PITTSFIELD, MASS.: Alan Paul, an acclaimed director with a long résumé in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia region, has been named the new artistic director of Barrington Stage Company (BSC). Paul will succeed the theatre’s co-founder and artistic director Julianne Boyd, who will retire at the end of the theatre’s 2022 season after a 27-year run with the company.
Paul currently serves as associate artistic director with the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., a position he took in 2007. His stagings of Camelot, Kiss Me Kate, and Man of La Mancha have been counted the theatre’s second-, third-, and fourth-highest-selling productions, respectively; Camelot won the Helen Hayes Award for Best Musical. His directing credits include work at Arena Stage, Signature Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Studio Theatre, and Round House Theatre. He holds a B.S. in theatre from Northwestern University.
Said Paul in a statement, “I am deeply inspired by the incredible staff and artists who have made BSC such a vibrant hub for both classics and new work. I am excited to build on BSC’s legacy as an incubator for new plays and musicals from a broad variety of voices. Musicals are my first love, and I plan to make the advancement of musical theatre a cornerstone of my vision. The Berkshires are a magical place for theatre, and I look forward to becoming an active member of the community.”
In a statement, Julianne Boyd said of Paul that he “has a history of bold and inventive work in new musicals and classics, both with the Shakespeare Theatre Company and at prestigious theatres around the country. I am so proud of the work we’ve done at BSC in close to three decades, but it is time for someone to lead the theatre in exciting new directions, both on our stages and in our community.”
BSC was co-founded in 1995 by Julianne Boyd, and its mission remains to continue producing and developing new plays and musicals, and to engage the theatre’s Massachusetts community with educational outreach programs. As of 2020, the theatre budget was close to $2.8 million.
