At Barrington Stage, if Labor Day is about to arrive, so is William Finn and a whole stageful of new musical theatre masterpieces. In his annual grab bag of the year’s most promising new composers and lyricists there are always gems that resurface later. He may not have a crystal ball, but his ability to see talent in emerging artists is amazing.
So let it be noted that Barrington Stage Company’s Musical Theatre Lab (under the direction of Artistic Head of the MTL William Finn, Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Managing Director Tristan Wilson) will present the sixth edition of Songs by Ridiculously Talented Composers and Lyricists You Probably Don’t Know But Should… which will play Friday, September 2 and Saturday, September 3 at 8pm at Barrington Stage, 30 Union Street.
Tony Award-winning composer/lyricist William Finn (Falsettos, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) narrates this fresh, fun introduction to new voices in musical theatre. Direction is by Drama League Directors Project Musical Directing Fellow Shakina Nayfack (Assistant Director BSC’s The Game and Mormons, Mothers and Monsters).
A Labor Day weekend celebration of extraordinary new songs, Finn shares with the audience what makes a good lyric, why some work and others don’t – you’ll feel as if you’re in a master class in songwriting taught by the master himself.
Songs by Ridiculously Talented Composers and Lyricists You Probably Don’t Know But Should… features the talents of Celisse Henderson (BSC debut/Broadway: upcoming Godspell); Anne Nathan (BSC’s Disorder, A Mother, Daughter Vaudeville/Broadway: Roundabout’s Sunday in the Park with George, Assassins), and Taylor Trensch (BSC’s Mormons, Mothers and Monsters/La Jolla: world premiere of Little Miss Sunshine). Also appearing are BSC’s Musical Theatre Apprentices Taylor Anderson, Michael Hewitt, Hannah Richter, Michael Wessells.
Jahn Sood
Songs by Ridiculously Talented Composers and Lyricists You Probably Don’t Know But Should… is a production of the Musical Theatre Lab which is sponsored in part by Elayne Bernstein and Sol Schwartz and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The composers and lyricists represented are Will Aronson, Carmel Dean, Jeremy Desmon, Jessica DiGiacinto, Vadim Feichtner, Josh Freilich, Sarah Hirsch, Joe Iconis, Creighton Irons, Alana Jacoby, Karl Michael Johnson, Laura Kleinbaum, Dimitri Landrain, Gihieh Lee, Salomon Lerner, Brandon Michael Lowden, Bill Nelson, Micah Norvedt, Eric Price, Sam Salmond, Rachel Sheinkin, Jahn Sood, Jennifer Stafford, Katya Stanislavskaya, Liz Suggs, Frank Terry, Nikos Tsakalakos, Sarah Underwood, and Joel Waggoner.
The production features lighting by Mark Krasnov and sound by Ryan Peavey. Zachary Dietz is music director and Ryan Gohsman is production stage manager. Natasha Sinha is Associate Producer.
Songs by Ridiculously Talented Composers and Lyricists You Probably Don’t Know But Should… plays Friday, September 2 and Saturday, September 3 at 8pm at Barrington Stage, 30 Union Street, downtown Pittsfield. Tickets are $25-$35 and may be purchased at the Box Office at 30 Union Street, by calling 413-236-8888 or online at www.barringtonstageco.org.
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