New Play by Mamet in Summer Season at GBPT

Just a few scant days after Father’s Day, Great Barrington Public Theater reopens with a fully staged production of “Dad,” a comedy by award-winning Berkshire County-based playwright Mark St. Germain. 

St. Germain is best known for his plays that explore the lives and impact of famous figures (“Freud’s Last Session,” for example, and “Becoming Dr. Ruth” about Dr. Ruth Westheimer). 

This is his first autobiographical play, about the joys and the complexities of living with parents and siblings. The cast includes Mark H. Dold and Peggy Pharr Wilson, Broadway veteran Larry Bryggman and David Smilow. “Dad” opens on Thursday, June 24, and closes Saturday, July 3.

At the other end of the theater’s six-week summer schedule, from July 29 to Aug. 8,  is the East Coast premiere of David Mamet’s new play, “The Christopher Boy’s Communion.”

Mamet (who lives in Los Angeles) is a longtime friend of Great Barrington Public Theater Artistic Director Jim Frangione. In April, the theater was the exclusive venue for a “virtual” play written by Mamet and shot at his California home, starring his wife, the actress Rebecca Pidgeon, and exploring the life of journalist Dorothy Kilgallen.

“The Christopher Boy’s Communion,” set in present day New York City, is described as a “tense thriller,” about a (Catholic) mother’s efforts to free her son from prison after he murders and possibly rapes and mutilates a young (Jewish) woman who lives in their neighborhood. At its heart is the question of how far a parent will go to save a child.

The cast includes Kiera Naughton, David Adkins, Will LeBow, Diane Prusha and Kevin O’Rourke.

Both plays will be fully staged at the McConnell Theater mainstage in the Daniel Arts Center at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, Mass.

Between the two parentally themed shows is “Mr. Fullerton,” a new play by Berkshire County-based actor/playwright Anne Undeland. The show is directed by Judy Braha and is a flirty, even steamy, reimagining of a love affair between Berkshire County’s own Edith Wharton and a young dandy named Morton Fullerton. 

“Mr. Fullerton” will be performed between July 21 and Aug. 1 in the Liebowitz Black Box Theater at the Daniel Arts Center.

Tickets for all three shows are priced at $20 to $40.

“We welcome everyone in the Berkshires and beyond to come out, come back, be safe, comfortable, and join us for an exhilarating and lively summer,” said Deann Simmons Halper, executive director of Great Barrington Public Theater. “We’re presenting top-tier new plays and excellent artists to all audiences and looking forward to a rejuvenating season of fantastic theater on two stages.”

For more information and to order tickets, go to www.greatbarringtonpublictheater.org.

Berkshire County-based graphic designer Ben Hillman designed posters for this season’s productions of “Dad” and “The Christopher Boy’s Communion” at Great Barrington Public Theater. Hillman also designed the theater company’s logo.  Design by Ben Hillman​

Design by Ben Hillman​

Berkshire County-based graphic designer Ben Hillman designed posters for this season’s productions of “Dad” and “The Christopher Boy’s Communion” at Great Barrington Public Theater. Hillman also designed the theater company’s logo.  Design by Ben Hillman​

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