The Barrington Stage Company announced Wednesday that Alan Paul, associate artistic director of the Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington, was named the new artistic director of the Massachusetts stage company, known for producing notable new musicals and popular revivals and backing the turn. Take over a non-profit theater company in the western part of the state. Make Berkshire a cultural oasis.
Having worked with the Shakespeare Theater Company since 2007, Paul will succeed Julian Boyd, co-founder of the Barrington Stage Company who will retire at the end of the 2022 season after 27 years leading the company.
Paul’s programming for the troupe will begin with the 2023 season, officials said.
“He is a very talented and successful director, community leader, investor in the community, and committed to diversity and inclusion,” Marita Groto, the nonprofit’s president, said in a statement. “He has demonstrated a love of classics, musicals and new productions, as well as an extensive knowledge of the theatrical canon. increase.”
In a telephone interview, Paul said he had been a fan and audience member of Barrington for many years over the summer. “I come from a classical theater background, but musical theater is what I do the most – what I love.”
Paul added that as artistic director, he looks forward to the opportunity to continue reimagining old musicals and developing new musicals. Told. “I want to be part of it.”
When asked to give an example of such a production, he cites “Camelot,” produced by the Shakespeare Theater Company, with several adjustments to the classic musical to better focus on democratic themes. As for the new musical, he said it was inspired by “A Strange Loop,” a meta-musical about a black queer man and his art, which won Best Musical at this year’s Tony Awards.
“One of my jobs in the theater is to keep the great audiences they have and bring some new people to Berkshire,” he said.
Under Boyd, the company has expanded from what was once a modest nonprofit rental space in a high school in Sheffield, Massachusetts, to now operating five buildings in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the revival of ‘On the Town’ and ‘American Son’ have all been on Broadway and have produced many successful productions outside of Berkshire.
In his own statement, Boyd said he was “artistically connected” with Paul “from the moment I met him.”
“We are very proud of the work we have done with BSC for nearly 30 years, but the time has come for someone to take theater in an exciting new direction.”
