Press Releases

TONY AWARD WINNER HARRIET HARRIS TO CO-STAR IN BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY’S SWEENEY TODD
February 17, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
BSC Press Director Charlie Siedenburg, 551-655-0968

TONY AWARD WINNER HARRIET HARRIS TO CO-STAR IN
BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY’S SWEENEY TODD

Harris set to play ‘Mrs. Lovett’ opposite Jeff McCarthy’s ‘Sweeney Todd’

(PITTSFIELD, MA) February 17, 2010 - Barrington Stage Company (BSC), under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Producing Director Richard M. Parison, Jr., announces that Tony Award winner Harriet Harris will co-star opposite Jeff McCarthy in its summer production of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Tony Award-winning musical thriller Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, playing June 17 through July 17 at BSC’s Mainstage, 30 Union Street, Pittsfield. Directed by Julianne Boyd, the press opening is Wednesday, June 23 at 7pm.

Mrs. Lovett marks Harriet Harris’ debut at Barrington Stage. Currently featured in the Roundabout Theatre’s revival of Noel Coward’s Present Laughter, Harris won the 2002 Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her performance in Thoroughly Modern Millie on Broadway and is well known for her roles on TV’s "Desperate Housewives" and "Frasier." She was seen at the Roundabout Theatre in Old Acquaintance, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Crucible, and Man and Superman. Other New York credits include Cry-Baby the Musical; Jeffrey (Drama Desk nom.); Bella, Belle of Byelorussia (Drama Desk nom.); Innocents’ Crusade; Christmas on Mars; Rude Entertainment; and Hamlet. Harris has performed regionally at the Guthrie, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Paper Mill Playhouse, and the Kennedy Center. Her films include Memento, Monster-in-Law, Nurse Betty, Addams Family Values.

Harris joins Jeff McCarthy who returns to Barrington Stage to play the title role of Sweeney Todd following past performances in BSC’s Follies and Mack and Mabel. Jeff’s starring roles on Broadway include Billy Flynn in the revival of Chicago, Officer Lockstock in the original production of Urinetown, and Beast in the original production of Beauty and the Beast. Off-Broadway productions include Sympathetic Magic (2nd Stage), Dream True (Vineyard) and On the 20th Century (York). McCarthy’s regional credits include The Price and The Front Page (Long Wharf), Arms and the Man (Huntington), Bedroom Farce (Center Stage), The Misanthrope (Guthrie), Buried Child (ACT), Henry IV (Indiana Rep.), Sunday in the Park with George (Seattle Rep) and A Lie of the Mind (Denver Center).

Subscriptions for the 2010 season are on sale now for discounted prices and all handling fees waived through February 28. Subscriptions include Sweeney Todd (June 17 – July 17), Yasmina Reza’s Art (July 22 – Aug. 7) and Alan Ayckbourn’s Absurd Person Singular (Aug. 12 – 29). Single tickets go on sale March 1. Groups of 15 or more should contact Group Sales Manager Monica Bliss at 413-997-6112. For more information on shows, subscriptions and single tickets call the Box Office at 413-236-8888 or visit barringtonstageco.org.

About Barrington Stage Company

Barrington Stage Company, a professional award-winning Equity theatre located in the heart of the Berkshires, in Pittsfield, MA, was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd. Barrington Stage’s mission is three-fold: to present top-notch, compelling work; to develop new plays and musicals; and to find fresh, bold ways to bringing new audiences into the theatre—especially young people. Barrington Stage garnered national attention with William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin's Tony Award-winning musical hit "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," which began as a workshop at Barrington Stage in February 2004, was produced in its world premiere to critical acclaim that summer, and later transferred to Broadway's Circle-in-the-Square Theatre where it played more than 1,000 performances. For more information, log on to www.barringtonstageco.org.

# # #