Great Barrington Public Theater plans June 7 festive evening under the stars to benefit Berkshire Voices, and give a sneak-peek preview of Night at the Speakeasy cabaret starring Janelle Farias Sando, premiering this summer in the McConnell Theater.
At the heart of its mission, Great Barrington Public Theater is committed to presenting new work, especially by local playwrights. GB Public partners with Berkshire Voices playwrights’ group to incubate, develop and bring new plays to stage. Dog People, the lead-off production in the company’s 2024 season, was developed by Berkshire Voices member Leigh Strimbeck and given an initial public reading in 2022.
On June 7, 6pm, GBPT will hold a fun, entertaining event to benefit, support and celebrate the work of Berkshire Voices.
The stage program will spotlight Leigh Strimbeck, with Sheila Bandyopadhyay and Chris Tucci, and the two-person cast of Dog People, and give a first peek preview of Night at The Speakeasy, a GBPT cabaret featuring Janelle Farias Sando that plays on the McConnell stage July 26-August 11.
The twilight celebration will be held at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington, June 7th, 6-9pm It begins under a tent on the pastoral lawn outside the Daniel Arts Center with cocktails, wine, soft refreshments and savory, small plate hors d’oeuvres. Guests then move into the McConnell Theater for the spotlight presentations and preview of Night at the Speakeasy, followedby champagne and an assortment of sumptuous desserts under the stars.
“GB Public was founded to bring life-enriching new plays to the stage for local theater lovers and our growing visiting audiences, and to do so by working with the exceptional resource of stage artists and crews who call the Berkshires and nearby communities home,” the company’s Development Director Serena Johnson explains. “We’re planning this special, twilight event to show off the results of our dedication to new work and new voices, and to benefit the quiet but important work done by Berkshire Voices. It will be a fun, festive night of delicious small bites, drinks, congeniality and conversation, and a taste of the sensational new cabaret that Janelle Farias Sando brings to the McConnell Theater later this summer.”
Reservations for the June 7th benefit can be made on the GB Public tickets website.
The company’s four-show summer season plays May 31-August 25, on two stages in the Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, in Great Barrington, with the closing production staged in association with Shakespeare & Company at their Elayne P. Bernstein theater, Lenox. More information and tickets for summer productions are also available on the company site