Barrington Stage Company facts for kids
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| Formation | 1995 |
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| Type | Theatre group |
| Location | |
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Artistic director(s)
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Julianne Boyd |
Barrington Stage Company (BSC) is a theater group in Western Massachusetts. It started in 1995 in Sheffield, Massachusetts. Julianne Boyd and Susan Sperber were the co-founders.
In 2004, BSC helped create a famous musical called The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. This show later won two Tony Awards on Broadway! After this success, BSC moved to a new, lasting home in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Before moving, the company was in a high school building. In 2005, they bought and fixed up the Berkshire Music Hall. This building became the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage. It has 520 seats and is at 30 Union Street. In 2012, BSC bought another building. They turned it into the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center. This center has the St. Germain Stage and a small theater called Mr. Finn's Cabaret. BSC also has the Wolfson Theater Center for offices and rehearsals. Their sets are built at the Production Center on Laurel Street. This big building helps them make and get sets ready for shows.
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The Mainstage Theatre: A Historic Stage
The Mainstage Theatre has a long history. It was built in 1912 and first called the Union Square Theatre. It hosted many different shows, like vaudeville acts and silent movies.
In 1983, the theater became the Berkshire Public Theatre. It put on plays until 1994. Then, it was known as the Berkshire Music Hall. When Barrington Stage Company bought it in 2005, they made many changes. They opened the renovated 520-seat theater in 2006. It was then named The Boyd-Quinson Mainstage.
Amazing Shows and Awards
Barrington Stage Company has won many awards for its plays. In its first year, BSC won an Elliot Norton Award for The Diary of Anne Frank. Later, their show Cabaret won two Elliot Norton Awards and four Outer Critics Awards. Cabaret was so popular it moved to Boston for more shows!
Freud's Last Session by Mark St. Germain was a very popular show. It played for 61 performances at BSC. Then, it moved to New York City for two years. Another play by St. Germain, Dr. Ruth All the Way, was also a big hit. It sold out at BSC and then moved to New York. There, it was renamed Becoming Dr. Ruth.
Here are some other great shows at BSC:
- Follies (2005)
- On the Town (2013), which moved to Broadway in 2014
- Breaking the Code (2014)
- The first-ever show of Dancing Lessons (2014)
- The first-ever show of American Son (2016), which moved to Broadway in 2018
- Pirates of Penzance (2016)
- Company (2017)
- West Side Story (2018)
Talented People at BSC
Many talented actors, directors, and writers have worked with Barrington Stage Company.
- Actors
- Gretchen Egolf
- Jeff McCarthy
- Debra Jo Rupp
- Elizabeth Stanley
- Directors
- John Rando
- Designers
- Choreographers
- Joshua Bergasse
- Playwrights and lyricists
- William Finn
- Joe Iconis
- Mark St. Germain
- Composers
- Jason Robert Brown
Helping New Plays Grow
Barrington Stage Company loves to help new plays and musicals get started. They have produced 36 new works by 2020. Nineteen of these new shows later moved to New York City stages.
Plays like Ears on a Beatle, The God Committee, and Freud's Last Session all started at BSC. They then moved to Off-Broadway in New York. In 2016, BSC premiered American Son. This play later went to Broadway and became a Netflix movie!
The Burman New Play Award
The Burman New Play Award started in 2018. It helps new writers by giving awards for their plays. Past winners include Stacey Rose and Daniella De Jesus.
The Musical Theatre Lab
The Musical Theatre Lab (MTL) began in 2006. Julianne Boyd and composer William Finn created it. MTL helps young musical writers develop their shows. By 2020, it had helped create 11 new musicals.
Many musicals from MTL have become successful. The Burnt Part Boys and Funked Up Fairy Tales are examples. Calvin Berger and See Rock City or Other Destinations also started here. The Memory Show and Southern Comfort also moved to other theaters. Joe Iconis worked with BSC on The Black Suits and Broadway Bounty Hunter.
Fun for Young Actors
Barrington Stage has a Youth Theatre program. It lets local teens work with theater professionals. They get to put on a real show! In 2019, they performed Hansel and Gretel. After a break, they created The SupaDupa Kid. This play was based on a book by local writer Ty Allan Jackson.
