Debra Jo Rupp To Star In Berkshire Premiere Of THE CAKE

Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in the Berkshires, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, presents the regional premiere of The Cake by Bekah Brunstetter (NBC's This Is Us). Previews begin June 21, with an official opening night on June 24, with performances through July 15 on the St. Germain Stage at the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center (36 Linden Street).

Faith, family and frosting collide in this touching and timely new comic drama starring BSC Associate Artist Debra Jo Rupp (winner of LA Stage Alliance Ovation and Drama Critics Circle Awards for her role of "Della" in The Cake). The Cake is directed by Jennifer Chambers (Echo Theatre's The Cake).

Della makes cakes, not judgment calls - those she leaves to her husband, Tim. But when her best friend's daughter comes home to North Carolina to get married, Della's life gets turned upside down when she realizes there's not just one bride, but two. She can't really make a cake for such a wedding, can she? For the first time in her life Della has to think for herself, forcing her to re-examine some of her deeply-held beliefs, as well as her own marriage.

The cast features Nemuna Ceesay (Broad City) as "Macy," Douglas Rees (BSC's 10×10 Play Festival; Peccadillo Theatre Company's The Show-Off) as "Tim," and Virginia Vale (South Coast Rep's A Doll's House, Part 2) as "Jen."

The Cake has scenic design by Timothy Mackabee, costume design by Tricia Barsamian, lighting design by Matthew Richards, sound design by Alexander Sovronsky. Casting by Pat McCorkle. Production Stage Manager: Robin Grady.

Debra Jo Rupp (Della) was last seen at Barrington Stage in Kimberly Akimbo (Berkshire Theatre Award) and Love Letters. A BSC Associate Artist, Debra Jo originated the role of Dr. Ruth in Dr. Ruth, All the Way at BSC, later moving Off Broadway under the title Becoming Dr. Ruth. Broadway: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Kathleen Turner. Off Broadway: Becoming Dr. Ruth (Drama Desk, Outer Critics, CT Critics Circle nominee); A Girl's Guide to Chaos; Frankie and Johnnie in the Claire de Lune, The Butcher of Bara-boo (Second Stage). Recent regional: The Cake (LA Stage Ovation Award, LA Drama Critics Circle Award), Deathtrap (Berkshire Theatre Group), Madagascar (Chester), Annapurna (TheaterWorks Hartford), True West, A Flea in Her Ear (Williamstown). Film credits include Big, Clockwatchers, Sgt. Bilko, She's Out of My League and over 200 television appearances, most notably: That '70s Show, Seinfeld, Friends, NCIS:LA, Elementary. Currently recurring on This Is Us and The Ranch with Sam Elliot (Netflix).

Performances of The Cake are as follows: Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30pm; Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 3:00pm. Opening night June 24 at 3:00pm. St. Germain Stage at the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center (36 Linden Street). Tickets: $15-$48. Barrington Stage Box Office: (413) 236-8888 or online at www.barringtonstageco.org.

Please note that The Cake contains adult content.

The Cake is sponsored by Judith Goldsmith. Sponsored in part by Art and Terry Wasser & Richard Ziter, MD.

Barrington Stage Company is a professional award-winning Equity regional theatre located in the heart of the Berkshires, in Pittsfield, MA. It was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and has a three-fold mission: to present top-notch, compelling work; to develop new plays and musicals; and to find fresh, bold ways of bringing new audiences into the theatre-especially young people. Barrington Stage garnered national attention in 2004 when it premiered William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin's musical hit The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee which later transferred to Broadway, where it won two Tony Awards. In 2009, BSC premiered Mark St. Germain's Freud's Last Session which later moved Off Broadway and played for two years. St. Germain's Becoming Dr. Ruth (which premiered at BSC as Dr. Ruth, All the Way in 2012) played Off Broadway at The Westside Theatre in 2013. BSC's all-time record-breaking musical On the Town was originally produced at BSC in 2013. In 2014, it opened on Broadway where it was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival. In 2016, Barrington Stage swept the? first annual Berkshire Theatre Awards by winning 20 out of the 25 awards. In 2016, BSC produced three World Premieres: Presto Change-O, Broadway Bounty Hunter and American Son, the last of which won the Laurents/Hatcher Award for Best New Play. In 2017, BSC won the "Best of the Berkshires Readers' Choice" for Best Live Theatre and produced the much-lauded revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Company, starring Aaron Tveit.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.BARRINGTONSTAGECO.ORG

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