DOG PEOPLE to Open Great Barrington Public Theater's Summer Season

Great Barrington Public Theater will start its season with world premiere of Dog People, by Leigh Strimbeck a fun and revealing day in the park with two rescue dogs and a human pair who could use a playday off leash.
 
 At the heart of its mission, Great Barrington Public Theater is committed to presenting new work, particularly by local playwrights. Leigh Strimbeck is a member of Berkshire Voices, GB Public’s signature script development program where playwrights collaborate in a supportive environment to craft new plays. Strimbeck’s Dog People, which was given a first public reading in 2022, was chosen to kick off the company’s 2024 season, May 31-June 16, in the Liebowitz Theater, Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock.
 
GB Public’s Associate Artistic Director Judy Braha directs a cast of two playing an estranged couple and their sidekick, now counterpart rescue dogs who bring their own perspectives and insights to human dilemma.

“Our company actively looks for and develops new plays that speak to today,” Braha explains why the play was selected for production. “Dog People does so in a clever, inspired way that is meaningful yet whimsical and fun. As Leigh says, ‘it’s the story of two people, two dogs, one day in the park. The dogs are rescues, and their people need second chances too. Who really rescues who?’ Her script deals with issues many of us face; the search for meaning, grappling with loneliness and our shared wish for nurturing partnerships in life."
 
Dog People features Sheila Bandyopadhyay as Jesse and Betty, while Chris Tucci takes on the role of Avery and Atila. Both actors, who are accomplished and familiar to Berkshire audiences, bring clearly defined character, sensibility and humor to their crisscrossed roles.
 
“Leigh has written the kind of fast-paced play that sneaks up, and takes you in before you know it,’ Braha adds. "Dog people or not, everyone will come away smiling, and a little wiser about the human need for rescue, refuge, recovery and self-discovery in our fractured, topsy-turvy world.”
 
Dog People plays Thurs-Sat 7:30pm; Sat. & Sun. 3pm, in the Liebowitz black box theater, Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon's Rock, 84 Alford Rd., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Reservations can be made on the Great Barrington Public Theater website, or by calling the box office 413-372-1980.
 
GB Public’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 the 2024 summer productions are available on the company site.