Concocting a new show, reviving a city

'See Rock' goes from page to stage at Musical Theatre Lab in Pittsfield

Above, from left: William Finn, who oversees the Musical Theatre Lab, ''See Rock City'' composer Brad Alexander and writer Adam Mathias, and musical director Vadim Feichtner. Below: cast member Jill Abramovitz and director Kevin Del Aguila. (Caleb Kenna for The Boston Globe)

PITTSFIELD - A come-from-nowhere hit can launch from anywhere, it seems. "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," which went on to Broadway acclaim and two Tony Awards, made its world premiere four years ago with Barrington Stage Company - in a high school cafeteria in Sheffield, population 3,335.

Still, when it comes to theater, it's nice to be thought of as somewhere. For Barrington Stage, that somewhere is now Pittsfield, the Berkshires city that hasn't always been known as a cultural hub. And the new musical "See Rock City & Other Destinations," now in previews as part of the company's Musical Theatre Lab, is a component of an ongoing effort to mark the map.

It's a fitting match, perhaps: "See Rock City," a loosely connected series of six vignettes, is built on themes of exploring the unfamiliar and taking leaps of faith. And for William Finn, the "Spelling Bee" composer/lyricist who oversees the Musical Theatre Lab, Pittsfield was once uncharted territory. Finn says that while he was a student at nearby Williams College in the 1970s, he never traveled here. Now he camps out in Pittsfield beginning in May and jokes that he won't return to New York until Yom Kippur.

"When we first started doing this, I said that I wanted to make Pittsfield the epicenter of the musical-theater universe," Finn says. "Everyone laughed and thought it was the funniest thing. But it's happening."

The process has started, at least. The lab, now in its third season, is exhibiting signs of real growth. In previous seasons, Musical Theatre Lab performances took place in a low-ceilinged room in Pittsfield's public library, a challenge for acoustics and lighting design. This year, there are striking new digs, leased from a struggling VFW hall, whose first-floor reception space has been converted into a black-box theater dubbed Stage 2.

It's part of Barrington Stage Company's increased physical presence in town. The administrative offices occupy what once was a dilapidated house. The company has renovated the main-stage theater next door, rents 23 large houses in town over the summer for cast and crew, and brought 45,000 patrons to performances in Pittsfield last year.

And the results are palpable, say Pittsfield officials, who have worked with the company to encourage renovations and community involvement.

"They help solidify our position as a cultural destination in the Berkshires," says Deanna Ruffer, the city's community development director. "They help strengthen our renaissance downtown."

The lab is also attracting artists as both a hospitable place to work and a legitimate launching pad. The creators of "The Burnt Part Boys" (2006), the lab's first production, now have commissions from New York's Lincoln Center and Playwrights Horizons. This summer, Tony-nominated actress Mary Testa used her vacation from her role in Broadway's "Xanadu" to stage performances of an original song cycle, "Sleepless Variations."

Barrington Stage artistic director Julianne Boyd says Pittsfield appeals to the New York crowd because it's comparatively safe.

"You're not worried about what the critics will say, what your friends are going to think, what every musical-theater maven in New York thinks," she says.

Of course, the theater mavens' accolades don't hurt. By the time "See Rock City" arrived at the lab, it was already earning praise in the entertainment community. Its book and lyrics won the BMI Foundation's Jerry Bock Award. They recently won the American Society of Arts and Letters' Richard Rodgers Award as well.

But the musical had yet to see a full-fledged staging. That's where Pittsfield comes in.

"See Rock City" had its origins three years ago when composer Brad Alexander and writer Adam Mathias attended New York's Raw Impressions Music Theatre workshop, a weeklong program pairing composers and writers who have never met. Alexander and Mathias were assigned to write a 10-minute musical about making a dangerous decision, and they created a piece about a woman considering taking the plunge - figuratively and literally - at Niagara Falls.

When they discovered they worked well together, they came up with the idea of a full-length musical travelogue. But finding time to write it was a challenge in itself. Alexander, 37, makes a living performing at a dueling-piano bar in Times Square. Mathias, 34, is vice president of a small New York software company. They convened by Alexander's piano in the evenings, building songs around musical hooks. A staged reading created enough buzz to catch Boyd and Finn's attention. Now, to take part in the Musical Theatre Lab, they've taken monthlong leaves from work. And they've been reveling in the full-time life of musical theater, watching seven actors portray their 14 characters and bring movement to their pop-influenced songs.

"We're playing out what our fantasy lives would be," Alexander says. "Wake up and have your coffee and rehearse."

Of course, this is a lab for a reason, and Finn is there for a reason, too. Taking a production from page to stage involves critiques, revisions, and unending work. Though he was largely hands-off in the early days of "See Rock City" rehearsals, Finn stopped by the practice room last week - a day before the first scheduled run-through - and dove into details.

He watched actors Gwen Hollander and Benjamin Schrader perform the opening vignette about a waitress who has never left her state but joins a customer who's headed for a mysterious tourist destination. When they arrive at Rock City and marvel at the vista, they launch into a song: "Mile after mile/ Endless sky, endless variation. . ."

Finn watched sitting at a table, head cocked. Then he pulled the script close, as Alexander dutifully handed him a pencil. When the performers were done, Finn's suggestions were specific. Consider rearranging the order of the scenes. Tweak the tune to that climactic song so it sounds more . . . climactic. ("Once you get little goose bumps, you don't want to lose them," Finn said. "And we lost them pretty quickly.")

As the comments piled on, Finn good-naturedly apologized.

"This is what mentoring is all about," Alexander replied.

"And then someone else has to do it," Finn quipped. But delivering tough love isn't always easy for him.

"Producers are often the enemy," he had said earlier in the day. "And I'm a writer. So I don't want to be thought of as the enemy."

But Mathias and Alexander seemed game for making changes, and for seeing their work get outfitted with a cast, a set, costumes, and an audience.

"For me, it was more nerve-wracking before we got here," Mathias said. Once they got to Pittsfield, the fantasy had begun.

Joanna Weiss can be reached at weiss@globe.com.