by Mark G. Auerbach
Aaron Tveit stars in Barrington Stage’s Company.
Sondheim’s “Company” Next at Barrington Stage
Stephen Sondheim’s critically acclaimed musical Company gets a new staging at Barrington Stage August 10-September 2. Juliane Boyd directs the musical, with its smart book by George Furth, and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, which includes the now standard showtunes “The Ladies Who Lunch” and “Being Alive”. Jeffrey Page will choreograph, Darren Cohen is music supervisor, and Alex Shields will music direct.
Aaron Tveit stars as Robert, an aloof 35 year old bachelor who seems unable to commit to a relationship, despite the mechanisms of his married friends and some casual girlfriends who gather to celebrate his birthday. Anthony Perkins was slated to star in the original production, but he withdrew before rehearsals began, and was replaced by Dean Jones, who left the show shortly after the Broadway opening. D.A. Pennebaker’s fascinating documentary about the recording sessions of Company’s original cast album., is a riveting portrait of Sondheim, Elaine Stritch, and the original Company cast at work. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1EB4912D95D64D00
Company is one of Sondheim’s most popular productions, revived on Broadway with Boyd Gaines, and Raul Esparza in the leads, and filmed at a New York Philharmonic concert with Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone starring. Elizabeth Stanley, seen at Barrington Stage in Ragtime and On The Town, co-starred with Esparza.
For details: 413-236-8888 or www.barringtonstageco.org
Michael Preston is Hartford Stage’s new Scrooge.
Of Note
Michael Preston will be taking on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge for the 20th anniversary of Michael Wilson’s beloved production of A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story of Christmas. Well known to Hartford audiences from his six seasons with the company playing Mr. Marvel, Michael Preston has performed on Broadway and internationally with the Flying Karamazov Brothers and is on the faculty at Hartford’s Trinity College. Preston follows in the footsteps of Bill Raymond, who retired last Christmas after 17 seasons in the role. Preston is an Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance at Trinity College. For details: www.hartfordstae.org.
Paul Phillips, Pioneer Valley Symphony Maestro, heads west to become Director of Orchestral Studies at Stanford University. In his 23 seasons as Music Director, he has led the PVS to new artistic heights. Under his direction, the PVS won three ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, and received the New England Public Radio Arts and Humanities Award.
Jackie Burns, the Connecticut Repertory Theatre alum and CT native who starred in the national tour of If/Then last summer at The Bushnell, is now the new “Elphaba” in Wicked on Broadway. Idina Menzel was the original Elphaba, and Burns replaced Menzel in If/Then on Broadway and the tour.
The Music Man at The Colonial.
Last Call…The Music Man
Early in July, Westfield News Group President Patrick Berry and I spent a Saturday morning on the Berkshire Theatre Group campus in Stockbridge, interviewing the casts of Million Dollar Quartet, Children of a Lesser God, Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo (Zoo story), and CEO Kate Maguire for a two-hour radio special on 89.5fm/WSKB. To view the special: https://vimeo.com/225433309
Ms. Maguire and her publicist Madelyn Gardner invited Patrick and I and our guests to see The Music Man at the Colonial as their guests. I couldn’t think of a better way to unwind from radio in a jewel box of a theatre, seeing a great American musical classic, staged by two colleagues and personal friends Travis G. Daly and Mark Gionfriddo–in the company of some people I love being with.
The Music Man, which brought back ”old fashioned values” to Broadway, when it premiered sixty years ago, is still bright and fresh and old-fashioned, and its score, from “76 Trombones” to “Marian The Librarian” is superb. Seeing one humdred people on the Colonial Stage, from the pros like Rylan Morsbach as Harold Hill, to the apprentices, and community theatre players and kids, was a well-made spectacle, thanks to Messrs. Daly and Gionfriddo, and choreographer Avital Asuleen.
The Music Man plays through August 6. It’s great summer fare for the entire family. For details: 413-997-4444 or www.berkshiretheatregroup.org.
Keep in Mind…
Arts Beat Radio welcomes TheaterWorks’ Rob Ruggiero on Friday, August 4 from 8AM-9AM. live from The Press Room in Westfield, MA, on 89.5FM/WSKB. C’mon down, caffeinate, and watch live radio; or tune in live on the airwaves, on Comcast ch. 15, www.wskb.org or at www.westfieldtv.org
Hold These Truths. Greg Watanabe stars in Jeanne Sakata’s play about the relocation of Japanese-Americans to internment camps during World War II, and the story of civil rights pioneer Gordon Hirabayashi, an American sociology student who resisted and fought against the violation of his family’s constitutional rights. His story is a 50-year journey of standing up for U.S. Constitution and confronting a culture of fear and prejudice. Sheila Siragusa directs New Century Theatre’s production, through August 5 at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School in South Hadley, MA. For details: 413-587-3933 or www.newcenturytheatre.org.
Jerry Noble and Bob Sparkman at Sevenars
Jerry Noble and Friends! A Sevenars concert tradition, returns to Worthington on August 6. Jazz clarinetist Bob Sparkman and Christopher James join Jerry for some jazz, classics, and other surprises. With some bossa novas and a Bengali surprise with special guests to be announced, there should really be something for everyone! For details: 413-238-5854 or www.sevenars.org.
José González and Sons bring their Criollo Clasico style is a blend of classical, folk, and contemporary Latin rhythms on August 6 to the North Hall Arts Festival in Huntington, MA. . Playing with González are his sons, Ahmed González on flute and guitar, and René González on percussion. For details: 413-667-5543 or www.northhallhuntington.org
Jose Gonzales and Sons
The Tempest, Shakespeare’s well-made ftnasy, gets a new production outdoors at Shakespeare and Company’s newly-constructed Roman Garden Theatre, the outdoor venue in Lenox, MA through September 3. Allyn Burrows, the new Artistic Director, stages the production. For details: 413-637-3353 or www.shakespeare.org.
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Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio. Mark produces and hosts ArtsBeat Radio on 89.5fm/WSKB Radio.
