices
Title, playwright, director and cast will be named soon.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Clary
MrMikeClary1@gmail.com
518-267-0683
May 30, 2023
Great Barrington Public Theater set to stage the American premiere of The Stones, a mind-twisting gothic mystery, with Ryan Winkles in a solo performance as the haunted school teacher Nick, directed by Michelle Joyner.
An audience favorite at the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, The Stones is a present-day, provocative gothic mystery by award-winning, London-based playwright/director Kit Brookman. Great Barrington Public Theater opens the company’s ten-week summer season with the American premiere of the riveting new play.
After a strange epiphany, Nick leaves his job as a school teacher and breaks up with his long-term boyfriend. A reconnection with an old flame-- from whom he's kept a long-buried secret--leads to a job at a countryside estate as tutor to two beguiling young children. In his uprooted situation, the job, setting and family seem too good to be true... until ordinary stones begin to materialize around him. A fascinating, ominous mystery unfolds. Reality splinters into historical illusions with the stones as witnesses of the human record, leaving Nick and his audience to riddle: Who among us is deluded and anesthetized by modern contentment? Who is crippled by guilt and revenge--both personal and collective? And finally: How do we navigate and survive our murky, threatened future?
Brookman is a daring, gifted writer making a name in British theater circles. The GB Public’s production of The Stones pairs Ryan Winkles, one of the Berkshires’ finest actors, with consummate storytelling director Michelle Joyner, who saw The Stones at the 2022 Edinburgh festival. She was taken by the story’s contemporary voice, sensibilities and moody atmosphere and describes it as, “A very of-the-moment tale that makes you want to pull your chair closer to the fire and listen. The pacing is tense, the mood darkly comic and spellbinding.”
Michelle and Ryan are available to interview.
Ryan Winkles - previous shows at Great Barrington Public Theater: Breakwater; Regional credits include: Joy and Pandemic (Huntington Theatre Company); Universe Rushing Apart (Commonwealth Shakespeare); Mr Fullerton Between the Sheets (Gloucester Stage); Visitors (Martha's Vineyard Playhouse); Pericles (the rig); ROE (WAM Theater) Ryan is also a company member of Shakespeare & Company where credits include As You Like It, The Tempest, Henry V, King Lear, Macbeth, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Othello, and Richard III. Television: "Time Traveling Bong"(Comedy Central). Film: The Boston Strangler(Hulu), Paper Birds(French Press Films), UFOTOG(Trumbull Studios). Education: BA, FSU; MFA UW-Madison. Proud member of Actors' Equity and SAG. ryanwinkles.com
Ryan Winkles
Michelle Joyner
Last season at GBPT, Michelle was the director/dramaturg of The Shot by Robin Gerber, starring Sharon Lawrence, which went on to The United Solo Festival (Theater Row, New York) and won Best Production, Best Performance, Audience Favorite and Best design. It was produced at New Jersey Rep in April 2023. Michelle was Assoc. Director (with Tina Packer) on The Waverly Gallery at Shakespeare and Co. and directed When We Were Young and Unafraid and A Certain Age at their winter reading series, as well as the past three productions of The Valentine Show (with Allyn Burrows). She has directed numerous readings for GBPT and Berkshire Voices as well as many plays on the west coast. This past season she performed an original piece in She/Her at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as well as at PS21 in Chatham. She starred in The Approach last season at Shakespeare and Co. (Nomination: Best Acting Ensemble). Michelle is also an accomplished screen actor with a long career and has written ten studio screenplays. Her first full-length play Iodine will have a reading this year. She has directed a short film Especially Not Roommates and leads The Long Table, a women’s writing group. Member: SAG-AFTRA, AEA, WGA, and DG. She is currently creating THE RAMSDELL PROJECT, a theatrical development space in Great Barrington to open later this year.
The Stones plays June 15-July 2, Thurs.- Sat., 7:30pm, Sat. and Sun., 3pm, in the Liebowitz black box theater, Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230.
More information can be found on the GBPT website and on Facebook.
Tickets to performances are affordable to all, between $25 and $50, and are available on the website and by phone 413-372-1980, or GBPTboxoffice@gmail.com.
Director Michelle Joyner and actor Ryan Winkles sit down for a quick take on The Stones
You both see and know plenty of theater. What drew you to The Stones?
Michelle: I saw The Stones at the Edinburgh Festival, where I was performing last summer. We were both in the Assembly Rooms, and I was searching out shows that seemed spooky or scary as research on a play that I'd just finished writing. The Stones is the story of Nick, a teacher going through a personal crisis who reluctantly takes a job on a large estate in the countryside, tutoring two young children. A mystery slowly unravels.
This play succeeds in ratcheting up tension very subtly, but I felt myself and the audience leaning in, as though listening to an eerie story around a campfire. At that point, I had no idea that it would be my next directing project. I was seeing multiple shows a day, as well as performing an original piece, so it was all quite hectic. I bought the play after the show, tucked it away, but found that I kept thinking about the story. It is rather oblique, which I always find compelling. What exactly happened in this play, to this character? Is it a ghost story? How can the mystery be sorted out? I later took the play out and read it, searching for clues. I'm not one who likes spoon-fed entertainment. I want to parse and ruminate. The Stones is unnerving, and I was hooked.
Ryan: I didn't know anything about the play until Michelle sent it to me. Reading through it for the first time I was struck by how alive the world was: the places, the sounds, the landscapes. And the story unfolds in some really surprising ways that left me wondering.
So how does its appeal carryover to American audiences?
Michelle: This play is written by an Australian and takes place in current day England. But the themes of guilt, revenge, crisis, delusion, and longing are certainly ones that everyone can relate to. I know that I can! And Kit Brookman is able to make the rather unsettling themes funny. Kit has talked about examining the things that we choose not to see, and the consequences of not seeing them. Or of fixating on things that perhaps are completely in the past and over which we have no control-- but all the while the things that we should be seeing are creeping up over our shoulder!
Ryan: I think American audiences love a good strange tale that takes place in the British Isles. I think of modern shows like Sherlock, Broadchurch, or Fleabag. We, the audience, are transported to a place that is far off but also familiar. And the story is not simply about a person from London, it's about what it's like to be a person trying to make sense of a confusing world. What are the things that are important and what are the things that are just distractions? And I find the play to be spooky and odd and funny...so I am curious to discover what other people think of it.
What makes it a present-day gothic?
Michelle: The playwright describes gothic horror stories as ones that activate a moral dilemma, and create a striking sense of metaphor that is very easy to engage with. You can tackle these all-consuming subjects and create an entire world and characters in oblique ways that create ominous fear. I personally love being scared in the theater. I find it thrilling! But in this case, it's subtle--it creeps up on you. This is a play about guilt, about heavy things from the past that drag on both the present and the future. The central character experiences a moment of insight that’s followed by a disorienting step into a world he begins to recognize less and less. Kit’s writing is tremendously lyrical, but very human, intensely observant and also humorous, a naturally winning combination.
Ryan: I love that you used that term because when people ask me about the play it is a word I keep coming back to. There's a quality of dark uneasiness about the play that hopefully keeps people trying to sort out what's going on. Is there something otherworldly at play? What's with the weather?
Michelle, what are you adding to it, bringing in that was not in the 2022 version?
I will be adding two musicians to the show that will act as a chorus of sorts. They will represent ghosts, characters, mood, song and create a soundscape for the environment. Both of the musicians, Alexander Sovronsky and Wendy Welch are also talented actors. I'm excited to uncover the myriad possibilities as we incorporate them into the piece, while still keeping it spare.
And why did you want to cast Ryan? Have you worked with him before? What aspects does he bring to Nick?
I've directed Ryan in several readings and have always been a fan-- we have overlapped at Shakespeare and Co. over the course of a few seasons. He has a depth of experience with vivid language, and a keen ability to make words leap off the page in a visceral way. I love his sense of play and humor, but he has rich vulnerability, which I think is perfect for the character of Nick. He's boyish but not coy. There is real deepness under the facade. It's a lovely combination.
Ryan, what can you tell us about Nick's core character?
I think Nick spends much of the play asking that question of himself. He has an experience that changes his perspective on everything and then he's off on this journey of discovery. What are the things that matter and what are the things that don't? And what are the consequences of not knowing the difference?
And have you worked with Michelle before? What does Michelle bring to Nick?
I've worked with Michelle on a couple of staged readings and smaller things but this will be our first time collaborating on a fully produced project. She's passionate and smart and I am excited to work with her on this. We chatted a little bit last week about her ideas regarding the play and the production and now I am excited to get into the room and explore.
Can you compare The Stones to a story or play that audiences might know?
Michelle: The first story that comes to mind is Henry James The Turn of the Screw. But there are also scenes reminiscent of parts of films like Eyes Wide Shut and The Wicker Man. But the comparisons are loose, not exact. The Stones is a very unique and personal story. As it is a solo show, we are only allowed to know what the character of Nick is willing to share with us. And as he is increasingly terrorized, it begs the question: Is he a reliable narrator? Is he delusional? Is his world ending, or is our world ending? The play doesn't necessarily provide easy answers, but is certainly one that will stay with you long afterwards, inviting you to decide for yourself.
Ryan: I think of classic stories like Jane Eyre, or Hound of the Baskervilles. If there was a stew of modern stories that might come close to what The Stones is like then that simmering pot would probably include novels like Less by Andrew Sean Greer and Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels...and a bit of Stephen King. There would also be spoonsful of tv shows like Succession, Fleabag, Broadchurch, and maybe the smallest dash of Abbott Elementary. But I wonder.. It could very well be that someone seeing The Stones might have a whole different list of ingredients. I'm very curious to see.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Clary
MrMikeClary1@gmail.com
518-267-0683
April 20, 2023
Great Barrington Public Theater finalizes casts for June to August performances.
Ryan Winkles will star in American premiere of The Stones; Jodi Long pairs up with Dan Lauria in Just Another Day. Company benefit June 9th will preview season.
Great Barrington Public Theater presents three new plays this season, featuring some of the top-tier actors and directors living in and around the Berkshires. Performances are in the Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, five minutes from Great Barrington. In keeping with GBPT core mission, tickets are affordable to all.
The GB Public’s ten-week schedule begins in the Liebowitz black box theater with the American premiere of The Stones, June 15 to July 2, starring Ryan Winkles as Nick.
Ryan Winkles
An audience favorite at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Stones is an intense, modern gothic story by award-winning London-based playwright/director Kit Brookman. Standout, Berkshire-based actor Winkles takes on the solo role in the spellbinding, darkly comic tale.
When Nick quits his teaching job and becomes tutor to two children in the beautiful countryside, his new life seems too good to be true… until mysteriously ominous mounds of stones begin to randomly appear around him. A mind spinning mystery unfolds that questions humankind’s collective history, shaky present and murky future. More can be learned on Kit Brookman’s website. Ryan Winkles brings a captivating range and presence to the role, under the direction of consummate storyteller Michelle Joyner.
Next stop, Off Peak, on the McConnell Theater mainstage, July 6-July 23, starring Berkshire audience favorites Peggy Pharr Wilson and Kevin O’Rourke. It’s a charming, timely comedy about a pair of ex-lovers reconnected by delay on a metro New York commuter train.
The new play by Brenda Withers premiered in 2022 at the Hudson Stage Company in Westchester County, followed by a brief run Off-Broadway where it gained glowing notice. Brenda Withers says it’s about, “forgiving, forgetting, and the healing power of a good delay.” The New Yorker calls it “sly, smart, often very funny.” and The New York Times said it is “so close to life that you expect a conductor to come in at any second.”
Off Peak brings together well-matched talents and comic timing of two Berkshire all-stars, directed by James Warwick, who says, “Their story is told with great humor, compassion and heartwarming insight.”
Peggy Pharr Wilson
Kevin O’Rourke
Just Another Day premieres July 27-Aug 13 in the McConnell Theater, produced in partnership with Shadowland Stages, Ellenville, NY.
It’s a heart-touching, thoughtful new drama by familiar and accomplished stage and screen actor-writer Dan Lauria, who’s brought many memorable characters to life on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in films and on TV, including Vince Lombardi in the Broadway hit Lombardi; Jack Arnold on The Wonder Years and Jack Sullivan on Sulivan and Son. He pairs up with Emmy Award-winning Jodi Long, who’s also created multiple, unforgettable roles on Broadway, in movies and on TV, most recently playing Mrs. Basil E in the Netflix hit Dash and Lily. Jodi Long is the first Asian-American actor to win an Emmy in any acting category.
An aging, longtime comedy writer and celebrated poet meet daily on a park bench to question the reasons, circumstance, how, why and whether they were ever actually married, and if so, what magic held them together besides a mutual love of old movies.
Just Another Day is directed by Shadowlands Stages James Glossman who says, “Dan Lauria has written a joyous, powerful love story about the lasting gifts of comedy and laughter, even at the end of the world.” The GBPT performances in the McConnell Theater will be restaged by GBPT Artistic Director Jim Frangione.
Jodi Long
Dan Lauria
Sneak Peek Behind the Curtains, June 9th, St. James Place previews the summer lineup.
The company’s ten-week season kicks off with a celebratory benefit, Friday, June 9, 6:30pm, St. James Place, 352 Main St., Great Barrington. The early evening event begins with small plates and cocktails. A star-studded show begins at 8pm, followed by dessert and champagne.
It will be a fun, casual event with live music, onstage performances and a few surprises. Theater lovers can mix and mingle with company members and friends, and preview the coming lineup, as well as other shows currently in development.
Ryan Winkles will give a sample of the mysterious season opener, The Stones. Peggy Pharr Wilson and a special guest will dip into comic scenes from Off Peak. Actor friends will read from Dan Lauria’s Just Another Day. Treat Williams will give a preview of Grant: An Evening with the General, his riveting portrayal of Ulysses S. Grant now in development. Anne Undeland will unveil her newest play Mozart’s Wife, spotlighting the personality of Constanze Mozart, the overlooked muse. Janelle Farias Sando will perform selections from Disney Girl, the secret musical life of a girl forbidden to watch Disney movies, written in collaboration with prized playwright Mark St. Germain.
Ticket sales support the GBPT’s 2023 summer season, and are $250 for sponsor level, $100 for the full evening of festivities, food and entertainment, or $50 for the show only. Reservations can be made on the GBPT website, by phone, 413-372-1980, or by emailing GBPTboxoffice@gmail.com.
The Liebowitz and McConnell Theaters are in the Daniel Arts Center, five minutes from downtown Great Barrington, on the bucolic campus of Bard College at Simon’s Rock, 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230. More information on the coming season is on the GBPT website. Tickets are affordable to all, between $25 and $50, and are available on the website and by phone, 413-372-1980, or by emailing GBPTboxoffice@gmail.com.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Clary
MrMikeClary1@gmail.com
518-267-0683
March 6, 2023
Great Barrington Public Theater to present three outstanding new plays on two stages, in performance June to August.
Lineup includes The Stones, a mind-twisting gothic mystery; Off Peak a sparkling comedy; Just Another Day, a comic and poetic reaffirmation of endless love.
This summer, June to August, Great Barrington Public Theater will produce a trio of new plays featuring top-tier performers, directors and stage artists residing in and around the Berkshires. Performances are in the Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, five minutes from the center of Great Barrington, and, in keeping with GBPT core mission, tickets are affordable to all.
The Public’s ten-week season opens in the intimate Liebowitz black box theater, with the American premiere of The Stones (June 15 to July 2).
A hypnotic solo show, The Stones is a contemporary gothic mystery by award-winning, London-based playwright/director Kit Brookman It was an audience favorite at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
The story unfolds after Nick quits his teaching job and breaks up with a long-term boyfriend, then hears from an old flame from high school from whom he's withheld a terrible secret. This leads Nick to take a job as a tutor to two young children in the countryside; the job, setting and family seem too good to be true… until the mysterious stones begin to arrive. A gripping, fascinating mystery unfolds. Reality splinters into historical illusions that question whom among us is delusional and who is guilty for humankind’s collective past, present and murky future.
Brookman is a daring, gifted writer from Australia now making a name in British theater circles. Audiences can learn more about Kit Brookman and the play on his website. The Stones will be directed by accomplished actor-director-writer Michelle Joyner, who notes, “It’s a very of-the-moment tale that makes you want to pull your chair closer to the fire and listen. The pacing is tense, the mood darkly comic and spellbinding.”
In choosing The Stones GBPT Artistic Director Jim Frangione says, “We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to present the U.S. premiere of Kit Brookman’s play following its success at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe. It’s a transfixing work by a bold voice and fantastic fit for the Liebowitz black box and our creative teams. Being a powerful writer and storyteller herself. Michelle Joyner is the pitch-perfect director for this postmodern tale.”
Next stop Off Peak (July 6-July 23), on the McConnell Theater mainstage.
It’s a nimble, funny and at moments poignant new script by writer-actor Brenda Withers that premiered last year, delighting audiences, at the Hudson Stage Company, in nearby Armonk, NY. This was followed by a brief run at Manhattan’s 59E59 Theaters where it gained added positive notice. Brenda Withers describes this work as, “A delightful new play about forgiving, forgetting, and the healing power of a good delay.” The New Yorker called it a “sly, smart, often very funny. Withers’s script providing an abundance of emotional and intellectual twists and turns” and The New York Times said it is “so close to life that you expect a conductor to come in at any second.”
“Off Peak is a smart, repartee comedy that our audiences will enjoy tremendously,” Jim Frangione says. “It’s a cleverly disguised life lesson that invites us to eavesdrop, for a fast-moving 80 minutes, on a man and woman who were once intimately connected and who now find themselves the only two passengers in a Metro North train car. It’s lots of fun, with incisive writing about the difference between love and relationships, the opportunity for second chances, and of course, improbable coincidence and happenstance that make and break relationships. Love is funny stuff. Especially in hindsight.”
Peggy Pharr Wilson
Off Peak will feature GBPT favorites Peggy Pharr Wilson and Kevin O’Rourke, directed by James Warwick, who says, “It’s about two richly created, recognizable people who find themselves revealing their past and present, and discovering reconciliation and forgiveness with great humor and compassion. Their stories are told with personal, heartwarming insight.”
The GBPT summer peaks with Just Another Day, (July 27-Aug 13)
Premiering in partnership with Shadowland Stages in Ellenville, NY, Just Another Day is a heart-stirring new drama by the familiar screen and stage actor-writer Dan Lauria. An aging comedy writer and poet meet daily on a park bench to question the reasons, circumstance, how, why and whether they were ever actually married, and if so, what magic held them together besides a mutual love of old movies.
“Most plays about elderly couples are about younger members of the family,” Lauria said. “But on this bench there are no children, no doctors, no nurses, just two people who trade wit, barbs and nostalgia about old movies, all the while, trying to remember who they are and how they connect, at least for that day. The heart of the story is about respecting the wisdom and the knowledge of our older artists who are being forgotten.”
Dan Lauria
Kevin O'Rourke
Frangione adds, “Dan has written an affecting play about endless love, how unreasonable and confusing it is, but lifelong and irrefutable. We become involved with these two strangers, and it will register with anyone who lives with memories of love. We’re very excited to partner and premiere this play with Shadowland Stages.”
Just Another Day will be directed by James Glossman, who says, “How does enduring love speak? Maybe with poetry, but maybe even better with some jokes. Dan Lauria has written a joyous, powerful love story about the lasting gifts of comedy and laughter, even at the end of the world.”
Coming August 24-26 Representation and How to Get It
A Special Event
Three Performances Only, at The Mount, Edith Wharton’s home, in Lenox, MA
Representation and How to Get It (August 24-26) is a new solo show presented by GBPT in partnership with The Mount, created collaboratively by playwright Joyce Van Dyke, actor Elaine Vaan Hogue, and director Judy Braha.
Poet and visionary Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic, was famous as a charismatic human rights activist. In Representation and How to Get It, it’s early dawn, and we find Julia Howe rehearsing a talk she’s about to give to the Boston Radical Club on political representation for women. She has pointed questions for her audience, delivering a passionate, moving call-to-arms for our time. Director Judy Braha says, “When it comes to speaking truth to power, Julia Ward Howard got it right a century and a half ago. We want her words and this play to charge the audience with agency, hope, and a collective sense of the need to take action now.”
“It’s going to be an all-around fantastic season,” Deann Simmons Halper, GBPT Executive Director sums up the season. “We’re looking forward to sharing four outstanding new plays with theater lovers in the Berkshires, and those who visit from Boston, the Hudson Valley, New York City, and elsewhere. We’re committed to showcasing new plays and to spotlighting the wealth of talent now living in an around the Berkshires. We love to bring new stories and new ways of seeing the world to audiences, and these four plays do it brilliantly.”
On June 9, a Peek Behind the Curtains Benefit at St. James Church, Great Barrington will preview snippets of the GBPT’s coming season as well as new shows being considered for future staging. More details are coming soon. The benefit will include food and drink, live music, singing and other surprise entertainments, as well as meet and greets with some cast members and special company friends. The coming weeks will also see readings of new plays currently in the works at Berkshire Voices.
The Liebowitz and McConnell Theaters are in the Daniel Arts Center, five minutes from downtown Great Barrington on the bucolic campus of Bard College at Simon’s Rock, 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230. More information can be found on the GBPT website and on Facebook. Tickets are affordable to all, between $25 and $50, and are available on the website and by phone 413-372-1980, or GBPTboxoffice@gmail.com.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Clary
MrMikeClary1@gmail.com
518-267-0683
April 20, 2023
Mark your calendar now and join us for our summer benefit.
Friday, June 9, 6:30pm
St. James Place, Great Barrington
352 Main St., Great Barrington
The evening begins at 6:30 pm with summer drinks and savory hors d'oeuvres. A star-studded show begins at 8pm, followed by dessert and champagne.
You’ll have a chance to mix and mingle with our best friends and company members, preview shows from GBPT’s upcoming season, as well as other shows now in development.
Ryan Winkles will give a sample of the mysterious season opener, The Stones. Peggy Pharr Wilson and a special, surprise guest will dip into comic scenes from Off Peak. Other actor friends will read from Dan Lauria’s Just Another Day. Actor Treat Williams will read from Grant: An Evening with the General, his solo portrayal of Ulysess S. Grant now in development. Anne Undeland will unveil her newest play Mozart’s Wife, personifying the character of Constanze Mozart, his overlooked muse.
Ticket sales support the GBPT’s 2023 summer season, and are only $250 for sponsor level, $100 for the full evening of festivities, food and entertainment, or $50 for the show only. Make plans now! Reservations available soon.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Clary
MrMikeClary1@gmail.com
518-267-0683
September 13, 2022
Great Barrington Public Theater presents four new play readings at The Foundry, a first look at new work by area playwrights with Berkshire Voices playwrighting collaborative.
Presenting new work by Berkshire area talent is a critical part of Great Barrington Public Theater’s founding mission. On four Monday evenings, October 3 to November 21, at The Foundry in West Stockbridge, GBPT will present four readings of new plays written by members of Berkshire Voices. The readings will give audiences a first look at brand-new plays currently in the works.
Tickets are FREE!, but capacity is limited. Seats can be reserved now by emailing Tristan.GreatBarringtonPublic@gmail.com
Readings take place October 3 & 17; November 7 & 21, 7:00pm
The Foundry
2 Harris St, West Stockbridge, MA 01266
October 3rd – 7:00pm
THE GROUP by Michael Brady – They have paid their dues, these writers. Each one hopes to write that perfect play, so they meet, read each other’s work, spilling into each other’s lives and sharing joy, pain, and the hunt for that elusive production. As the saying goes, “No happy playwrights.”
October 17 – 7:00pm
Dog Play by Leigh Strimbeck
A reunion in a park brings surprises for a couple who called it quits over a year ago. Who do we love and what do we miss most when they go.
November 7 – 7:00pm
All I Had by Ellen Clarkson
“You are what you have.” Is it possible to change a man’s stubborn belief in a premise that is so prevalent yet causes so much pain? That is the subject of All I Had, a story of revelation and redemption, where each disclosure takes the audience by surprise and leads the four characters to insights they never imagined.
November 21 – 7:00pm
Not Dark Yet by Billie Murray
Follows the intermingled lives of three people who struggle to come to terms with life, loss, love, and redemption in a small town.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mike Clary, media.greatbarringtonpublic@gmail.com
Elizabeth Nelson, elizabethnelson817@gmail.com
May 20, 2022
Great Barrington Public Theater Art Show PERSIST Spotlights Seven Women Artists Working in Different Media, To Reflect Solo Fest Theme ‘Voices of Humanity’.
As part of GB Public’s 2022 summer season, in conjunction with the Solo Fest (June 3-July 10), audiences and art lovers are invited to view a collection of gallery works created by seven women artists from around the Berkshires. Organized and curated by GB Public Associate Artist, Elizabeth Nelson, PERSIST explores themes of erosion, trauma, reimagination, investigation, beauty, and violence. The art show is presented as part of the Solo Fest theme of ‘voices of humanity’. There will be a public opening and reception with the artists 5:30-7:00pm, June 17, coinciding with 7:30pm opening of Robin Gerber’s new play, The Shot, which features well known screen and stage actor Sharon Lawrence as Katharine Graham, famous publisher of The Washington Post, whose persistence in life and career is a model of a woman taking on power.
“Theater is the live, public lyceum. It’s where contemporary culture is expressed and comes to conversation, explains Artistic Director Jim Frangione. “We are in new challenging times, and the Solo Fest is meant to voice a few of the big questions humanity is now asking. When Elizabeth suggested an art show installation in the gallery onsite, it was a natural fit. It’s an extension of some of the same questions the Solo Fest brings to stage. In light of what’s happening all around us in 2022, we all need to persist.”
PERSIST curator & GB Public Associate Artist Elizabeth Nelson
“I wanted to bring together women who have been creating during these turbulent times,” Elizabeth Nelson adds. “Creating as a way to process, to maintain purpose and joy—to persist. What I discovered is that we have all been persisting in a multitude of ways from the beginning, as both women and artists. I’m curious how experiencing these particular works together as part of seeing live theater will affect the audience—what stories will reveal themselves? What might the viewer discover about how they have and continue to persist?” Gallery works will include photography, drawing, flash fiction/CNF, and sculpture using recycled textiles, found and repurposed objects, and natural materials such as wood, bone, clay, and feathers.
PERSIST artists include: Parasrevi "Toula" Taliadoros, owner and artist behind Make My Day Design; Deirdre McKenna, writer and performer with the Powder Keg Writing Group for Women; Merudjina Normil, interdisciplinary artist; Ariana Kolins, interdisciplinary artist; Lindsay Neathawk, owner of Neathawk Designs; Natalia Bystrianyk, intuitive painter; and Elizabeth Nelson, writer, multidisciplinary artist, and marketing professional.
PERSIST will be on view June 4 through August 6, 2022 in the Student Gallery outside the Liebowitz Black Box Theater in the Daniel Arts Center on the campus of Bard College at Simon’s Rock. Public reception is June 17, 5:30pm-7:00pm.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Clary
MrMikeClary1@gmail.com
518-267-0683
June 2, 2022
Great Barrington Public Theater Solo Fest Premieres Will LeBow’s The Bard The Beat The Blues. A master actor’s muses and music take him from Greenwich Village and Lawrence Ferlinghetti to Shylock, Malvolio and Ma Rainey.
GB Public Theater 2022 stage season begins with four new solo performances that run for over five weeks. All feature stories of humanity and demonstrate the power of a single voice.
GB Public is proud to include in this series the premiere of Will LeBow’s raconteurial jewel, The Bard The Beat The Blues (June 8-26), directed by company Artistic Director Jim Frangione and featuring the accomplished actor-musician LeBow, storytelling and versifying his creative arc, from his family’s acting roots to a his life on stage--all presented with funny asides, anecdotes, screen media and musical interludes. In this mesmerizing, quickly-paced hour of storytelling, audiences will fall under the spell of a marvelous entertainer and musician; we move along with LeBow from his ancestry in the Jewish ghetto of Vilna, Lithuania to Brooklyn, where his grandfather acted in Yiddish theater, to growing up in 1950s, heading off to City College, discovering Shakespeare, being introduced to the nightlife in the heyday of Greenwich Village, the poetry of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and other influences that led him to a lifelong career on stage.
In his story, LeBow weaves bits from Shakespeare, Chekov, August Wilson, Mississippi John Hurt and Scott Joplin, the stream of anecdotes and life-lessons accompanied by LeBow at the keyboard, laying his own bluesy music. It’s a seamless performance by a fantastic storyteller, loaded with laughs, heart, bite, and historical commentary. It recounts the world and road as they unfolded for LeBow, why it’s ill-advised to bite our tongues when others tell us to, and, in his words, why this “nutzo, farkakte world” with all its randomness and unseen possibilities is the best world to be born in, if you have the creative bones to deal with it. Will LeBow’s musical pictorial memoir The Bard The Beat The Blues is onstage seven times only, in rotation with the other solo performances, from June 8-June 26, Thurs.-Sun., 7:30pm and 3pm, in the Liebowitz Black Box Theater, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, 84 Alford Rd, Great Barrington, MA 01230.
Will LeBow, credit GBPT
Will LeBow has had an accomplished, decades-long career on stage and screen. His credits include BROADWAY: Act One. OFF-BROADWAY: Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing, Nocturne NYTW Drama Desk Nomination. REGIONAL: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Sonia Flew, The Rivals, The Cherry Orchard, The Corn is Green, Love's Labour's Lost (Huntington); The Merchant of Venice, TheBirthday Party, Full Circle, We Won't Pay We Won't Pay, Picasso At The Lapin Agile, Ubu Rock, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, Uncle Vanya, Animals and Plants, Romance, Duck Variations, Marvelous Party, (ART); Once in a Lifetime (ACT); Glengarry Glen Ross, Twelfth Night (MRT); Abduction From the Seraglio, Ariadne Aux Naxos, (Boston Lyric Opera); Porgy and Bess, (BSO); Polar Express, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, (Boston Pops); Film/TV: What Doesn't Kill You, Next Stop Wonderland, Home Movies, Dr.Katz: Professional Therapist.
Great Barrington Public Theater Artistic Director Jim Frangione, credit GBPT
Jim Frangione (Director): After more than ten years developing new plays with Berkshire Playwrights Lab, Jim is proud to be working alongside the many talented and dedicated colleagues at Great Barrington Public Theater. Last summer with the Public, Jim directed Mark St. Germain’s new play, Dad, as well as the East Coast premiere of David Mamet’s, The Christopher Boy’s Communion. He directed Anne Undeland’s play, Lady Randy, for WAM Theatre; Romance at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater; Private Life at HERE Arts in NY; and An Evening of Shorts by Mamet, Pinter and Silverstein at the ART/Harvard Institute for Advanced Theatre Training. Jim’s play, Flight of the Monarch, premiered at Gloucester Stage Company in 2017. His play, Breakwater, the second in a trilogy of Cape Cod plays, received its premiere in 2019 as part of Great Barrington Public’s inaugural season (Berkshire Theatre Critic’s Nomination). Jim has acted for over 35 years; On and Off-Broadway, in National Tours; in many plays with the Atlantic Theater Company and at regional theaters such as: The Mark Taper Forum, Long Wharf, The Alley Theater, Berkshire Theatre Festival, The Humana Festival of New Plays—most recently in Prairie Du Chien at Atlantic and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Shakespeare & Company. His film work includes Joy, Transamerica, Spartan, Heist, State and Main, The Spanish Prisoner, Homicide, Suits, Claire Dolan and Maryam. Jim is also an award-winning audiobook narrator performing over 400 titles.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Clary
MrMikeClary1@gmail.com
518-267-0683
May 31, 2022
Great Barrington Public Theater Stages Special Event: Sharon Lawrence stars in five performances of The Shot, Robin Gerber’s new play exploring the little-known domestic violence suffered by Katharine Graham before she became famed publisher of The Washington Post.
GB Public Theater punctuates the 2022 stage season with four new, solo performances that run for five weeks, themed to stories of humanity and the power of a single voice to tell them.
The third show opening in the series is the world premiere of Robin Gerber’s new play, The Shot (June 16-19), directed by Michelle Joyner and starring Emmy Award-winning actress Sharon Lawrence as Katharine Graham, whose journey from an isolated, abused young mother to powerful publisher of The Washington Post, brought down Richard Nixon’s White House. Her backstory takes audiences into the shadows of an abusive marriage that led to a stunning, lifealtering trauma. Katharine's struggle to discover herself leads her to become the woman who shook up Washington and became a model of determination and power.
Before her celebrity, Graham was consigned and resigned to the shadows of male dominion, expected to follow the patterns of quiet if not servile wifely domestication common to the time. Obedient to rules and standard roles, she married young and began a family, even docilely stepping aside when her father turned the family finances and publishing business over to her husband, although she had long aspired to be a writer and journalist. From there followed childrearing, domestic abuse, a publicly, demeaning spousal affair, societal humiliation, a brokendown marriage and the eventual violent trauma that changed her forever. On her own, she resurrected herself, marshalling her mettle to return to writing and the iron will to take control of her life and the family company, and to strategize and assemble the publishing empire that made her name and changed the country.
The Shot is a work of fiction based on playwright Robin Gerber’s book, Katharine Graham: The Leadership Journey of An American Icon. The backstory exposes the scourge of intimate partner abuse and domestic violence, and deals with issues that still define our times--gender bias; financial power; guns in America; and power structures that subjugate women. Along the way, The Shot explores Katharine Graham’s distinct, winning character, inner conflicts, fear, and deep faith in love and duty. Her struggles to persevere and persist exemplifies survival and triumph against overwhelming odds.
In playwright Robin Gerber’s words, “The Shot is a story for this moment. The #metoo focus on harassment and abuse outside the home must look inside as well. The first refuge for sexism and misogyny is the treatment of women as objects for abuse in their domestic life. If we can be abused with impunity, we can be paid less, denied opportunity and control over our bodies.”
In choosing The Shot to show the power of a single human voice Jim Frangione, GB Public Artistic Director, explains, “The Shot is a personal story of a famed person who faces and conquers harrowing circumstance that too many women are forced and expected to face every day. She took on gender shaming, grappled with self-conflict and mastered self-discovery. It’s a story of human character that makes us all exceptional.”
The Shot is onstage for five performances only, June 16-June 19, Thurs.-Sun., 7:30pm and 3pm, in the Liebowitz Black Box Theater, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, 84 Alford Rd, Great Barrington, MA 01230.
Actor Sharon Lawrence, credit GBPT
Sharon Lawrence as Katharine Graham:
After earning a degree in journalism from the UNC-Chapel Hill, Sharon went on become a prominently featured on stage and screen actor. Her television work includes her multiple EMMY nominated and SAG award-winning run on NYPD Blue, work in THE GAZE on YouTube earned a 5th Emmy nomination. Her series, JOE PICKETT, on Spectrum and Paramount+ is in its 2nd season of production and her Hallmark movies THE CHRISTMAS HOUSE 1 & 2 have both earned GLAAD nominations. Notable stints on hit shows such as REBEL, QUEEN SUGAR, SHAMELESS, DYNASTY, ON BECOMING A GOD IN CENTRAL FLORIDA, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, RIZZOLI & ILES and GREY'S ANATOMY which earning her an EMMY nomination. Film work includes the indie hits MIDDLE OF NOWHERE from Ava DuVernay and THE LOST HUSBAND, both on Netflix. Sharon spent 10 years on Broadway in Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof and as Velma in Chicago and since in LA at The Mark Taper Forum, in Poor Behavior and The Mystery Of Love and Sex, the cabaret, Love, Noel, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, in several roles at the Geffen Playhouse and at the Pasadena Playhouse in A Song At Twilight, A Kid Like Jake and Orson’s Shadow, for which she was nominated for an Ovation Award and won the LA Drama Critics Circle Award. She has been part of THE SHOT’s creative team since it’s first reading at Ojai Playwright’s Conference in 2017. Non-profit service plays a major role in Sharon's life as former Chair of the Women in Film Foundation, current Chair the BoD of Heal The Bay and as a Trustee of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.
Director Michelle Joyner-credit GBPT
Michelle Joyner-Director
Michelle has had a career as a successful hyphenate for over 30 years in New York, Los Angeles, and more recently, the Berkshires. As an actor she enjoys a prolific career in television and film including numerous series regular roles, guest stars, has dozens of commercials and feature films. She is probably best remembered by those with vertigo as the girl who fell from Sylvester Stallone’s grasp in CLIFFHANGER. Theater credits include originating the lead in LIFE SENTENCES by Richard Nelson at Second Stage NY, ANNAPURNA at The Chester Theater in the Berkshires, 8: THE PLAY at The Public Theater, ROMEO AND JULIET at Indiana Rep, opposite Michael Cerveris and Viggo Mortensen, as well as many Los Angeles productions. Since returning to western Mass, Michelle has worked at PS21 performing an original piece in SHE/HER last season which she will be taking to Edinburgh this summer. She is also a member of Shakespeare and Co and there was recently in THE APPROACH. Michelle has written, directed and performed in many plays at Berkshire Playwrights Lab and is a member of Berkshire Voices. As a screenwriter, Michelle has written 10 studio films for FOX SEARCHLIGHT, WORKING TITLE, UNIVERSAL, MIRAMAX, and HBO FILMS. She has done film adaptations from books by best-selling authors Jane Smiley, DH Lawrence, Katherine Harrison, Richard Bausch and many others. She wrote and performed the short play ASKING FOR A FRIEND for Berkshire Playwrights Lab, and recently completed her first full-length play IODINE. As a director, Michelle has helmed plays with Shakespeare and Co, most recently THE WAVERLY GALLERY; Santa Monica Rep; Greenlight Productions; The Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Ojai Playwrights Conference and others. She directed the short film SWEET NOTHINGS and a filmed version of THE SHOT. She will direct THE SHOT in the United Solo Festival in New York City in the fall, with Sharon Lawrence. She is also a spoken word performer and a repeat performer on THE MOTH and other story salons on the west coast. She is a professional acting coach and dramaturg, and leads THE LONG TABLE, a women’s writing group.
Robin Gerber-Playwright
The Shot, Robin’s first play, was selected for the 2017 Ojai Playwrights Conference. After a wellspent youth involving drugs, sex and feminist activism, Robin took the next logical step and became a Washington, D.C. lawyer. She worked on Capitol Hill for a legendary leader of the House of representatives, before leaving to be a union lobbyist during the Clinton years. Robin’s post-politics writing life includes: The bestselling advice book, Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way (Penguin), Katharine Graham (Penguin), Barbie and Ruth, about the founder of Mattel (HarperCollins), and the novel Eleanor vs. Ike, which imagines Eleanor Roosevelt running for President in 1952 (HarperAvon). Robin has toured the professional speaking circuit, motivating audiences at many Fortune 500 companies with stories from the lives of great women leaders. She has also appeared as a guest historian for the Biography and History channels and as a featured historian on the CNN/HBO documentary series First Ladies speaking about Eleanor Roosevelt. robingerber.com
For Immediate Release
Contact: Gail Burns
gburns35@gmail.com
(413) 346-3193
May 16, 2022
Alison Larkin to Star in Grief, the Musical …a Comedy
At Great Barrington Public Theater’s Solo Fest
Performance Kicks Off GBPT Season June 3–12
When Alison Larkin told Archbishop Desmond Tutu about what happened after she fell in love for the first time in her 50s and the worst happened, he said "Alison, you must tell this story, because it will bring hope."
Alison Larkin, who lives in the Berkshires, Massachusetts, is an internationally acclaimed comedienne, award-winning audiobook narrator/producer, playwright, t.v. writer, and actress. She is the author of The English American, a bestselling autobiographical novel about an adopted English woman who finds her birth parents in the US, based on her first one-woman show of the same title, which The Times (London) called “hugely entertaining, marvelously lightfooted...a lesson in the human condition.”
Now, Alison has created a sparkling, buoyant new solo show, Grief, the Musical …a Comedy, which from June 3 to 12 kicks off the Great Barrington Public Theater’s Solo Fest at the Liebowitz Black Box Theater (83 Alford Road, Great Barrington, MA).
After raising her two children in the Berkshires, Alison Larkin braved the local dating scene in her 50’s and fell in love with Bhima, a brilliant Indian scientist, passionate about the issue of climate change. In Grief, the Musical …a Comedy Larkin turns their deeply funny, moving love story into an effervescent comedy of joy, loss and redemption.
Larkin is known for finding humor in the most challenging of events. Her new show is a daring blend of stand-up comedy and theater, with songs written by Alison and her onstage accompanist, the Emmy Award-winning composer Gary Schreiner. For more information about Alison, please visit AlisonLarkin.com.
Great Barrington Public Theater, launched in 2019, brings top-tier, professional theater at its best to the Berkshires, presenting new works with local talent and offering affordable tickets. For Grief, the Musical …a Comedy, tickets can be bought online at https://www.greatbarringtonpublictheater.org/solo-fest-grief-the-musical-a-comedy, or call the Box Office at (413) 528-0684.
March 8, 2022
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Clary
MrMikeClary1@gmail.com
518-267-0683
Download the press release (PDF)
Great Barrington Public Theater plans a ten-week season of four new solo plays and two ensemble plays. Lineup includes a daring, new work by Alison Larkin; a versatile mix of verse, monologue and music by Will LeBow; a brand-new comedy by Mark St. Germain; and a riveting, contemporary drama by Andrew Bovell of an American family coming to terms with unspoken truths.
In summer 2022—from early June to mid-August—Great Barrington Public Theater is expanding its season to introduce a new Solo Festival with four premiere, full-length, single-actor plays, followed by two new ensemble plays on the mainstage. The Solo Festival lineup includes premiere works featuring Berkshire resident, and internationally celebrated writer/comedienne Alison Larkin, multiple Emmy-nominated actress Sharon Lawrence, as well as new works by actor/writers Will LeBow and James Morrison. The ensemble plays will include a brand-new comedy by Berkshire favorite Mark St Germain, as well as a penetrating new drama of a family coming to terms with unspoken truths.
Great Barrington Public Theater will bring this exciting run of new plays to the Liebowitz Black Box Theater and the McConnell Theater in the Daniel Arts Center at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington. Keeping with the Public’s core mission, the 2022 program features original works and acclaimed new voices, featuring some of the best of Berkshire talent. Tickets will be affordable to all and priced between $20 and $50.
“After last season’s ringing success, we decided to widen our lens celebrating the concept of new work,” Artistic Director Jim Frangione said. “We’re very excited about these new works, all of which revolve around themes of humanity that we hope will resonate with audiences as we emerge from months of isolation.”
“We invite every theater lover here in the Berkshires, Boston, the Hudson Valley, New York City and beyond to be with us for an especially lively summer,” Deann Simmons Halper, Executive Director added. “We’re thrilled to present new comedies and dramas with superb writers, actors and designers as we look forward to lighting up the summer on two separate stages.”
The Public’s season opens in the Daniel Arts Center’s Liebowitz Black Box Theatre with the GB Public Solo Fest running June 3 – July 10. This four-show series begins with Grief, the Musical…a Comedy, written and performed by Alison Larkin, with music by Gary Schreiner and directed by James Warwick (June 3 – 12). When you fall in love for the first time in your 50's and the worst happens, you have a choice. You can hide under the bed–or, you can write Grief, the Musical…a Comedy. Arising from Larkin's experience with heartbreaking loss, this deeply funny love story blends stand-up comedy, songs and theatre to bring audiences on a soul-healing journey through joy and the depths of sorrow to the heights of the human experience.
Next in the GB Public Solo Fest (June 16 – 19), is Robin Gerber’s new play, The Shot, based on the remarkable life of Katherine Graham, renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning publisher of The Washington Post. The Shot is directed by local writer and director Michelle Joyner and stars Emmy-nominated and award-winning actress Sharon Lawrence in the role of Katherine Graham. Sharon Lawrence’s credits include memorable roles in NYPD Blue, Shameless and Dynasty, and on Broadway in Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, Chicago and numerous other titles on stage and screen. The Shot is a searing story of a powerful woman uncovering her own shadowed past to overcome adversity.
Leave Your Fears Here (June 30 – July 10) is a profound and insightful memoir written and performed by acclaimed stage and screen actor James Morrison. The play will be directed by Housatonic resident Robert Egan, Artistic Director of the internationally renowned Ojai (CA) Playwright’s Conference, where this piece was developed. In this intense and personal story, Morrison recounts his 10-year-old son Seamus’s journey from brain cancer diagnosis though his treatment and ultimate recovery. It is a poignant, poetic story of fear, the power of language, and ultimately of triumph. Its theme is the power of hope in the dimmest of hours. Legendary producer Norman Lear calls the work, “An extremely moving play by an extremely moving performer.” Audiences will recognize James from the Emmy-winning drama, 24, Law and Order SVU, and Twin Peaks: The Return.
The final play in the GB Public Solo Fest is The Bard The Beat The Blues. This new solo piece is a punchy compilation of Shakespeare monologues, Beat poetry and live music composed and performed by Will LeBow. This piece will run in rotation throughout the Solo Fest (June 8 – July 8). Becket MA resident LeBow is one of the most lauded stage actors in the country, whose credits range from Broadway and Lincoln Center to Off-Broadway, with more than twenty seasons as a company member of ART in Cambridge, MA and multiple film and TV roles, including his appearance in GB Public’s 2021 The Christopher Boy’s Communion. An ardent Shakespearean, poet and musician, The Bard The Beat The Blues spotlights some of Shakespeare’s most challenging characters, such as Lear, Shylock and Malvolio, blended with LeBow’s original songs and the poetry of Lawrence Ferlinghetti. GB Public’s Artistic Director Jim Frangione will direct.
The McConnell Theater mainstage springs to life July 14 with Public Speaking 101, a brand-new comedy by Berkshire playwright Mark St. Germain, running through July 24. A neurotic amateur actress leads her community theater class of terrified adults to compete in their county’s First Annual Public Speaking Competition. This is the premiere of a brand-new comedy, with a stellar cast of Berkshire actors. Jim Frangione will direct.
From August 4th – August 14th audiences will be drawn in and touched by Things I Know to Be True, by award-winning playwright Andrew Bovell (Broadway–When the Rain Stops Falling). A sweeping, powerful midwestern family drama, it was first presented by Milwaukee Rep in 2019 to rave reviews and was headed for Broadway until Covid intervened. GB Public will present the East Coast premiere of this brilliant new play. Judy Braha, who helmed GB Public’s 2021 hit Mr. Fullerton, will direct. Things I Know to Be True goes straight to the heart of family love, truth and bonding, and exemplifies the power of transformative theater.
More information on the ten-week, two-stage season can be found in the coming weeks as plans roll out on the Great Barrington Public Theater site and on Facebook. Tickets will go on sale April 1 and are affordable to all, but seating is limited, especially in the case of the Berkshire Solo Series. Early purchase is highly encouraged.
The Liebowitz and McConnell Theaters are in the Daniel Arts Center, five minutes minutes by car from downtown Great Barrington on the beautiful and bucolic campus of Bard College at Simon’s Rock, 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230.
June 28, 2021
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Clary
518-267-0683
MrMikeClary1@gmail.com
Download the press release (PDF)
Great Barrington Public Theater adds Wet Ink live stage readings and outdoor storytellers to season, plus a special presentation of Mr. Fullerton The Mount, with playwright talkback, on July 14.
While currently performing a six-week season in the Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington Public Theater now adds the inventive Wet Ink series to the summer lineup. “Wet Ink gives us greater opportunity to present new talent, stories and plays to audiences, to get reactions and feedback for future possibility,” explains the Public’s Artistic Director Jim Frangione. “We look forward to hearing from people after they see what we’re incubating in the wings.”
This summer’s Wet Ink kicks off on July 10 at 4pm with live storytelling by Bard College at Simon’s Rock faculty member and award-winning fiction writer Brendan Mathews, whose recent short story collection debut, This Is Not a Love Song, was described in The New York Times as "admirably fearless" and whom critics have compared to Michael Chabon, E.L. Doctorow, and Dennis Lehane. He will be joined by the Public’s own playwright, poet and fiction writer, Elizabeth Nelson, whose dark and lyrical storytelling can be read in Canyon Voices Magazine and in the forthcoming summer issues of Heartland Society of Women Writers, Second Chance Lit, and Rhodora Magazine, among others. They appear together on July 10, in the Great Barrington Town Hall Park, and will be joined by Berkshire Busk, a mix of musicians and performers who are entertaining on the streets of Great Barrington all summer long.
On Monday, July 12, 7:30pm, much-respected and popular Berkshire playwright Michael Brady will present a reading of his new play, Queen of the Sea, in the Daniel Arts Center Liebowitz Black Box Theater. In Queen of the Sea, three strangers meet on a cruise ship for ‘the voyage of a lifetime’. Nothing in their lifetimes has prepared them for what is to come. Queen of the Sea will be directed by Michelle Joyner and feature performances by Elizabeth Aspenlieder, David Joseph and Jessica Provenz.
On Monday and Tuesday August 2n and 3rd at 7:30pm, in the McConnell Theater, audiences are in for a rare treat when familiar and diverse stage, film and TV actor Treat Williams gives them a first look at his new play Grant. It’s an intimate exploration into the life, spirit, character and candor of iconic Ulysess S. Grant, performed by Williams in the persona of Grant himself. The Public hopes to further develop Grant, and encourages early reservations to this special presentation of the new work.
August 4, 7:30pm, the McConnell stage comes entrancingly to life with The Queen of Fenway Court, a brand-new play written and performed by superbly accomplished and creative actor-writer Leigh Strimbeck, directed by Joshua Briggs. The Queen of Fenway Court brings to life what drove the Gilded Age historical personality Isabella Stewart Gardner of Boston to build and fill one of the most extraordinary museums in the world. The reading will be accompanied with live music composed by Jan Jurchak. Not actually part of the Wet Ink series, but a special add-on to the scheduled stage season, on July 14, at 4pm, playwright Anne Undeland, director Judy Braha and members of the cast of Undeland’s delightful new play Mr. Fullerton, about the romantic and sexual awakening of Edith Wharton, will present a special afternoon reading of selections from the play and a talkback at Edith Wharton’s beloved estate, The Mount, in Lenox. This partnering of The Mount and The Public is a ticketed event, available through The Mount’s website.
More information and updates on Wet Ink and Mr. Fullerton visits The Mount can be found on the company’s website, GreatBarringtonPublicTheater.org
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Wet Ink and Mr. Fullerton Artist Bios
Brendan Mathews is the author of This Is Not a Love Song and The World of Tomorrow, both published by Little, Brown and Co. This Is Not a Love Song was longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Awards and shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. The World of Tomorrow was named an Honor Book by the Massachusetts Book Awards and longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. It was also named an Indie Next Great Read and an Editors' Choice by the New York Times Book Review. His moving and darkly witty stories have been described as" admirably fearless" (New York Times Book Review) from a writer whom critics have compared to Michael Chabon, E.L. Doctorow, and Dennis Lehane. His fiction has twice appeared in The Best American Short Stories and in Glimmer Train, Virginia Quarterly Review, Salon, Cincinnati Review, and other publications in the US and UK. He has been the recipient of grants and fellowships from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Sustainable Arts Foundation, and the Sewanee Writers Conference. Born and raised in upstate New York, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received his MFA from the University of Virginia. He lives with his wife and their four children in Lenox, Massachusetts, and teaches at Bard College at Simon’s Rock.
Elizabeth Nelson is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and marketing/communications professional. Her most recent play, Colors Inside the Body, was read in May 2019 at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre in NYC, presented by Texas Wesleyan University’s Playmarket. Colors was written and developed as part of her involvement with Berkshire Voices, a local writing group dedicated to fostering the process of creating new work. In 2018, Denver’s The Athena Project workshopped her play, The Golden Hour, as part of its annual “Plays in Progress Series.” Fugue, A Ten-Minute Play (Black Box Press), is consistently produced worldwide, and The Going Price (Steele Spring Stage Rights) was selected in 2011 as part of Red Bull Theater’s inaugural Short New Play Festival. Directing credits include the world premieres of The Chess Lesson by Sari Caine and Spark by Angela Santillo, Rumors, Tallgrass Gothic, Arsenic and Old Lace, Pillow Talk, and Emily, among others. From 2009 to 2016, Elizabeth worked for the national labor union, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), launching SDC Journal, a craft magazine for which she served as both art director and managing editor from inception through the first nine years of the publication’s development. The magazine continues to celebrate and inform more than 3,000 directors and choreographers across the country. Currently, Elizabeth is the marketing and communications manager for Berkshire Humane Society (BHS).
Michael Brady is a playwright and director. His play, To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday was developed through the literary department of The Ensemble Studio Theatre and moved to Circle-in-the-Square in New York. Gillian was awarded the Oppenheimer Award by Newsday, and then produced as a film by Sony Pictures. Other stage works include: Sara, Equity Library Theatre at Lincoln Center, Semper Fi, Gloucester Stage Company, Hard Time, Main Street Stage, North Adams, Massachusetts and Two Bears Blinking, New Theatre, Miami. As a producer, Michael created TheatreFest, a celebration of new works for the theatre with a May 2019 launch at Saint James Place. His recent play Pipeline was featured in Barrington Stage Company’s 2019 10x10 New Play Festival in Pittsfield. Michael has also served as a playwright mentor with Barrington Stage, helping local students find their own voices in the theatre. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Ensemble Studio Theatre. With Berkshire Playwrights Lab Michael has had staged readings of two recent plays: Titles, The Season and Green Tiger Seven. He has also directed in BPL’s first two Radius Festivals. In addition to his work in theatre, Michael served for several years as the Program Officer for Artists for the Massachusetts Cultural Council, overseeing a grant giving program for literary, visual and performance artists. Michael lives in Southfield, Massachusetts with his wife, Patricia Jacobsen-Brady. His plays are available from Broadway Play Publishing.
Leigh Strimbeck is an actor, director, acting teacher and writer. She holds a BFA from NYU in Dance/Drama and has taught at the Actors and Directors Lab and elsewhere for many years. She’s lived, taught and toured with a children’s theater company in Sweden, was a member of the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, Bloomsburg, PA, where she taught, performed and directed plays including: Fools Rush In, Voice of The Prairie, Sea Marks, The Nest, Daytrips, The Baltimore Waltz, Death of a Salesman, and most recently The Explorers Club. In twelve years with BTE she’s acted in dozens of plays and served as Ensemble Director for three years. She was a site reporter for the National Endowment for the Arts for five years, and spent three years on the professional theatre companies panel, traveled with BTE during a USIA tour of Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia. She remains a proud associate member of BTE. In 2010 she co-founded WAM Theatre in the Berkshires with Artistic Director Kristen van Ginhoven,(wamtheatre.com). Plays directed at various theaters include Children of a Lesser God, On The Verge, Tonight We Improvise, The Mystery of Irma Vep, and Private Eyes. She co-wrote and directed Berwick, America and This House Builded, both plays commissioned by their communities. One man shows: Here Be Dragons co-written with Paul Outlaw; Heavy Mettle and Working Class, both written and performed by Richard Hoehler. She was an adjunct acting professor at SUNY Albany for 11 years and an artist in residence at Russell Sage College in Troy, New York for 10 years, where she created and directed two devised theater pieces: Mirror, Mirror and “I’m Not a Feminst, But….”; directed Jamuna Yvetter Sirker’s Hell and Highwater; adapted and directed The Trojan Women, which appeared at the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble’s First Stories Festival in NYC and the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers (2013), directed I Never Saw Another Butterfly, Spring Awakening and Cabaret. She also performed Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Beth in Tribes. She has directed staged readings for WAM, The Rep in Albany, and The Berkshire Playwrights Lab.
Treat Williams began his career as Danny Zuko in Grease on Broadway, Berger In the movie Hair, and Danny Ciello in Prince of the City, which launched a film career which has lasted over 40 years. He has been nominated for four Golden Globe awards, the Best Actor Emmy award, and two Best Actor Screen Actors Guild Awards, and has won two Theater World Awards for his work in Broadway musicals. His multiple film credits include The Ritz ,1941, The Eagle Has Landed, SmoothTalk (First Prize, Sundance), Once Upon A Time In America, Deep Rising, The Phantom, Deep End of The Ocean, The Devil's Own, What Happens In Vegas, Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending, 127 Hours, and The Congressman. He has recently been seen in Dolly Parton’s Christmas On The Square and Twelve Mighty Orphans. On television he recently played Ted Kennedy in HBO's Confirmation. For four seasons he starred as Dr. Andy Brown on the critically acclaimed Everwood. The Late Shift (Emmy Nom), A Streetcar Named Desire (Golden Globe Nom) and has guested on Law and Order: SVU, White Collar, Chicago Fire, Blue Bloods, and on The Simpsons as himself. He now stars as Mick O'Brien on Chesapeake Shores for the Hallmark Channel. He has starred on Broadway in Grease, Over Here, Once In A Lifetime, Pirates of Penzance, Love Letters, Captains Courageous, and Stephen Sondheim's Follies. He recently played Teach in David Mamet’s American Buffalo at the Dorset Theater Festival. A commercial pilot and flight instructor with over ten thousand hours in the cockpit, Mr Williams has been flying airplanes and helicopters of all shapes and sizes for over 40 years and was named ‘A Living Legend Of Aviation’ for his contributions to general aviation in America. He has two children, Gill 29 and Ellie 22, and ives in Vermont with his wife Pam.
Anne Undeland (Playwright/Actor) is a member of Berkshire Voices (a program of Great Barrington Public Theater) and Howl Playwrights, Rhinebeck, NY, where two of her 10-minute plays, The Sisterhood and Bob Dole for President received public readings. Her short plays, The Kiss and Another Party of the Wood, were selected for BPL’s Radius Festival in 2018 and 2019. The Kiss won best play at Writer’s Voice Ten Minute Play Festival at the West Side Y in New York in 2018. She is currently at work on Touch, an evening of humorous social commentary sketches. Lady Randy, her first full-length play, was produced by WAM Theater at Shakespeare & Co in Lenox, MA in 2019, directed by Jim Frangione. www. anneundeland.com.
Judy Braha (Director) has been a director, actor, teacher and arts activist in New England for over four decades. Head of the M.F.A. Directing Program at Boston University’s School of Theater, her teaching, directing and guest artist credits include theaters and universities throughout New England and beyond. Judy collaborates with the College of Fine Arts Prison Arts Project working with Andre De Quadros teaching Empowering Song, sharing collaborative arts with incarcerated students in Massachusetts’ prisons and jails. At Boston University, Judy co-teaches the Collaborative Arts Incubator, focused on the arts and social justice as well as fosters opportunities for students to understand arts and activism in workshops such as the groundbreaking Race, Prison, Justice: Illuminating Story Through the Arts. Judy is currently collaborating on a new solo piece about the feminist, suffragist, abolitionist, Julia Ward Howe, Representation and How to Get It by Joyce Van Dyke. Recent directing credits include: Golda’s Balcony (NEW REP), To Kill A Mockingbird (GSC), Emilie, La Marquise du Chatelet, Defends Her Life Tonight (CST), I Am Lear, a devised piece on aging (ASP) and Our Country’s Good + The Exonerated at BU/SOT. A longtime member of the Society of Directors and Choreographers, Judy is also proud to have been a founding board member of Stage Source, New England’s service organization for connecting theater-makers in community.
Jim Frangione (Artistic Director) After more than ten years developing new plays with Berkshire Playwrights Lab, Jim is excited about the emergence of Great Barrington Public Theater, now in its third season. He directed Anne Undeland’s acclaimed play, Lady Randy, at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre in Lenox; David Mamet’s Romance at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater; Private Life at HERE Arts in NY; and An Evening of Shorts by Mamet, Pinter and Silverstein at the ART/Harvard Institute for Advanced Theatre Training. Jim’s play Breakwater, the second of his trilogy of Cape Cod plays received its premiere in 2019 at the Daniel Arts Center at SimMon’s Rock (Berkshire Theatre Critic’s Nomination). His play, Flight of the Monarch, received it world premiere at Gloucester Stage Company in 2017. Jim has acted for over 35 years; Off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theater in the original production of Oleanna, as well as the National Tour; in many plays with the Atlantic Theater Company, on Broadway and at regional theaters such as The Mark Taper Forum, Long Wharf, Alley Theater, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville—and most recently in David Mamet’s Prairie Du Chien at tlantic and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Shakespeare & Company. Jim’s film work includes Joy; Transamerica; Spartan; Heist; State and Main; The Spanish Prisoner; Homicide; Suits; Claire Dolan and Maryam.
Deann Simmons Halper (Executive Director) is an actor, director and producer. She has produced several New York and Regional productions including the OBIE-nominated Incommunicado and The Vagina Monologues. Halper has served on the board of directors for Circle Rep, New York Stage and Film, TriArts' Sharon Playhouse, Barrington Stage Company and Berkshire Playwrights Lab, and she is currently on the board of directors for Space on Ryder Farm and Board of Visitors at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Most recently Halper has appeared in QWERTY at Mixed Company; Death and the Maiden at New Stage; Four Dogs and a Bone with Berkshire Actors Theatre; and The Attic, The Pearls and Three Fine Girls at WAM Theatre, among many others.
Tristan Wilson (Managing Director) Tristan is happy to be reuniting with Jim Frangione whom he partnered with while working at Berkshire Playwrights Lab in 2017. Tristan has also worked for Barrington Stage Co and The Mahaiwe here in the Berkshires. Over his career Tristan has worked on theatre (Broadway, Off-Broadway and regionally), opera, dance, music, live television, radio and special event productions. A few of his credits include: B’way – 42nd Street, Ten Unknowns, Chaucer in Rome and Invention of Love; Off-B’way – Three Hotels, Urinetown, Freud’s Last Session, Becoming Dr. Ruth and Force Continuum. Off-B'way clients include Atlantic Theatre, American Place Theatre, Jane St. Theatre, Lambs Theatre and Actor's Playhouse. PBS/Live from Lincoln Center – Hansel and Gretel produced by the Juilliard School and Live from the Kaplan Penthouse performances by Renee Fleming and Itzhak Perlman. Regional Theatres include Missouri Rep, Dallas Theatre Center, Creede Repertory Theatre and Theatre Three in Dallas. He also spent seven years on the production staff at the Juilliard School in Lincoln Center. He is married to Berkshires actress Peggy Pharr Wilson.
Great Barrington Public Theater was founded by Jim Frangione and Deann Simmons Halper to create opportunities for theater artists in the Berkshires and neighboring regions. Great Barrington Public Theater recognizes the many excellent playwrights, actors, directors, designers, administrators, and technicians living locally. Our objective is to bring new plays to the stage, and to generate and foster rigorous creative opportunity for local theater artists while engaging our theatergoing public with readings, workshops, and fully staged productions, employing local talent, and always keeping ticket prices affordable.
May 24, 2021
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Clary
518-267-0683
MrMikeClary1@gmail.com
Download the press release (PDF)
GREAT BARRINGTON PUBLIC THEATER PLANS SUMMER OF HEARTFELT COMEDY, LITERARY DELIGHT AND MASTERFUL DRAMA. THREE NEW PLAYS, ON TWO STAGES, PLUS WET INK READINGS AND SOLO PERFORMANCES.
From late June to early August, Great Barrington Public Theater will bring a diverse six-weeks to the Daniel Arts Center, at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington. Keeping with the Public’s core mission, the 2021 program spotlights original work and new voices, largely comprised of local area talent. Tickets will remain affordable to all, between $20 and $40.
“After several months eagerly looking forward to reopening, we have finalized plans for a powerful trio of fully-staged new plays by well-known and respected writers, featuring many of our most lovable, notable Berkshire actors, along with a selection of captivating solo-artist performances that will delight and surprise everyone,” Artistic Director Jim Frangione said. “As disappointing as the forced hiatus has been, we are all excited to get back into the theater.”
“We welcome everyone in the Berkshires and beyond to come out, come back, be safe, comfortable, and join us for an exhilarating and lively summer,” Deann Simmons Halper, Executive Director said. “We’re presenting top-tier new plays and excellent artists to all audiences and looking forward to a rejuvenating season of fantastic theater on two stages.”
The Public’s schedule opens at the Daniel Art Center mainstage McConnell Theater, June 24-July 3 with DAD, a poignant, heartfelt and humorous new comedy by acclaimed Berkshire playwright Mark St. Germain. The play offers a heartfelt exploration into sibling and parent rivalries, the challenges of aging, and the power of reconciliations to foster self-discovery. The cast includes Berkshire favorites Mark H. Dold and Peggy Pharr Wilson, David Smilow, and Tony Award nominee and Emmy winner Larry Bryggman.
DAD is followed by Mr. Fullerton, a steamy, eyebrow-raising return to the Gilded Age by way of a daring new play by Anne Undeland, a favorite local playwright-actor, and directed by Judy Braha. Playing July 21-Aug. 1 on the intimate Liebowitz Black Box Theater in the Daniel Arts Center, Mr. Fullerton brings together Edith Wharton, Henry James, Morton Fullerton and Edith’s saucy Irish maid for parlor games and society foreplay from Paris to Lenox in a rich, retelling of Wharton’s actual, truelove romance with a younger, stateroom dandy. Mr. Fullerton is a banquet of language, poise, sex, mores and manner that rings with literary and local history.
Next up on the McConnell Theater mainstage is the East Coast premiere of The Christopher Boy’s Communion, a taut, new drama by Pulitzer Prize-winner David Mamet, running from July 29 -August 8 and directed by Artistic Director Jim Frangione. Originally scheduled last season, but cancelled due to Covid-19, Frangione says, “This new play touches on themes Mamet has grappled with many times over his storied career—persecution, prosecution, guilt, innocence and absolution. Audiences will love seeing this new play performed by an all-star Berkshire cast”. Cast includes Kiera Naughton, David Adkins, Will LeBow, Diane Prusha and Kevin O’Rourke.
Press openings, casting and ticket information for DAD, Mr. Fullerton and The Christopher Boy’s Communion will be released soon.
Wet Ink
Across the summer and leading into the fall, the company will also present its engaging and enjoyable Wet Ink series of new works. As Frangione puts it, “Wet Ink brings out the best of area talent and showcases new and established playwrights, performers and storytellers. It’s a great way for us to share new discoveries and possibilities with live audiences.” Wet Ink dates will be announced in the coming weeks. Theater lovers can look forward to Grant, a first-ever and revealing look at Ulysses S. Grant, a solo play written and performed by well-known actor Treat Willams. Also in the works is The Queen of Fenway Court, a new, solo play by area writer/actress Leigh Strimbeck about museum founder Isabella Stewart Gardner.
April 13, 2021
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Clary
518-267-0683
MrMikeClary1@gmail.com
Great Barrington Public Theater leans into new season with on-screen, world premiere of David Mamet’s new monologues, Four American Women. Available April 26th, pay-to-view for a limited time only on Broadway-on-Demand.
Great Barrington Public Theater opens the 2021 season with a play-length series of brand-new monologues by David Mamet that deliver intrinsic American voices and stories in the words of two famous and two anonymous women. The on-camera, solo performances are self-recorded, allowing audiences and artists to come together remotely to bring four distinct women to life.
“Beverly Wilshire Hotel. His shoes fit. I took his shoes.” An Aviator
Great Barrington Public Theater Artistic Director Jim Frangione describes Four American Women as “A riveting portrayal of American character depth and personality. This is David at his leanest, exacting and freest to plumb some untouched corners of the modern American character and mindset. Since the implementation of safety protocols and the closure of curtains, we, and everyone in the theater world, have pivoted to the challenge. Over recent months we successfully produced two different screen series, and are now thrilled to premiere Four American Women for audiences everywhere.” The Broadway on Demand release is a pay-to-screen, view-on-demand benefit performance to help sustain the company’s work and artists in preparation for this season’s planned, on-stage performances.
“I think more people are watching me. Well, yes they are.” A Doctor
In Four American Women notable stage and screen actors Rebecca Pidgeon, Heidi Sulzman and Yolonda Ross depict two well-known and two unknown women who extemporize their unique perspectives on personal bravery, iron will, incisive logic and authentic character traits taken directly from the American lifestream.
“And it is always someone else.” An Attorney
“With David’s guidance and our artistic production team working remotely but closely with the performers, we have assembled four provocative, cut-to-the bone personalities who will satisfy theater lovers looking for the character and dialogue David excels at. With their powerful, nuanced screen performances. Rebecca, Heidi and Yolonda take David’s precision with language to new places.”
“This life is a sin, otherwise it’s not life.” Dorothy Kilgallen
Four American Women can be reserved online beginning April 15, for on-demand, pay-to- view April 26th-May 9th on Broadway on Demand, streaming on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon FireTV, for iPhone, Android, Google Chromecast. Reservations are $24 for a 48-hour viewing window. This is an Equity Stage Actors performance, so the number of screen views is limited. Early Rreservations are strongly encouraged.
The benefit program also tilts toward the company’s plans for the upcoming, on-stage summer season, dependent on Covid protocols, with full expectations to bring the lights up on the East Coast premiere of David Mamet’s newest ensemble work, The Christopher Boy’s Communion, originally slated but cancelled last season.The 2021 season will also bring two world premiere plays by two familiar and popular Berkshireplaywrights, and the surprisingWet Inkseries, previewing several new full-length and solo works Great Barrington Public Theater has waiting in the wings.
2020
October 24, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24, 2020 - Berkshire County, MA — Great Barrington Public Theater, in collaboration with Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative (BFMC), is proud to present Berkshire Outdoor Shorts, an online series of short, solo films centered on the natural environment of the Berkshires. Each film is written by a local writer and produced in a socially-distant, outdoor location in Berkshire County.
“Artists everywhere are struggling, everyone is struggling. In recognition of all the weeks and months that we’ve had limited opportunity to interact, we wanted to give writers and actors a safe, enjoyable space for creativity, an outlet to respond to the world we’re all living in right now. We’re so lucky to live in the Berkshires where we have immediate access to natural beauty, open space, and fresh air - that was the inspiration for this series - and it’s been a great collaboration with Berkshire Film and Media. I’m excited to release these films into the world for the enjoyment of all,” said Jim Frangione, Artistic Director of Great Barrington Public Theater.
The first film in the series, King Corona, written by local playwright Steven Otfinoski and starring Christopher Brophy, is a darkly playful look into the ruthless mastermind of the king of viruses. Each film in the series will run 7-10 minutes. King Corona is available for free viewing at https://youtu.be/nbAB4nSq_50.
“If there’s one positive aspect of the pandemic, it’s the new partnerships that have been created between Berkshire nonprofit organizations to continue to create art,” said Diane Pearlman, Executive Director of Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative. “It’s been our pleasure to have our talented, local film professionals bring Great Barrington Public Theater’s screenplays to life. We were able to employ small crews and a few local talent - so we could socially-distance and keep everyone safe.”
Additional films, which are currently in production include: The Reject by Mark St Germain, Almost You by Leigh Strimbeck, and Druantia by Ryan Katzer.
Berkshire Outdoor Shorts is produced and directed by Diane Pearlman and Jim Frangione. Production Sponsors include John Sharaf Photography of Richmond, MA and William Beautyman’s Limelight Productions of Lee, MA. The low-budget series is made possible by the contributions of several individual sponsors who are listed in all of the films. All donations and sponsorships to-date are matched by BFMC’s Community Film Fund, a fund to help local non-profits create impactful videos for their fundraising, branding, marketing, and social media.
“We’re excited about this new series,” said Frangione. “Depending on the response, we are looking forward to accepting submissions on a rolling basis to keep the series going!”
ABOUT GREAT BARRINGTON PUBLIC THEATER
Great Barrington Public Theater was founded as a collaboration of seasoned theater professionals and newcomers to professional theater, all committed to bringing new work, new voices, local talent, and always-affordable tickets to audiences in the Berkshires. Learn more at greatbarringtonpublictheater.org.
ABOUT BERKSHIRE FILM AND MEDIA COLLABORATIVE
The Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative (BFMC) creates educational, workforce and production opportunities in the film and media industry as an economic initiative for the western Massachusetts region. Learn more berkshirefilm.com.
April 22, 2020
For Immediate Release
Contact Mike Clary, MrMikeClary1@gmail.com, 518-267-0683
GREAT BARRINGTON PUBLIC THEATER PREMIERES BEAR TALES: SIX FEET TOGETHER, A FULL-LENGTH, FREE, ONLINE VIDEO PROGRAM OF NEWLY CREATED SOLO PERFORMANCES, INCLUDING A BRAND NEW PLAY WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY DAVID MAMET.
Great Barrington Public Theater today announced the April 27 release of a free online video program expressly created for theater lovers now taking the health advisory to stay safe at home. Bear Tales: Six Feet Together spotlights fresh work and stories from new and established voices. While primarily spotlighting the deep pool of talent residing in and around the Berkshires, it also includes a new one-woman play written and directed by Pulitzer Prize-winner David Mamet, with the accomplished Rebecca Pidgeon taking the role of famed reporter, critic and bon vivant Dorothy Killgallen.
“With stay-at-home social distancing the temporary new normal, a core group of our artists stepped forward with the idea to write and self-record a series of brand new works expressly for these extraordinary days.” Artistic Director Jim Frangione explains. “While our summer season remains in flux, for the last several weeks, we’ve been curating and creating boundary-pushing solo performances for video play.” Deann Simmons Halper, Executive Director of the Public adds, “Despite the uncertain times, we want to continue to engage our audiences with new voices, daring work and compelling theater. Each performance is exceptional and shows the ability and power of individual expression.” Frangione continues, “Many of these solo pieces were originally scheduled to premiere onstage for our Bear Tales Solo Performance Festival in late May, but will now be seen even sooner online. When we explained the project to David Mamet, he immediately expressed interest, and wrote and directed his wonderful take on Dorothy Killgallen.”
The standalone, free online program showcases performers, playwrights and storytellers, including Alexandra Angeloch, Michael Brady, Will LeBow, Elizabeth Nelson, Aimee Doherty, Cindy Parrish, Jessica Provenz, Andy Reynolds, Anne Undeland, and an especially captivating marionette theater piece by film and theater designer, art director, illustrator Carl Sprague.
The full list of Bear Tales: Six Feet Together titles will be announced when the production is released on April 27, on the company website. https://www.GreatBarringtonPublicTheater.org/
Great Barrington Public Theater was founded by Jim Frangione and Deann Simmons Halper to create opportunities for theater artists in the Berkshires and neighboring regions. Great Barrington Public Theater recognizes the many excellent playwrights, actors, directors, designers, administrators and technicians living in the Berkshires and surrounding areas. Our objective is to bring a mix of new and contemporary plays to the stage in a variety of formats; to generate and foster creative and rigorous opportunity for local theater artists, while engaging our theatergoing public with new and contemporary readings, workshops, and fully staged productions, involving local talent as often as possible, and keeping ticket prices affordable.
For Immediate Release
Contact Mike Clary, MrMikeClary1@gmail.com, 518-267-0683
Great Barrington Public Theater is looking for a few good bear stories.
Great Barrington Public Theater presents Bear Tales Solo Performance Fest May 28-June 7, at the McConnell Theater, Bard College at Simon’s Rock. The two-week festival brings together multiple solo performers presenting drama, dance, creative puppetry, music, truelife stories and monologues with different themes, subjects and styles. Artistic Director Jim Frangione is reserving time in the mix for a few live storytellers to present their original, creative bear stories onstage and is looking for submissions from local residents and artists. “Bear stories have been with us forever and people love to hear a good bear story. Many if not everybody in the Berkshires has a great bear story to tell. We’ll work with submissions and present a few stories as part of the solo festival.
The story can be about a real encounter with a bear, but doesn’t have to be. Get creative, make one up, and let us hear from you. We're looking for a good bear story, and you’ll have a roaring good time telling it.” The story can be true or fiction, should be no longer than eight minutes, and can be told in any form. Anyone can submit their story for consideration. The company is most interested in hearing from folks in and around the Berkshires. It must be an original story about a bear, and submitted by April 1.
No phone calls please. Send your story to greatbarringtonpublic@gmail.com. Give the bear facts or fiction in a story that takes less than eight minutes to tell, and be sure to let us know how to contact you. To learn more and enter your story, visit GreatBarringtonPublicTheater.org/ tellabearstory
For Immediate Release:
Contact Mike Clary, MrMikeClary1@gmail.com, 518.267.0683
GreatBarringtonPublicTheater.org
January 21, 2020
Great Barrington Public Theater is calling all actors, playwrights, storytellers.
Stand up and Roar! Be part of Bear Tales!
Great Barrington Public Theater is seeking submissions for Bear Tales, an exceptional Solo Performance Fest, May 28-June 7, featuring the brightest up-for anything local playwrights, performers, tall tale tellers, musicians, singers, puppeteers, chameleons, hop-scotchers, hip hoppers, soliloquists, silly walkers and powerhouse provocateurs.
If you have a cutting-edge, eight to twenty-five minute stage piece, submit it now and get ready!
Bear Tales will program solo mini-productions with images, music and media support. Be part of this two-week festival at the exquisite McConnell Theater, Bard College at Simon's Rock, Great Barrington, MA
Watch GreatBarringtonPublicTheater.org for updates and submit your synopsis, the first three pages of your script and a brief bio by March 1, 2020.
No phone calls, please. Email contact only greatbarringtonpublic@gmail.com
What Bear Tales is looking for:
Solo performance pieces—one person plays, monologues, real true stories, music, rap, puppets, any story or performance piece that is unique, engaging and presented in solo form. Ideal length is eight to twenty-five minutes. A few longer pieces will be considered.
Eligibility:
We’re seeking submissions from local artists residing within 50 miles of Great Barrington, MA, including Berkshire County, Upstate NY, Southern VT, Northwest CT and Western MA.
How to Submit:
Submit synopsis, first three script pages and bio by March 1, 2020, to greatbarringtonpublic@gmail.com
Artists will be provided a stipend, rehearsals, casting and script development by our creative team.
David Mamet
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Clary, MrMikeClary1@gmail.com, 518.267.0683
GreatBarringtonPublicTheater.org
GREAT BARRINGTON, January 10, 2020
GREAT BARRINGTON PUBLIC THEATER LIFTS CURTAIN ON BREAKOUT 2020 SEASON.
Great Barrington Public Theater unveiled plans for its 2020 season, to be produced at the Daniel Arts Center , Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington. In keeping with the Public’s core mission, the 2020 season will consist of new works and new voices, primarily spotlighting the deep pool of local area talent. Tickets will be price-conscious and affordable to all.
“We are thrilled to be locking down final details on this powerful lineup, and invite audiences from every community and corner in the Berkshires and beyond to join us for what promises to be a boundary-pushing season,” Artistic Director, Jim Frangione said. As Deann Simmons Halper, Executive Director of the Public explains, “We want to present top-line creativity to all audiences at affordable ticket prices.“
The Public’s curtain opens with Bear Tales, an innovative Solo Performance Festival of new works, from May 28 to June 7. Frangione describes, “Bear Tales will feature the best of area talent and will showcase new and established local playwrights, performers, storytellers, musicians, singers and puppeteers. Every performance will be a rich panoply of solo performances from the comic to the ethereal, music to mime, real true stories to bio plays.” The full list of Bear Tales titles, playwrights and performers will be announced at a later date.
Bear Tales will be followed by the East Coast premiere of The Christopher Boy’s Communion, a brand new play by Pulitzer Prize-winner David Mamet, from June 17 to July 5, directed by the Public’s Artistic Director Jim Frangione. Press opening, casting and ticket information for The Christopher Boy’s Communion will be released soon. “This new play touches on themes Mamet has grappled with many times over his storied career—persecution, prosecution, guilt, innocence and absolution,” says Frangione. Bear Tales and The Christopher Boy’s Communion will be staged at the Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230. More information can be found on the company site and on Facebook.
David Mamet (Playwright) is the author of the plays: The Anarchist, November, Boston Marriage, Faustus, Oleanna, Glengarry Glen Ross (1984 Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics Circle Award), American Buffalo, Race, The Old Neighborhood, Life in the Theatre, Speed-the- Plow, Edmond, Lakeboat, The Water Engine, The Woods, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Reunion and The Cryptogram (1995 Obie Award). His translations and adaptations include Faustus, Red River by Pierre Laville and The Cherry Orchard, Three Sisters and Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov. His films include The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Verdict, The Untouchables, House of Games (writer/director), Oleanna (writer/director), Homicide (writer/director), The Spanish Prisoner (writer/director), Heist (writer/director), Spartan (writer/director) and Redbelt (writer/director). Mamet is also the author of Warm and Cold, a book for children with drawings by Donald Sultan, and two other children’s books, Passover and The Duck and the Goat. His most recent books include True and False, Three Uses of the Knife, The Wicked Son, Bambi Vs. Godzilla, The Secret Knowledge and the shoot-em-up novel of Prohibition, Chicago.
Jim Frangione (Artistic Director) After more than ten years developing new plays with Berkshire Playwrights Lab, Jim is excited about the emergence of Great Barrington Public Theater as it heads into its second season. He directed Anne Undeland’s acclaimed new play, Lady Randy, at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox; David Mamet’s Romance at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater; Private Life at HERE Arts in NY; and An Evening of Shorts by Mamet, Pinter and Silverstein at the ART/Harvard Institute for Advanced Theatre Training. Jim’s play Breakwater, the second if his trilogy of Cape Cod plays received its premiere last June at the Daniel Arts Center at Simon’s Rock (Berkshire Theatre Critic’s Nomination) His play, Flight of the Monarch, received its world premiere at Gloucester Stage Company in 2017. Jim has acted for over 35 years; Off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theater in the original production of Oleanna, as well as the National Tour; in many plays with the Atlantic Theater Company, on Broadway and at regional theaters such as The Mark Taper Forum, Long Wharf, Alley Theater, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville—and most recently in David Mamet’s Prairie Du Chien at Atlantic and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Shakespeare & Company. Jim’s film work includes Joy; Transamerica; Spartan; Heist;, State and Main; The Spanish Prisoner; Homicide; Suits; Claire Dolan and Maryam.
Deann Simmons Halper (Executive Director) is an actor, director and producer. She has produced several New York and Regional productions including the OBIE-nominated Incommunicado and The Vagina Monologues. Halper has served on the board of directors for Circle Rep, New York Stage and Film, TriArts' Sharon Playhouse, Barrington Stage Company and Berkshire Playwrights Lab, and she is currently on the board of directors for Space on Ryder Farm and Board of Visitors at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Most recently Halper has appeared in QWERTY at Mixed Company; Death and the Maiden at New Stage; Four Dogs and a Bone with Berkshire Actors Theatre; and The Attic, The Pearls and Three Fine Girls at WAM Theatre, among many others.
Great Barrington Public Theater was founded by Jim Frangione and Deann Simmons Halper to create opportunities for theater artists in the Berkshires and neighboring regions. Great Barrington Public Theater recognizes the many excellent playwrights, actors, directors, designers, administrators and technicians living in the Berkshires and surrounding areas. Our objective is to bring a mix of new and contemporary plays to the stage in a variety of formats; to generate and foster creative and rigorous opportunity for local theater artists, while engaging our theatergoing public with new and contemporary readings, workshops, and fully staged productions, involving local talent as often as possible, and keeping ticket prices affordable.
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2019
For Immediate Release
Contact: Carol Bosco Baumann, carolbbaumann@gmail.com, 413.717.5232
GreatBarringtonPublicTheater.org.
GREAT BARRINGTON, June 10, 2019
New Work to Take Center Stage in The Berkshires
This spring, Barrington Public Theater-Southern Berkshire County's newest theater company focused on new work and local artistry-announces its inaugural production of the new play, Breakwater, written by the Barrington Public's Artistic Director Jim Frangione. The production is directed by local theater artist Kelly Galvin in the McConnell Theatre at Bard College at Simon's Rock, running from June 13 through June 23, 2019. Tickets are $25 and $30 and are available for purchase on BarringtonPublicTheater.org. Press previews are Thursday, June 13, Friday, June 14, and Saturday, June 15, 2019.
Helmed by Frangione, Deann Simmons Halper and Anne Undeland, Barrington Public Theater aims to recognize the many excellent playwrights, actors, directors and designers residing in the Berkshires and surrounding areas of northern Connecticut and upstate New York. The goal of the new company is to generate and foster creative and rigorous opportunity for local theater artists, while engaging the Berkshire's theatre-going public with new and contemporary readings, workshops, and fully-staged productions-all involving local talent with affordable ticket prices.
"I've been working with local playwrights for several years in South County, helping to create the Radius Festival and Berkshire Voices," said Frangione, former Co-Artistic Director of Berkshire Playwrights Lab. "My hope is that Barrington Public Theater will go a step further, giving area playwrights, actors and theater artists the opportunity to bring their work to full production. No other theater company in the Berkshires is solely focused on this aspect of the new work process, and no other company is dedicated to championing local artists. We're passionate about creating this opportunity."
Set in 1990 Cape Cod, Frangione's Breakwater is the story of Bobbi Herring, a combustible, twenty-eight year-old taxi driver struggling to overcome the deep wounds of her past and solve her life's biggest question. And then JFK suddenly appears in the backseat of her cab.
The cast of Breakwater includes area actors Leigh Strimbeck, Ryan Winkles, David Joseph, Anne Undeland, and newcomer to the Berkshire theater scene, Raya Malcolm.
"I could not be more excited for this new endeavor," said Halper, Executive Director for Barrington Public. "Jim's play is the perfect project to launch Barrington Public-it's funny and brilliant, and really showcases the talent of our community. Like Anne's Lady Randy, this play has been workshopped locally. We're thrilled to give it a home and a full production at the McConnell. We've also carefully selected a number of new plays to present in our Wet Ink Reading Series. Barrington Public has big plans for our local playwrights."
Barrington Public's inaugural first season will consist of a residency in June (2019) at the Daniel Arts Center on the campus of Bard College at Simon's Rock. As part of this residency, Barrington Public will present a reading series of new work in its new Wet Ink Reading Series: Dark Meat on a Funny Mind by Wesley Brown (June 4), There Are No Words by Andrew R. Reynolds (June 5), Bollywood 9/10 by Lonnie Carter (June 18), I'm Dying Up Here by Danny Klein (June 19). The Wet Ink readings are free to the public and will be at 7:00 p.m. in the Liebowitz Black Box Theatre in the Daniel Arts Center at Simon's Rock.
Kelly Galvin (Director - Breakwater) is the Director and Founder of the rig, a performance project that brings live performance to audiences that may have limited access to professional theater. This April, the rig toured its production of Pericles to shelters and assisted living communities in Massachusetts and the Hudson Valley. She will direct The Taming of the Shrew for Shakespeare & Company this summer and Native Gardens at Gloucester Stage this fall. She has been a company member with S&Co since 2008 where she has directed Love's Labor's Lost, The Clean House (reading), and served on the faculty of the Young Company Summer Conservatory. She served as Artistic Associate for WAM Theatre from 2012-2014, where she directed The Last Wife and readings of The Virgin Trial and Blue Stockings. Regionally, she has directed for Southwest Shakespeare, Boston Playwrights' Theatre, Berkshire Playwrights' Lab, The Theater at Woodshill, and the Boston University School of Theatre, and has assisted for the Guthrie, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Orlando Shakespeare, and Shakespeare & Company. Kelly received a Directing Fellowship with Asolo Repertory Theater and has completed Directing Internships with Arena Stage and the Huntington Theatre Company. She holds an MFA from Boston University and a BA from Wellesley College. kellydirecting.com
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