GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — In summer 2022, from early June to mid-August, Great Barrington Public Theater is expanding its season to introduce a new Solo Festival with four premiere, full-length, single-actor plays, followed by two new ensemble plays on the main stage. 

 

The Solo Festival lineup includes premiere works featuring Berkshire resident, and writer/comedienne Alison Larkin, multiple Emmy-nominated actress Sharon Lawrence, as well as new works by actor/writers Will LeBow and James Morrison. The ensemble plays will include a brand-new comedy by Mark St Germain, as well as a new drama.

 

"After last season's ringing success, we decided to widen our lens celebrating the concept of new work," Artistic Director Jim Frangione said. "We're very excited about these new works, all of which revolve around themes of humanity that we hope will resonate with audiences as we emerge from months of isolation."

 

Great Barrington Public Theater will bring this run of new plays to the Liebowitz Black Box Theater and the McConnell Theater in the Daniel Arts Center at Bard College at Simon's Rock, Great Barrington. Tickets will be priced between $20 and $50.

 

"We invite every theater lover here in the Berkshires, Boston, the Hudson Valley, New York City and beyond to be with us for an especially lively summer," Deann Simmons Halper, Executive Director added. "We're thrilled to present new comedies and dramas with superb writers, actors and designers as we look forward to lighting up the summer on two separate stages."

 

The Public's season opens in the Daniel Arts Center's Liebowitz Black Box Theatre with the Great Barrington Public Solo Fest running June 3 – July 10. This four-show series begins with "Grief," the Musical…a Comedy, written and performed by Alison Larkin, with music by Gary Schreiner and directed by James Warwick (June 3 – 12). 

 

Next in the Great Barrington Public Solo Fest (June 16 – 19), is Robin Gerber's new play, "The Shot," based on the life of Katherine Graham, the Pulitzer Prize-winning publisher of The Washington Post. "The Shot" is directed by local writer and director Michelle Joyner and stars Emmy-nominated and award-winning actress Sharon Lawrence in the role of Katherine Graham.

 

"Leave Your Fears Here" (June 30 – July 10) is a memoir written and performed by stage and screen actor James Morrison. The play will be directed by Housatonic resident Robert Egan, Artistic Director of the internationally renowned Ojai Playwright's Conference, where this piece was developed. 

 

The final play in the Great Barrington Public Solo Fest is "The Bard The Beat The Blues." This piece will run in rotation throughout the Solo Fest (June 8 – July 8). 

 

On July 14 with "Public Speaking 101," a brand-new comedy by Berkshire playwright Mark St. Germain, will run at the McConnell Theater mainstage. It will run through July 24. Jim Frangione will direct.

 

From Aug 4 to Aug. 14 "Things I Know to Be True," by award-winning playwright Andrew Bovell (Broadway–When the Rain Stops Falling) will run. Great Barrington Public will present the East Coast premiere of this new play. Judy Braha will direct.

 

More information on the ten-week, two-stage season can be found in the coming weeks as plans roll out on the Great Barrington Public Theater site and on Facebook. Tickets will go on sale on April 1, but seating is limited, especially in the case of the Berkshire Solo Series. Early purchase is encouraged.