#Stephen Sorokoff

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by Stephen Sorokoff Jan. 23, 2018

Photo Coverage: Lyrics & Lyricists Present The Bobby Darin Story at 92Y

Bobby Darin was the most captivating and versatile entertainer of his time, a singer/songwriter/arranger who effortlessly bridged the gap between rock 'n' roll, sophisticated nightclub swing, and folk. Lyrics & Lyricists' 2018 season kicks off with a celebration of Darin's life and improbable career in The Bobby Darin Story, with Tony Award nominee Jonathan Groff (Hamilton), David Pittu (The Front Page), George Salazar (Here Lies Love), Elena Shaddow (The Visit) and Stephanie Styles (Roman Holiday - SHN San Francisco). L&L producer Ted Chapin wrote the script and helms the creative team of director Alex Timbers, and music directors Andy Einhorn and Andrew Resnick, with musical staging by Chase Brock.

The 92Y had a swinging start to it's Lyrics & Lyricists Series this weekend with a blockbuster show celebrating the life and music of Bobby Darin. Ted Chapin with his first undertaking as L&L producer created a fascinating and entertaining production which had many in the 92Y audience commenting "move it to Broadway." In fact the 5 day event had many Broadway producers in attendance as the buzz about the show travelled from 92nd street to 42 street.

BroadwayWorld attended the show and you can check out photos below!

Bobby Darin was the most captivating and versatile entertainer of his time, a singer/songwriter/arranger who effortlessly bridged the gap between rock 'n' roll, sophisticated nightclub swing, and folk. Lyrics & Lyricists' 2018 season kicks off with a celebration of Darin's life and improbable career in The Bobby Darin Story, with Tony Award nominee Jonathan Groff (Hamilton), David Pittu (The Front Page), George Salazar (Here Lies Love), Elena Shaddow (The Visit) and Stephanie Styles (Roman Holiday - SHN San Francisco). L&L producer Ted Chapin wrote the script and helms the creative team of director Alex Timbers, and music directors Andy Einhorn and Andrew Resnick, with musical staging by Chase Brock.

Born a few blocks from 92Y, poor and suffering from rheumatic fever, Darin was not expected to live beyond his teenage years. Knowing he lived on borrowed time and determined to make it big, his too-short but extraordinarily dramatic life brought him such million-selling hits as "Splish Splash," "Dream Lover" and "Mack the Knife," an Academy Award nomination, marriage to actress Sandra Dee (Gidget, Imitation of Life) and a political awakening that saw him at Bobby Kennedy's side that fateful day in June 1968.

"Bobby Darin is perhaps an unexpected choice for Lyrics & Lyricists, " comments producer Ted Chapin, "but perhaps he is the perfect choice to begin my tenure as producer of the series. Darin is remembered mostly as a singer, but he was indeed a lyricist - which very few people realize - and a composer. He also led a remarkable life, with many twists and turns. I am lucky to have been able to assemble this creative team, all of whom have been united in trying to find the right way to present Darin's music while giving a sense of who he was as a person."

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Credit to Stephen Sorokoff

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Throwback to JLY at Café Carlyle - February 2016.  :o)  Photo Credit: Stephen Sorokoff for Broadway World. 

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STEPHEN SOROKOFF -YOU ARE THERE- JULIE BUDD & RICHARD SKIPPER

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Barrington Stage's NYC Benefit Raises $125,000 for New Works Initiative

Barrington Stage’s NYC Benefit Raises $125,000 for New Works Initiative

Click HERE for full coverage by Stephen Sorokoff. (Pittsfield, MA) Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, hosted its annual and most successful to date New York City Benefit, BSC/NYC, on November 13, to celebrate the New Works Initiative and honor composer Joe Iconis with the William Finn Award…

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Can’t wait for my Hamptons debut! Come see me “Raise the Roof”! @guild_hall on 7/31 at 8pm 📷 by Stephen Sorokoff

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~ Happy Opening Night to the cast and crew of The Royal Family of Broadway at Barrington Stage Company! ~

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(New York – November 6, 2017) Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, will host its annual New York City Benefit, BSC/NYC, on Monday, November 13, 2017, to celebrate their New Works Initiative and honor composer Joe Iconis with the William Finn Award for Innovation and Excellence in Musical Theatre.  This one-night only cabaret will take place at the Friars Club (57 East 55th Street).

Joe Iconis

William Finn

President of Rodgers & Hammerstein musical theatre organization Ted Chapin,  Tony Award nominee Marin Mazzie, Jason Danieley, and President of Sh-K-Boom Records Kurt Deutsch will serve as Honorary Chairs of the event, and Eda Sorokoff is Benefit Committee Chair.  The evening will begin at 6:00pm with a cocktail reception followed by an 7:30pm cabaret performance by some of Broadway and Barrington’s most beloved stars, including Jeannette Bayardelle (Broadway’s The Color Purple, BSC’s Company), Allison Blackwell (The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess National Tour, BSC’s Ragtime), Ellen Harvey (Broadway’s Present Laughter, BSC’s Company), Lauren Marcus (BSC’s Company), Kyle Dean Massey (Broadway’s Pippin, BSC’s The Pirates of Penzance), Jeff McCarthy (Broadway’s Urinetown, BSC’s Kunstler), Anastacia McCleskey (Broadway’s Waitress, BSC’s Broadway Bounty Hunter), Anne L. Nathan (Broadway’s Once, BSC’s Ragtime), Will Roland (Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen, BSC’s The Black Suits), Scarlett Strallen (Broadway’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, BSC’s The Pirates of Penzance), Will Swenson (Broadway’s Waitress, BSC’s The Pirates of Penzance), Stephanie Umoh  (Broadway’s Falsettos, BSC’s Songs by Ridiculously Talented Composers and Lyricists You Probably Don’t Know But Should…) and more.

BSC believes that if theatre is to thrive and create meaningful and new experiences for audiences, then it is vital to support playwrights and their visions of the world we live in. Through the New Works Initiative, BSC has enjoyed great success with several new works, including: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Freud’s Last Session, Dr. Ruth–All the Way, Dancing Lessons, American Son and Joe Iconis’ Broadway Bounty Hunter.

“New Works are the heart and soul of Barrington Stage. There’s nothing more important we do than work with writers to develop, and then to produce their plays and musicals in a totally supportive environment,” said Artistic Director Julianne Boyd.

Joe Iconis is a musical theater writer and a fixture in the New York/Pittsfield cabaret scene. His musicals Broadway Bounty Hunter (5 Berkshire Theater Awards including Best Musical) and The Black Suits have played Barrington Stage Company. Other musicals include Be More Chill, Bloodsong of Love, and the upcoming Hunter S. Thompson musical for La Jolla Playhouse.

“I am humbled and ecstatic to receive this gorgeous honor from Barrington, a theatrical home that has provided me and my family of collaborators support, inspiration, and transportation reimbursement stipends for many years,” said Mr. Iconis. “I am particularly honored to receive the award in the name of William Finn, one of my all-time favorite writers, musical theater or otherwise. Knowing that I’ve got the seal of approval from Julianne Boyd, Mr. Finn, and the genius community of human beings who make up Barrington Stage Company makes me feel like I must be doing something right. In this impossibly difficult world of American Musical Theater Writing, one needs all the encouragement possible to forge ahead and something like this is enough to make a fella keep at it for another lifetime or two.”

Tickets for BSC/NYC begin at $375. All proceeds benefit BSC’s New Works Initiative. For tickets and more information contact Collette Simkins at 413-499-5446 x125 or csimkins@barringtonstageco.org.

Barrington Stage Company recently announced two productions for their 2018 season – the world premiere of The Royal Family of Broadway, a new musical comedy based on The Royal Family by George S. Kaufman & Edna Ferber, by the Tony Award-winning creators of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; and West Side Story, in honor of Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbin’s 100th birthdays.

From the creators of the Tony Award-winning The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and creative team behind the Tony-nominated 2014 Broadway revival of On The Town comes the World Premiere of The Royal Family of Broadway, a masterful musical comedy love letter to the Great White Way. For the Cavendishes the show must go on! Set in the 1920’s and loosely based on the legendary Barrymore family, it centers on three generations of actors: an aging imperious grande dame, a Broadway star looking for love, a self-centered boozing leading man who has fled to Hollywood, and a promising ingénue – each having to make pivotal choices in their lives.

With a book by Tony Award winner Rachel Sheinkin (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), music and lyrics by Tony Award winner William Finn (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Falsettos, Artistic Producer of BSC’s Musical Theatre Lab), choreography by Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Joshua Bergasse (On The Town, “So You Think You Can Dance”) and direction by Tony Award winner John Rando (On The Town, Urinetown), The Royal Family of Broadway will begin previews on June 7, 2018 on the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage. Opening is set for June 13, 2018 and will run through June 30, 2018.

In celebration of the 100th birthdays of Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins, BSC will present West Side Story, based on conception by Jerome Robbins, with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The world’s greatest love story takes to the streets in this landmark Broadway musical. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is transported to modern day New York City, as two young lovers find themselves caught between warring street gangs. Their struggle to survive in a world of hate, violence and prejudice is one of the most innovative, relevant and heart aching musicals of our time. Directed by Julianne Boyd, West Side Story will feature choreography by world-renowned dancer, choreographer, and Tony nominee Robert La Fosse. West Side Story was originally produced on Broadway by Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince by Arrangement with Roger L. Stevens

Previews begin July 27, 2018 on the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage. Opening is set for August 1, 2018 and will run through August 26, 2018.

2018 Season Passes are now on sale and available at www.barringtonstageco.org or by calling 413-236-8888 or visiting the Mainstage box office (122 North Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201). Single tickets for The Royal Family of Broadway and West Side Story will be available in March 2018.

ABOUT BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY

Barrington Stage Company is a professional award-winning Equity regional theatre located in the heart of the Berkshires, in Pittsfield, MA.  It was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and has a three-fold mission: 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—especially young people. Barrington Stage garnered national attention in 2004 when it premiered William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s musical hit The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee which later transferred to Broadway, where it won two Tony Awards. In 2009, Mark St. Germain’s Freud’s Last Session ran more than ten weeks on Stage 2 and later moved Off-Broadway and played for two years. St. Germain’s Becoming Dr. Ruth (which premiered at BSC as Dr. Ruth, All the Way in 2012) played Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre in fall 2013. BSC’s all-time record-breaking musical, On the Town, was originally produced at BSC in 2013.  In 2014, it opened on Broadway with BSC as a co-producer, where it was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival. In 2016, Barrington Stage swept the​ first Annual Berkshire Theatre Awards by winning 20 out of the 25 awards. In 2016, BSC produced three World Premieres; Presto Change-O, Broadway Bounty Hunter, and American Son, which won the Laurents/Hatcher Award for Best New Play. In 2017, BSC won the Best of the Berkshires Reader’s Choice for Best Live Theatre.

Barrington Stage to Celebrate Their New Works Initiative and Honor Composer Joe Iconis at BSC/NYC Benefit Event (New York – November 6, 2017) Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, will host its annual New York City Benefit, BSC/NYC, on Monday, November 13, 2017, to celebrate their New Works Initiative and honor composer Joe Iconis with the William Finn Award for Innovation and Excellence in Musical Theatre.  

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(Pittsfield, MA) Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, is proud to announce the return of The Creative Place International/And Theatre Company production of Kunstler by Jeffrey Sweet, from September 13 – 24 at the St. Germain Stage at the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center (36 Linden Street).

Directed by Meagan Fay, Kunstler stars BSC veteran Jeff McCarthy (BSC’s Broadway Bounty Hunter, All My Sons, Sweeney Todd) as the self-described “radical lawyer” and civil rights activist, William Kunstler and Erin Roché (BSC debut) as the whip-smart student who opposes him.  The colorful, perpetually rumpled defense lawyer whose best-known clients include the Chicago Seven, inmates involved in the Attica prison riots, and members of the American Indian Movement, makes a case for his often unconventional style, in this wise and revealing play.

(Read Barbara Waldinger’s review of the production when it ran in May, 2017 at BSC.)

An American Civil Rights pioneer and attorney so famous he played himself on “Law & Order,” William Kunstler’s career defending “social outcasts” was as colorful as the man himself. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the ACLU from 1964 – 1972, he gained prominence serving as defense attorney for the Freedom Riders and the Chicago Seven as well as members of the Black Panther Party, Attica Prison rioters, the American Indian Movement, and Weather Underground. As an attorney in private practice in NYC, he continued to court headlines with controversial clients, from defending Omar Abdel-Rahman for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing to notorious mafia figures like John Gotti.

Jeff MaCarthy as William Kunstler.

Curtain call for “Kunstler” at BSC this past May. Jeff McCarthy and Erin Roché. Photo: Stephen Sorokoff.

The production is designed by James Fenton (sets), Elivia Bovenzi (costumes), Betsy Adams (lights), and Will Severin (sound). Production stage manager is Leslie Sears.

Kunstler performances: Evenings Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30pm; matinees Saturday at 2:00pm and Sunday at 3:00pm. St. Germain Stage at the Sydelle and Lee Blatt  Performing Arts Center (36 Linden Street). Tickets: $15-$48. Barrington Stage Box Office: (413) 236-8888 or online at www.barringtonstageco.org.

Jeff McCarthy (Kunstler) At BSC: Kunstler, Broadway Bounty Hunter, Man of La Mancha, Southern Comfort, All My Sons, Sweeney Todd, Follies, Mack & Mabel and a staged reading of Kunstler. Jeff recently starred Off-Broadway in Kunstler at 59E59 Theater. Broadway: Chicago (Billy Flynn), Urinetown (Lockstock), The Grinch Who… (Grinch), The Pirate Queen (Dubdhara), Side Show (Terry), Beauty and the Beast (Beast), Smile (Big Bob), Zorba (Niko), The Pirates of Penzance (Pirate King). L.A.: Les Misérables (Javert), The Three Sisters (Vershinin), A Little Night Music (Frederick), City of Angels (Stone). Off Broadway: Southern Comfort (Public Theater), Sympathetic Magic (Second Stage), Dream True (Vineyard), On the 20th Century (York). Regional: My Fair Lady (Guthrie), Kunstler (Hudson Stage), Fox on the Fairway (Signature Theater), Mame (Kennedy Center), Oliver! (Arena Stage), The Price and The Front Page (Long Wharf), Buried Child and Pantegleize (ACT, San Francisco), A Lie of the Mind (Denver Center). International: Iphenigia in Aulis (Athens Theater Center), Lady Be Good (La Fenice, Italy) TV: “Elementary”, “The Good Wife”, “Schweitzer” (title role), “Letterman”, “Love Monkey,” “Star Trek: TNG” and “Voyager,” “Ed,” “Law & Order(s),” “Cheers,” “Designing Women,” “L.A. Law,” “In the Heat of the Night.” Film: Starting Out in the Evening, Consent, RoboCop 2, Eve of Destruction, Rapid Fire, Cliffhanger. Jeff is the voice of the great Chuck Jones’ creation, Michigan J. Frog. Jeff recently starred in A Legendary Romance at Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Erin Roché (Kerry) Regional credits include: All’s Well That End’s Well, Othello, Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Winter’s Tale, Pygmalion (The Old Globe), Heist!, Post Wave Spectacular (Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville), Henry IV, pts. I & II (Actors’ Shakespeare Project), Done (Providence Black Repertory). Television: Forever (ABC). Training: BA, Brown University. MFA, Old Globe/University of San Diego.

Jeffrey Sweet (Playwright) plays include The Value of Names, The Action Against Sol Schumann, Bluff, Flyovers, American Enterprise, and Court-Martial at Fort Devens — have been presented in Chicago, New York and around the country. Awards include prizes from the American Theatre Critics Association, the Jeff Award, the Audelco Award, and an Outer Critics Circle Award. Books include Something Wonderful Right Away (about Second City), The O’Neill (about the O’Neill Center), The Dramatist’s Toolkit and What Playwrights Talk About When They Talk About Writing. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and EST and is an alum of New DramatistsMeagen Fay (Director) is a multiple Jeff Award-winning Best Actress (Chicago’s The Second City), as well as A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (Court Theater), who has appeared on and off Broadway, and been a regular on countless TV series, and films. Meagen can currently be seen as regular, and recurring regular on “Transparent” (Amazon), “Good Girls Revolt” (Amazon), and “Shrink” (Seeso). Meagen is an L.A. Critics Award winning director of Private Stories Public Schools, and Future Boyfriend (Los Angeles SCi-Fest.) Meagen first directed Kunstler for the New York Fringe Festival in 2014.

ABOUT BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY

Barrington Stage Company is a professional award-winning Equity regional theatre located in the heart of the Berkshires, in Pittsfield, MA.  It was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and has a three-fold mission: 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—especially young people. Barrington Stage garnered national attention in 2004 when it premiered William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s musical hit The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee which later transferred to Broadway where it won two Tony Awards. In 2009, Mark St. Germain’s Freud’s Last Session ran more than ten weeks on Stage 2 and later moved Off Broadway and played for two years. St. Germain’s Becoming Dr. Ruth (which premiered at BSC as Dr. Ruth, All the Way in 2012) played Off Broadway at the Westside Theatre in fall 2013. BSC’s all-time record-breaking musical, On the Town, was originally produced at BSC in 2013.  In 2014, it opened on Broadway with BSC as a co-producer, where it was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival.  In 2016, Barrington Stage swept the​ first Annual Berkshire Theatre Awards by winning 20 out of the 25 awards.  In 2016, BSC produced three World Premieres; Presto Change-O, Broadway Bounty Hunter, and American Son, which won the Laurents/Hatcher Award for Best New Play.

Barrington Stage Brings Back “Kunstler” in September by Popular Demand (Pittsfield, MA) Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, is proud to announce the return of…