The summer has hardly begun and a trend of collaboration between theater companies is becoming obvious. It’s not a new idea, but is a concept that is likely to take root and flourish for years to come. It makes economic sense and provides actors long runs and an opportunity to make more income. It also has the potential to expose a play to a larger number of people.
Berkshire Theatre Group opened their summer season with “What The Constitution Means To Me” in collaboration with WAM Theatre. It was so successful several performances were added to the run. There is strong and reliable information that WAM will be working with Capital Rep to bring the production to Albany this September.
Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, MA. presents “Tiny Father” June 25-July 22. It’s about a man at a hospital where his daughter was born at only 26 weeks. Daniel never wanted to be a father – now he has three months to figure out how to handle his new role.
“Tiny Father” is a co-world-Premiere with Chautauqua Theatre Company in western-New York state. It moves to CTC where it plays August 4-17.
Later in the summer season Barrington Stage has another union. It is with Williamstown Theatre Festival on “A New Brain,” which runs on BSC’s mainstage August 16-September 10. It is a highly personal musical written by William Finn, a long time presence at Barrington Stage.
Another of Finn’s musicals, “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” was given its world premiere at Barrington Stage and the company’s Mr. Finn’s Cabaret space is named in his honor. Finn is a graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, the site of WTF’s productions.
Not to be misleading, Barrington Stage Company is also doing their own productions. Indeed, tonight previews begin for “Cabaret,” which opens Sunday and runs through July 8. It is the area directorial debut of Alan Paul, the new artistic director of BSC.
Non-professional organizations are also working together. Indeed, the idea of a collaboration can be as casual as the informal arrangement between Harbinger Theatre, Albany Civic Theatre and Sand Lake Center for the Arts, which is taking place this weekend and next.
The three organizations just teamed up to produce “The Motherf**ker with a Hat” which is at Albany Civic Theater. Running through June 25, the show is described as a play about “addiction, love, friendship and growing up.” Its author is SUNY University of New York at Albany graduate Stephen Adly Guirgis.
It’s an ideal play to follow ACT’s recent hit, David Mamet’s “American Buffalo.” A generation or two later Guirgis has taken Mamet’s mantle of being the spokesperson for those dismissed in society. Their struggles are not glamorous, but they are profoundly real and touching.
Guirgis, who won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for “Between Riverside and Crazy”, uses this play to describe the struggles of those whose lives are intertwined with drugs.
Sounding dreadfully serious, the work is quite funny and satirical as the playwright mocks the bureaucracy of drug rehabilitation as well as self-help programs. He also has much to say about friendship, loyalty and taking control of your own life.
Completing the triangle of collaboration is Brian Sheldon, who is directing the play. Sheldon is the executive director of the Sand Lake Center for the Arts, who recently hosted Harbingers production of “Dig.” In September, Harbinger’s will off “Custom Cuts” a new play, written by Sheldon. For more information go to Harbinger Theatre’s Eventbrite.
Theater attendance still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels. Therefore, it’s healthy to see theater companies sharing risk and expanding the audience for selective productions. It’s proof that the business part of show business is playing an important role in the creative process.
Bob Goepfert is theater reviewer for the Troy Record.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.
