PITTSFIELD, MASS.: Barrington Stage Company has announced the lineup for its 2020 season, featuring eight productions that examine the American experience.
“Many of us are thinking about what it means to be an American,” said founder and artistic director Julianne Boyd in a statement. “We’re also considering that question on our stages this season, with works full of joy, passion, and substance.”
The season will open at the Boyd-Quinson mainstage with South Pacific (June 24-July 18). The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic will be directed by Julianne Boyd and choreographed by Shea Sullivan.
Next up on the Boyd-Quinson main stage will be The Assembled Parties (July 24-Aug. 8) by Richard Greenberg. Set in both 1980 and 2000, the play follows the unfurling family drama of an Upper West Side Jewish family on Christmas.
The Fats Waller musical revue Ain’t Misbehavin’ will follow on the Boyd-Quinson main stage (Aug. 13-Sept. 6). Conceived by Richard Maltby Jr. and Murray Horwitz, the co-production with Westport County Playhouse will be directed and choreographed by Camille A. Brown.
Another mainstage production will soon be announced.
Over at the St. Germain stage, the 2020 season will start with Lauren Yee‘s The Great Leap (May 27-June 13), in which an American college basketball team travels to Beijing for an exhibition game in 1989. Jesca Prudencio will direct.
Following will be Anna in the Tropics (June 18-July 11) by Nilo Cruz, directed by Elena Araoz. The play, set in a 1929 Cuban cigar factory, combines Tolstoy, the tropics, and the American dream.
The season will continue at the St. Germain with Chester Bailey (July 16-Aug. 7) by Joseph Dougherty. The production will star real-life father and son Reed Birney and Ephraim Birney. Ron Lagomarsino will direct.
The world premiere of A Crossing (Aug. 15-Sept. 6), a Barrington Stage commission, will be next at the St. Germain. The new dance musical about a group of migrants crossing the southern border is co-conceived by associate artists Joshua Bergasse and Mark St. Germain , with book by St. Germain, music and lyrics by Zoe Sarnak, created in association with Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, and directed and choreographed by Bergasse.
The 2020 Youth Theatre production will be another Barrington Stage commission, the world premiere musical The Supadupa Kid (July 30-Aug. 9), with book by Melvin Tunstall III, music by Joel Waggoner, and lyrics by Sukari Jones. Based on the novel by Ty Allan Jackson, the musical follows a normal kid after a freak accident grants him (and his bully) superpowers. Directed by Signe Harriday, the production will be presented outdoors and for free at the Common.
Founded in 1995, Barrington Stage Company’s mission is to present top-notch, compelling work, to develop new plays and musicals, and to find fresh, bold ways of bringing new audiences into the theatre.
