Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield, MA
through March 10, 2019
by Jarice Hanson
What do ten playwrights, six actors, 2 directors, and one
wiz-bang parody of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Modern Major General” song have in
common? They all represent the fun, creativity, and whimsy of the ten plays in
Barrington Stage’s 8th Annual “10 X 10 New Play Festival.”
Though described by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd as an
opportunity to “escape from the cold winter months” the festival of short plays
has a greater function. They may be the “warm up” for the summer season,
allowing audiences to see the versatility that is the hallmark of Barrington’s
seasonal offerings. The six very talented actors appear in different plays as
completely different characters and yet, they capture the emotions that make us
human and relate to the audience with energy and verve that highlight the human
condition. The different plays move at lightning pace, but cover topics as
diverse as sexual misconduct, same sex marriage and a veteran’s memories,
faith, bravery, old fashioned chutzpah, parenting, memory loss, and a wedding
in which everything goes wrong.
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| Photo by Emma Rothenberg-Ware |
The talented cast includes Michael Fell, Sarah Goeke,
DeShawn Mitchell, Peggy Pharr Wilson, Keri Safran and Robert Zukerman. Five of
the plays are directed by Julianne Boyd, and the other five by Matthew Penn.
The actors move sets on and off of the stage while lighting and music serve signal
transitions and the mood of the next piece. There is not a single dud in the ten plays
but there were some clear audience favorites. One was “Twas the Day After
Christmas” by Steven Korbar, in which a tightwad attempts, for the 8th year in
a row, to return an artificial Christmas tree to a department store the day
after Christmas. The other was, “Cold Feet” by Brad Sytsma, in which a bride sits
amid chaos as members of the family and wedding party implode as the actual
service gets closer.
The “10 X 10
New Play Festival” also allows Barrington Stage Company to introduce the summer
season to patrons in the playbill, and this season is notable for the number of
World Premiers that will be shown on both the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage and the
more intimate St. Germain Stage. BSC has become a leader in innovative
interpretations of classic theatre and comedy, and has successfully introduced
audiences to new ways of thinking and responding with plays that can be
challenging and thought provoking. With the season’s kick off “10 X 10 New Play
Festival” Barrington Stage Company once again shows that we’re in for something
great this year.
