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Barrington Stage Produces Eleemosynary
Barrington Stage will kick off its winter season in its new Studio Theatre in Sheffield with a production of Eleemosynary by Lee Blessing. A poignant drama with comic insights, Eleemosynary explores the family relationships among three generations of women: Dorothea, an eccentric and strong-willed grandmother; Artie, Dorothea's brilliant daughter who has fled the domination of her mother; and Echo, Artie's exceptionally intelligent but sensitive daughter who has been abandoned by her mother and raised by her grandmother.
The play's unusual title is a spelling bee word that means "charitable" or "the giving of alms." Echo is a spelling bee champion hoping to escape her conflicted world and gain a moment of personal distinction by becoming the world's best speller. Hence, words like eleemosynary, quiddity (essence or essential quality of a thing) and logodaedaly (playing with words) dominate Echo's thoughts.
Structured as a series of episodes and flashbacks, Eleemosynary illuminates the three women's lives as they explain, dissect and discover themselves in their struggle to balance their independence with their responsibilities to each other. Each pushes the other to the limits of their emotional endurance while, at the same time, seeking their admiration.
Nancy Franklin, a BSC alumni (from The Actor's Nightmare), will play the outspoken and quirky Dorothea. Ms. Franklin's Broadway credits include Charley and Algernon, The White House and Never Live Over a Pretzel Factory. Off-Broadway, she has appeared at the Public Theatre in Mod Donna, Rich and Famous, at Circle in the Square in Seven Days of Mourning and Eminent Domain, and at Manhattan Theatre Club in Messiah.
Jennifer Jordan will play the brilliant but emotionally-repressed Artie. Ms. Jordan holds a BFA in theater from Marymount Manhattan College. Ms. Jordan has toured with Light Theater Company, performing mime, magic and puppetry, and has appeared in many off- off-Broadway venues.
Vashti Poor, who plays the sensitive young Echo, is a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she attended the four-year training program at the Circle in the Square Theatre. She has appeared in productions of The Shadow Box, Three Sisters, After the Fall, Merrily We Roll Along, and MTV's You-Wrote-It, You-Watch-It with Jon Stewart.
Mira Hilbert directs the Barrington Stage Company production of Eleemosynary. In addition to directing, Ms. Hilbert has worn many theatrical hats, including that of actor, stage manager, production manager, company manager and graduate associate professor (at Ohio University). Her directing credits include Six Degrees of Separation, The Illusion, Blue Window, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and many others. She is currently Barrington Stage Company's Director of Education.
BSC's 90-seat Studio Theatre space was inaugurated last fall with a sold-out production of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill. Since that time, the first phase of renovations to the space has resulted in the removal of several false ceilings and the installation of stage and lighting equipment. The final renovations will be completed in the spring. Eleemosynary will be BSC's first-ever winter production.
Eleemosynary will run from February 13 through February 23, with performances on Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. There will also be one Sunday evening performance on February 16 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25-$30, with a 20% discount offered to seniors and students for Thursday evening and Sunday matinee performances. BSC's Studio Theatre is located at 18 Elm Court in Sheffield, directly behind the Wheeler & Taylor office building (across from the Sheffield Post Office) on Main St. (Route 7); for more info call 413-528-8888.
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