Based on Composer's Experience, Pool Boy Surfaces With Johnson, Gettelfinger, Hickock | Playbill

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News Based on Composer's Experience, Pool Boy Surfaces With Johnson, Gettelfinger, Hickock Jay Armstrong Johnson, Sara Gettelfinger, John Hickock and more star in Barrington Stage Company's summer world premiere of Pool Boy, a new musical about a hotel pool attendant hoping to get his sneaker caught in the door of showbiz. It opens July 21 after previews from July 13 in Pittsfield, MA.

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Sara Gettelfinger and Jay Armstrong Johnson Photo by Kevin Sprague

Daniella Topol directs the musical by Nikos Tsakalakos (music and lyrics) and Janet Allard
(book and lyrics). The show is based on experiences that the composer had as a pool attendant. Performances continue to Aug. 8 at BSC Stage 2.

The cast features Johnson (Broadway's Hair) as Nick, Gettelfinger (most recently seen as Cruella De Vil in the national tour of 101 Dalmatians, Broadway's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) as Mrs. Duval, Sorab Wadia (London's Jihad! The Musical) as the Sultan, Cortney Wolfson (Broadway's Les Miserables revival) as April, Cliff Bemis (Irving Berlin's White Christmas) as Mr. Lopes, Hickok (Broadway's Little Women, Aida, Parade) as Mr. Duval and Jon Norman Schneider (Public Theater's Durango) as Jack.

BSC explains it this way: "What happens when an aspiring songwriter spends his summer serving cocktails to the rich and famous? In hopes of catching a break, he hobnobs with the big shots and is seduced by L.A.'s glitz and a sexy older woman. Love and chaos ensue in this rocking new musical set poolside at the Hotel Bel-Air, based on Nikos Tsakalakos' experience as a pool boy there."

The creative team includes music director Matt Castle, choreographer Shonn Wiley, scenic designer Brian Prather, costume designer Holly Cain, lighting designer Nicole Pearce, sound designer Brad Berridge and production stage manager Michael Andrew Rodgers.

Pool Boy is part of Barrington Stage Company's Musical Theatre Lab, which is under the mentorship of Tony Award-winning composer/lyricist William Finn. Allard and Tsakalakos previously penned the song "I Have a Lion," which has been performed in BSC's Songs by Ridiculously Talented…, Late Nite with Niko and Songs of a Night Owl.

Tsakalakos is a Rutgers University graduate with a B.A. in English literature with an emphasis on creative writing and poetry. As drummer and lead vocalist, his band Saint Friday has played the Los Angeles circuit, including venues such as the Viper Room, the Roxy and the Troubadour. In Los Angeles, he spent two years at the Academy for New Musical Theatre. In May 2008, he graduated with an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts as a composer-lyricist. He also worked poolside for three summers at the Hotel Bel-Air.

Allard is a playwright and bookwriter-lyricist whose recent works include Vrooommm! A NASComedy (published by Samuel French), plus Incognito, Loyal and Untold Crimes of Insomniacs, published by Playscripts, Inc. Her musical The Unknown: A Silent Movie Musical (with Shane Rettig and Jean Randich) won a Jonathan Larson Award with P73 Productions and appeared at the New York Musical Theater Festival. She is the recipient of two Jerome Fellowships at the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis. She is a Fulbright Fellow, has an MFA in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama and has studied at the NYU Musical Theatre Writing program.

Performances of Pool Boy are Tuesday through Friday at 7:30 PM, Saturdays at 4 PM and 8 PM, and Sunday at 7:30 PM.

For ticket information call (413) 236-8888, visit the BSC Box Office at 30 Union Street or visit www.barringtonstageco.org.

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Jay Armstrong Johnson and Cortney Wolfson Photo by Kevin Sprague
 
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