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John Harbison's Opera The Great Gatsby

Emmanuel Music Preview of July 11 at Tanglewood

Music
By: David Bonetti - 05/16/2013
After its last outing at the Met a dozen years ago, Harbison's grand opera seemed to be forgotten. Now, a trimmer, more fleet version brings the works virtues to the fore. This is a preview of the July 11 performance at Tanglewood this summer.


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Pirates of Penzance Sings At American Rep

An Original Talented Take on Gilbert & Sullivan's Operetta

Theatre
By: Mark Favermann - 05/17/2013
Never expecting grandfather's version of the Pirates of Penzance at the American Repertory Theatre, this privateering musical crew gives a very different but rewarding production of the 19th Century English operetta gem. Set in an environment of a Tiki Bar married to a backyard lakeside pier with children's wading pools and and bamboo torches, ten performers go from badly dressed folksong singing beach goers to well-formed characters from the original production. Funny, lively and beautifully sung, this is a treat for the whole family.


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2013 National Design Awards Announced

Cooper-Hewitt Museum Honors Design Achievement

Design
By: Mark Favermann - 05/17/2013
The National Design Awards program celebrates design as a vital humanistic tool in shaping the world, and seeks to increase national awareness of design by educating the public and promoting excellence, innovation, and lasting achievement. This year's award-winners are from a variety of design disciplines.


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Julianne Boyd on Theatre as Church and State

Blurring Boundaries Between Artists and Critics

Theatre
By: Julianne Boyd and Charles Giuliano - 05/18/2013
Traditionally it was anathema for critics to talk to and socialize with those they write about. With print in decline and the rise of blogs that has changed. But what happens when we are all in bed with each other? It both enriches our understanding and compromises objectivity. The third and final installment of a dialogue with Julianne Boyd may be a case in point.


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At Home with Photographer Matuschka

Parrot Fever

Photography
By: Charles Giuliano - 05/19/2013
A former model, Matuschka, created a riveting self portrait revealing a radical masectomy. It was on the cover of the New York Times Magazine and has been published in a Time Life book as one the 100 most influential photographs of the 20th century. With the recent coverage of Angelina Jolie ironically Matuschka is back in the news. Yesterday we attended her 40 year retrospective of self portraits at Sohn Fine Arts in Stockbridge.


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Matuschka Reacts to Angelina Jolie

Renowned Breast Cancer Survivor Discusses Options

Opinion
By: Matuschka - 05/19/2013
Because her mother and grandmother succumbed to breast cancer the artist/ activist, Matuschka, got tested often. At precisely the age of Angelina Jolie she underwent a radical mastectomy to remove a tumor. Her self portrait on the cover of the New York Times Magazine proved to be iconic. Which is why this week Inside Edition woke her up to comment on the breaking news about Jolie. That prompted her to write this compelling article.


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EarSay: Iris Dement and Nora Jane Struthers

Iris Live at Bull Run and Nora Jane's New CD

Music
By: David Wilson - 05/19/2013
Although I did not know it was she or even know of her, I first heard the voice of Iris Dement while watching the final episode of Northern Exposure on July 26th, 1995.It was several years before I heard that voice again. In a live performance at Bull Run in Shirley I noted that while her vocal instrument has neither great range nor exceptional clarity, it does, however, embody a tapestry of tones that are conduits for a greater variety of passions and emotions than any other voice I know.


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Five First-Rate One Acts in New York

The Distinguished Workshop Theater Presents

Theatre
By: Susan Hall - 05/20/2013
The Workshop Theater is made up of 150 actors, directors and writers. In a small space, you are smashed up against the action. Each of the actors in this series found just the right balance between up close drama and in your face, It is particularly exciting to have performance next to you. You either enter the drama or embrace it or both.


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Matuschka, Artistic Activist, Activist Artist

Another Vintage Interview

Photography
By: Edward Bride - 05/21/2013
The former model, photographer and breast cancer awareness activist Matuschka is the subject of a current 40 year retrospective of her work at Sohn Fine Art in Stockbridge. Much of the work was created in the Berkshires as the jazz entrepreneur and journalist Edward Bride explored in a 2006 interview. Because of the media coverage of the recent elective surgeries of Angelia Jolie this proves to be both timely and provocative coverage of a courageous and interesting artist.


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Matuschka Maimed, Claimed and Famed

A Life and Career Defined by an Iconic Image

Photography
By: Charles Giuliano - 05/21/2013
A blessing and curse the life and career of the artist Matuschka has been defined by a single iconic image. It has both opened and closed work that came before and after the cover of the New York Times Magazine in 1993. The media entirely focuses on that image and her somewhat complex and freaky life. Attempts to evaluate her as an artist are few and far between. This is a stab at it.


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Yvonne Andersen on The Sun Gallery

Figurative Expressionism in Provincetown in the 1950s.

Fine Arts
By: Yvonne Anderson and Charles Giuliano - 05/10/2013
From 1955 to 1959 the artist Yvonne Andersen and her late husband, the poet Dominic Falcone, operated the legendary Sun Gallery in Provincetown. In one week shows over five seasons, with a combination of group, one man and two man shows they displayed work by about 100 artists. A selection of whom formed the nucleus of the figurative expressionist movement. This summer the Provincetown Art Association and Museum will focus on this activity in Pioneers of Provincetown curated by Adam Zucker. This is part one of a dialogue about that era.


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Aaron Neville at MASS MoCA

Launches Summer Concerts on May 25,

Music
By: MoCA - 05/03/2013
Aaron Neville's recent release, My True Story, is a collection of classic doo-wop numbers. To create the album, Neville teamed up with Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones and the legendary Blue Note label producer, Don Was. Showcasing the old-school rhythm and blues that were the key influences throughout his career, Neville covers The Drifters, The Clovers, and Little Anthony and the Imperials. "Opportunities like this don't come 'round very often," says Richards. "I grew up with these songs, like Aaron did. It's such a pleasure to play with a voice like that."


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On The Town Brilliant At Lyric Stage

As Good As It Gets Of Classic Revival

Theatre
By: Mark Favermann - 05/12/2013
Sometimes there is a rare theatrical event that is brilliantly performed and directed, thoroughly entertaining and totally wonderful. The Lyric Stage Company's On The Town is one of these. It is the story of three young WWII American sailors with one day in New York City to see sights, meet a special girl, and literally have the time of their lives. Leonard Bernstein's score melds perfectly with the witty book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green to create a magical musical experience. Directed by an inspired Spiro Veloudos, this show revival is as good as it gets. It could transfer directly to Broadway with little or no changes. Run to get tickets. It is that brilliant.


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Provincetown's Legendary Sun Gallery

Yvonne Andersen Part Two

Fine Arts
By: Yvonne Andersen and Charles Giuliano - 05/13/2013
After leaving Provincetown and Sun Gallery its co founder Yvonne Andersen acquired a global reputation as a pioneer of teaching video animation to children. This led to a position at the Rhode Island School of Design where she taught for 23 year with nine of them as department chair. Partnering with Red Grooms she was acknowledged in a recent Pace Gallery exhibition for creating one of the first Happenings in Provincetown.


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Barrington Stage Now Debt Free

Julianne Boyd Completes $7 Million Campaign

Theatre
By: Julianne Boyd and Charles Giuliano - 05/15/2013
Julianne Boyd, the artistic director of Barrington Stage in Pittsfield called for a morning chin wag about the upcoming season. That led to a lively discussion of the current state of theatre and impact of criticism. Now in its 8th season the company has just completed raising $7 million. This is part one of an extended dialogue.


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Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

Poignant Documentary Conflates Pain and Comedy

Film
By: Charles Giuliano - 05/14/2013
Seeing Joan Rivers on stage at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield prompted us to check out the video documentary. It was featured a couple of years ago in the Berkshire International Film Festival. With an appearance by the star at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington. Missed it. Having seen the bitch in heat we were curious to learn more about the insecure, fragile little girl from Brooklyn lurking behind that ferocious, grotesque, surgically altered mask. If you think you know Joan Rivers see this documentary and think again.


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Andris Nelsons New Music Director of the BSO

Appointment of Youthful Conductor Shocks Music World

Music
By: Susan Hall - 05/16/2013
With the numerous cancellations of former Music Director, James Levine, his inevitable retirement and a two year interregum, the past few years have been a nightmare for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Just in his mid 30s the Latvian born Andris Nelsons has been appointed as Music Director of the BSO and Tanglewood.


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Julianne Boyd Part Two

What Happens When Everyone Does Clybourne Park

Theatre
By: Julianne Boyd and Charles Giuliano - 05/17/2013
Surprise. Like every other regional theatre company Barrington Stage has scheduled Clybourne Park. What are the consequences when theatre companies all over America are presenting a short list of recent Broadway and Off Broadway plays and musicals? Does it mean a dumbing down of American Theatre with long term negative consequence?. Two of Barrington's productions this season On the Town and The Chosen have been recently presented by Boston's Lyric Stage.


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Brill Gallery and Eclipse Mill Gallery

Summer Schedule for 2013

Fine Arts
By: Ralph Brill - 05/20/2013
The Eclipse Mill at 243 Union Street in North Adams houses the Eclipse Mill Gallery, The Brill Gallery and River Hill Pottery and studio. The pottery is open daily and the two galleries on weekends through the fall. Both galleries have openings of new shows on June 15.


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Berkshire International Film Festival

Documentary Highlights May 30 to June 2

Film
By: BIFF - 05/21/2013
From May 30 to June 2 the Berkshire International Film Festival will be simultaneously be screened with many additional special events at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington and The Beacon Cinema in Pittsfield, The festival combines feature fikms and documentaries. There will be some 15 documentaries in the categories of Celebrity and Politics.


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Arena Stage Mary T. & Lizzy K.

Mary Todd Lincoln and Her Domestics

Theatre
By: Edward Rubin - 05/21/2013
The most beautifully written and deeply felt of Lincoln retellings is Tazewell Thompson’s play Mary T. & Lizzy K at the Arena Stage in Washington DC. Here the playwright, who is also the director, awards the play’s starring roles to Lincoln’s wife Mary Todd, her seamstress and confident Elizabeth “Lizzy” Keckly, and Ivy, Lizzy’s young assistant, both freed slaves. This production closed on May 5.


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Lafayette Cemetery in New Orleans

Remarkable Landmark and Heritage

Travel
By: Astrid Hiemer - 06/06/2008
Because of the ground water issues the burials in New Orleans are above ground in vaults. A tour of the Lafayette Cemetery in the Garden District reveals interesting evidence of the ethnic diversity of the Crescent City.


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Michael Feinstein Great American Songbook Initiative

Archive at Center for the Performing Arts Carmel, Indiana

Music
By: Charles Giuliano - 04/10/2013
As Ambassador of the Great American Songbook Michael Feinstein is a dynamo and one man band. The Third Season of his PBS series, with three episodes is currently airing. Recently, we visited the fast growing archive he established at Performing Arts Center in Carmel, Indiana where he serves as artistic director. The state of the art facility opened in 2011 and has become a destination for the appreciation of standards.


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Joe Turner's Come and Gone at Mark Taper Forum

John Douglas Thompson Soars in August Wilson's Play

Theatre
By: Jack Lyons - 04/30/2013
John Douglas Thompson got stood up on a date to see Joe Turner's Come and Gone at Yale Rep. It inspired him to give up a life in business to pursue what has evolved as a remarkable career in theatre. Berkshire audiences are familiar with his performances at Shakespeare & Company including last season's Satchmo at the Waldorf. He returns to the S&Co. this summer paired with Olympia Dukakis in Mother Courage, In LA, as Jack Lyons reports, he finally gets to play the August Wilson role that first inspired him.


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Edith Wharton at Home: Life at The Mount

A Study by Richard Guy Wilson With Photos by John Arthur

The Mount, East Facade
Architecture
By: Charles Giuliano - 05/07/2013
Edith Wharton was 35 in 1897 when, in collaboration with Ogden Codman, she published her first work, the widely influential treatise "Decoration of Houses." Eight years later, in 1905, she published her first work of fiction "House of Mirth. " By then the Whartons had been living in The Mount, their estate in Lenox, Mass. for three years. The mansion and grounds expressed many of her theories of architecture, interior deign, and landscape gardening. She left under unhappy circumstances in 1911 never to return to the home she no longer owned.


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Snagged

A 500 Word Mystery

Word
By: Gerald Elias - 05/09/2013
The premise for the story is intriguing: a 500-word mystery that required the following elements: a jug of bootleg moonshine, a stuffed swordfish, a 1959 Soviet armored limousine, and a dead gypsy! Gerald Elias, who resides in Utah and West Stockbridge, is author of the award-winning Daniel Jacobus mystery series (St. Martin’s Press).


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Sixth Annual Berkshire Salon

Eclipse Mill Gallery May 10 to June 2

Fine Arts
By: Charles Giuliano - 05/09/2013
The Eclipse Mill Gallery at 243 Union Street in North Adams launches its 2013 season with The Sixth Annual Berkshire Salon. The unjuried exhibition which includes work by 47 regional artists remains on view weekends, from noon to 5 PM, from May 10 through June 2.


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In The Heights Soars At SpeakEasy Stage

The Importance of Chasing Dreams & Finding Yourself

Theatre
By: Mark Favermann - 05/11/2013
Winner of four 2008 Tony Awards including Best Musical, In The Heights is a potent reminder of the importance of chasing one’s dreams while finding who you are and where you belong. Set in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood, this vital production with a distinctive Latin beat spices up traditional musical fare with hip hop, salsa and rap to tell the stories of the residents of this close-knit community. You will be dancing when you leave the theatre.


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Other Desert Cities at Old Globe Theatre

Dry as Dust in San Diego

Theatre
By: Jack Lyons - 05/11/2013
This is our fourth review of Other Desert Cities and second by Jack Lyons who also covered the play at Mark Taper Forum. We will have our fifth review next season from Indianapolis. It begs the question of why every city in American seems to be producing a short list of the same ten overexposed plays.


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Joan Rivers Torches the Colonial

The Queen of Mean Rips Pittsfield a New One

Joan Rivers at the Colonial.
Theatre
By: Charles Giuliano - 05/11/2013
With a mask like face, pulled as tight as a drum from numerous nips and tucks, the potty mouthed, eighty something going on sweet sixteen, Joan Rivers prowled the stage of the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield like a tigress in heat hungry for raw meat.


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Giulio Cesare a Triumph at the Met Opera

Natalie Dessay in Top Form

Music
By: Susan Hall - 05/12/2013
Handel took eight months to compose Giuilo Cesare, an unusually long time for him. Rinaldo was composed in two weeks. Harry Bicket, conducting with his hands, sometimes on a harpsichord which held his score, brought forward all the delights of this superb score.


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A Particularly Cunning Vixen Arrives at Juilliard

Julia Bullock Makes Her Mark in the Title Role

Music
By: Susan Hall - 05/01/2013
Conducting, Anne Manson displays a mastery of music and drama that should have a much broader audience. Julia Bullock, a young soprano phenom, won first prize in the Young Concert Artists Competition of 2012. Peter Sellars has taken note, and cast her in Purcell’s The Indian Queen at the Teatro Real in Madrid this fall.


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The Dawn of Egyptian Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Through August 5

Fine Arts
By: Charles Giuliano - 04/19/2012
Beyond King Tut and Cleopatra most folks know little or nothing about the thirty dynasties and 3000 years of Ancient Egyptian Art. The Met's special exhibition The Dawn of Egyptian Art provides a tantalizing encounter with the esoteric era prior to and during the founding dynasties.


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Birches and Baobab Trees

Ancient Spirit Trees

Photography
By: Astrid Hiemer - 11/15/2012
Birches have fascinated me for many years! In 2009 we were introduced to Baobab Trees during a trip to Senegal, West Africa. Baobab Trees are also ancient trees with attributions of mystical powers since Millennia. The photo project attempts to convey some of the mysteries.


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Barrington Stage Announces 2013 Season

On the Town and New Play by Mark St. Germain

Theatre
By: Barrington - 12/10/2012
Barrington Stage Company will launch its season with the musical On the Town from June 12 to July 13. It will be followed by The Chosen, Chaim Potok’s acclaimed novel has been adapted for the stage by Aaron Posner and Chaim Potok. A rare for Barrington Shakespeare play completes the main stage season with Much Ado About Nothing. The St. Germain Stage features The Chosen, Chaim Potok’s acclaimed novel which has been adapted for the stage by Aaron Posner and Chaim Potok. Followed by the musical Southern Comfort and a premiere of Scott and Hem in the Garden of Allah by Mark St. Germain.


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Jacob's Pillow 2013

Major Venue for Dance in America.

Dance
By: Pillow - 12/20/2012
The 2013 Jacob's Pillow season kicks off with a gala on June 15 and winds down on August 25. Three are numerous highlights including Dance Theatre of Harlem, Compagnie Käfig a word-of-mouth hit of Festival 2012, with six sold-out performances, the return of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, from Brazil Companhia Urbana de Dança, and a return of the stunning, French 3e étage which was astonishing with its 2011 appearance. The legendary Martha Graham Dance Company will perform. Subscriber ticket sales begin January 28 and go on sale to the public on April 8.


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Jackson Browne July 4th at Tanglewood

Esperanza Spalding August 4

Music
By: BSO - 01/08/2013
American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, along with special guest Sara Watkins, returns to Tanglewood for the first time in 15 years, on Thursday, July 4, 2013, at 7 p.m. to perform in the Shed, with fireworks following the concert. Mr. Browne last performed at Tanglewood with Bonnie Raitt on August 24, 1998. He made his first Tanglewood appearance on July 31, 1973.


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Ear Say for 2012's CDs

A Nod to

Music
By: David Wilson - 01/13/2013
Now anyone who can claim to have listened critically to all of the output in a 12 month period is clearly blowing hot air because if they did they would have no time for sleeping, reading or for other pursuits to which the younger and nimbler are prone.


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The Art of Scent, 1889 - 2012

New York’s Museum of Arts and Design

Fine Arts
By: Astrid Hiemer - 01/29/2013
Perfumes, fragrances and scents are everywhere in our lives - natural and artificial ones! The Museum of Arts and Design in New York challenges the American public for the first time to recognize creators and creations: Fragrances - as artists and 'Olfactory Art.' The Art of Scent exhibition presents convincingly developments of the last 125 years in the perfume industry, and fragrances that had the most impact over time.


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Ear Say: More CDs

The Haunted Windchimes and Bellowhead

Music
By: David Wilson - 02/04/2013
Two wild extremes each in their own way quite satisfying CDs comprise the pair we report on today. One hails from the mountains of Colorado and the other from the British Isles.


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The Steve Miller Band Tanglewood July 29

Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! August 29

Music
By: BSO - 02/04/2013
Tanglewood continues to fill out its dance card with more dino rock and popular entertainment. The geriatric Steve Miller Band will perform on July 29. The witty and fast-paced radio program Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! appears in the Shed on Thursday, August 29. Let the good times roll.


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Berkshire Theatre Group 2013 Season

From Oklahoma to Lion in Winter

Theatre
By: BTG - 02/16/2013
During the July Fourth weekend which launches the Berkshire season the Colonial Theatre will stage the perennial tribute to Ameriana the classic musical Oklahoma. The Stockbridge Main Stage will get a jump start on June 25 with Treat Williams starring in The Lion in Winter. Local legend Karen Allen, who made her directorial debut at the Unicorn Theatre with Moonchildren will return to that stage directing Extremities.


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Aspects of Chimeric Artificial Plasmids

Consequences of Circular DNA Molecules

Opinion
By: Jimmy Midnight - 03/02/2013
I’m a longtime student of a group of subjects that could collectively be called, “Molecular Biology." For the last few, maybe several months, I’ve been up on the internet, doing readings in this area, hoping that my “fresh eyes,” which are also those of a rock’n’roller and a visual artist, might see something that regular scholars are missing.


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Frida and Diego: Passion, Politics, and Painting

Atlanta's High Museum of Art Through May 12

Fine Arts
By: Charles Giuliano - 03/05/2013
The High Museum of Art, and the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto have collaborated to present Frida and Diego: Passion, Politics, and Painting. This is the most in depth effort yet to present the work of the famous couple of Mexican artists on a level playing field. On view through May 12 in Atlanta this is the only stop in the United States for a special exhibition with enormous popular appeal. While she resided in the shadow of his celebrity today the opposite is true.


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Unfamiliar Behavior: Works by Hye Yeon Nam

Jepson Center Savannah Through April 28

Fine Arts
By: Charles Giuliano - 03/06/2013
This is the first museum solo exhibition for Hye Yeon Nam but based on our delighted encounter with the kinetic sculptures and videos it won't be her last. The installation is on view at Savannah's Jepson Center for the Arts through April 28.


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Mana Contemporary Honors Marina Abramovic

Performance Artist Developing Hudson Based Museum

Fine Arts
By: Charles Giuliano - 03/09/2013
The performance artist Marina Abramovic is known for extreme, punishing rituals. They entail endurance over long intervals that recall the actions of the post war German artist Joseph Beuys or those of Chris Burden. Her work, with recreations of a number of her classic pieces with living performers were presented in a retrospective at MoMA with additional performances staged at the Guggenheim Museum.


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Nudel in Lenox Nominated for Food & Wine Award

Bjorn Somlo, Chef-owner Featues Unique Cuisine

Food
By: Pit Bulls - 03/12/2013
Bjorn Somlo, chef-owner of Nudel Restaurant in Lenox, has been nominated one of the top 100 chefs for The People’s Best New Chef award for FOOD & WINE® magazine. This is Somlo’s second nomination for an award honoring up-and-coming innovators who have run their own kitchens for five years or fewer.


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Longterm Impact of Monsanto's Roundup Seeds

Supreme Court Screws American Farmers

Opinion
By: Jimmy Midnight - 03/14/2013
Our science correspondent and organic farmer Jimmy Midnight explores in detail why our food ain't what it used to be. He states that. As a farmer myself, I would not use glyphosate, or plant any (Monsanto) Roundup Ready seeds, because I presume they’re not safe to use, eat, or feed. If it’s perfectly safe to eat or feed, why does it suddenly become dangerous in the hands of the world’s small-time agricultural operators? On May 13 The Supreme Court upheld the copyright of Monsanto against a farmer planting cheap, second generation seed purchased from a grain elevator.


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Eclipse Mill Gallery 2013

Season Launched with High School Invitational on April 20

Fine Arts
By: Charles Giuliano - 03/16/2013
The artist run Eclipse Mill Gallery at 248 Union Street in North Adams announces its program for the 2013 season. It starts on April 20 with the annual High School Invitational in cooperation with Mass MoCA. The always lively Berkshire Salon follows from May 10 through June 2. A diverse schedule is planned including photography by the late Leonard Freed, Pin Hole Photography, and large format photographs by Chad Kleitsch. Joan Carney will be featured during Open Studios in October. The season ends with holiday themed small works November 15 to December 22.


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Modern Lovers vs Aerosmith

Roadrunner or Dream On for Massachusetts State Song

Music
By: Charles Giuliano - 03/16/2013
A well-meaning state representative introduced a bill that would have made Modern Lovers’ “Roadrunner” the official state rock song of Massachusetts. Now, a pair of Boston-area representatives have introduced a rival bill to make Aerosmith’s “Dream On” the official Commonwealth rocker. Here's a bit of vintage show and tell about the bands.


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EarSay-Emma Jane & Christopher Crosby Morris

Another Best of 2012 and an Echoing Refrain from Decades Past.

Music
By: David Wilson - 03/17/2013
In this posting the pairing may seem unlikely at first. One artist is male, a senior citizen, an experienced artist with a well developed aesthetic while the other is female with the 21st century making up the majority of her life, little experience in comparison yet an aesthetic that while still evolving is already firmly anchored in the soul of a visionary artist.


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Joan Baez and Indigo Girls at Tanglewood

Shed Performance on Sunday, June 23

Music
By: BSO - 03/18/2013
American folk singer Joan Baez, and folk rock duo the Indigo Girls, have been added to the 2013 Tanglewood line-up, with a special concert in the Shed on Sunday, June 23, 2013, at 2:30 p.m. Joan Baez and the Indigo Girls last performed at Tanglewood on August 30, 1990. Also performing this year will be Barenaked Ladies, Ben Folds Five and Guster with support from Boothby Graffoe as part of their 30 city “Last Summer on Earth Tour” on Tuesday, July 23, 2013, at 7 p.m.


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Michael Feinstein and Barbara Cook Back Home in Indiana

Celebrating The American Songbook at Carmel’s Palladium

Music
By: Charles Giuliano - 03/26/2013
During our meeting of the American Theatre Critic's Association we visited Carmel, Indiana for an evening of The Great American Songbook with its Ambassador, Michael Feinstein and guest artist, Barbara Cook. For the audience of 1,600 filling the Palladium it was a love fest.


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Barrington Stage to Present Clybourne Park

Rehashing Regional Theatre

Opinion
By: Charles Giuliano - 03/27/2013
Claybourne Park, winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize and 2012 Tony Award for Best Play is coming soon to a theatre near you. Here in the Berkshires from September 26 through October 13 at Barrington Stage in co production with Vermont's Dorset Theatre Festival where it will run from August 15-31. It begs questions about regional theatre companies focused on a short list of recycled Broadway and Off Broadway plays.


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Michael Feinstein and Barbara Cook Meet the Press

Faith Prince and Megan Hilty To Join Feinstein at Tanglewood

Music
By: Charles Giuliano - 04/02/2013
When Michael Feinstein appeared at Tanglewood last summer Liza Minnelli hopped the train with him at the last minute and popped on stage to thrill the audience in The Shed with "New York New York." While Faith Prince and Megan Hilty are confirmed as guests this summer we asked him if there is a chance that Barbara Cook may also board his Lenox bound Chattanooga Choo Choo. Barbara, who loves Tanglewood, just smiled.


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Buzkashi! Shown at MASS MoCA

Final Film in Series: Compete! - The Human Tower

Film
By: Astrid Hiemer - 04/06/2013
Cinema Lounge at Mass MoCA screened the Canadian Indi-Film BUZKASHI! recently, which was shot in Tajikistan, Central Asia. Buzkashi, an ancient sport, is vaguely a cross between rugby and polo with few rules. The ‘ball,’ however, is a headless goat. There may be 200 riders on a huge field and slowly the film develops the game and its main characters into a fantastic tale set in a vast and fascinating landscape.


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Christine McCarthy ICA to Provincetown

In 12 Years $8 Million in Expansion and Renovation

Fine Arts
By: Christine McCarthy and Charles Giuliano - 04/25/2013
After seven years at the Institute of Contemporary Art, two of them as interim director, Christine McCarthy took a fifty percent pay cut to join the Provincetown Art Association and Museum as its director. Since 2001 she raised $8 to expand and renovate the Century plus institution. On her watch space has doubled with triple the budget, membership, and collection. This is the first of several installments of an extensive dialogue.


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Barrington Stage Company 2013

An Abundance of Riches

Theatre
By: Barrington - 04/16/2013
Here is the complete and final rundown, at least for now, of shows, cabaret, benefits and events for the 2013 season of Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Mass. The fun begins on May 22 and winds down on October 13.


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Provincetown Theater 2013

Schedule for Season Through December 22

Theatre
By: PTown - 04/20/2013
The Provincetown Theater underwent extensive renovation this past winter. It has just launched its 10th season which runs through December 22. After God of Carnage through April 28 is the World Premiere of a brand new musical by Zoë Lewis "ACROSS THE POND" through June 9. Then Pornocchio, The Provincetown International Film Festival, The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer, Payomet Festival of Family Theater & Circus Arts for Children, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife by Charles Busch, Mildred Fierce, and other delights.


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BIFF Announces 8th Season

Berkshire International Film Festival May 30 to June 2

Film
By: BIFF - 04/26/2013
The 8th Annual season of The Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) today announces the line-up to the action packed program showcasing over 75 of the latest in independent feature, documentary, short and family films from some 20 countries. The festival, which takes place from May 30 – June 2, 2013 in Great Barrington and May 31 – June 2nd in Pittsfield, MA, will bring films, filmmakers, industry professionals and film fans together for a four-day festival celebrating independent film featuring 27 documentaries, 25 narrative features and 24 short films.


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Williamstown Theatre Festival Casting

Kate Burton Returns Also Jonathan Brody and Steven Pasquale

Theatre
By: WTF - 04/25/2013
Williamstown Theatre Festival announces casting for the 2013 summer season’s slate of productions.


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P'Town's Christine McCarthy Part Two

Provincetown Art Association and Museum Turns 100

Fine Arts
By: Christine McCarthy and Charles Giuliano - 04/27/2013
Gearing up for its 100th anniversary, next year, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum's director, Christine McCarthy, is in the midst of extensive plans for exhibitions and publications. This is the second installment of an extended dialogue.


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Ear Say: John Fullbright and Ewan McLennan

Amazing Things Are Happening in Our World.

Music
By: David Wilson - 04/28/2013
The two artists whose recordings I comment on below are interesting in their comparisons and their contrasts. Both cds garnered considerable praise and attention in 2012. Oklahoma’s John Fullbright and his release were nominated for a Grammy, and Ewan McLennan’s was one of those selected in the UK’s best of the year lists.


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Provincetown’s Christine McCarthy Part Three

Renovating and Upgrading for the Next Century

Fine Arts
By: Christine McCarthy and Charles Giuliano - 04/29/2013
In addition to the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, the Library, and Fine Arts Work Center have been renovated while Provincetown Theatre built out a new facility. These changes occured, according to Chris McCarthy, the director of PAAM, "Because we had to." It represented the tipping point of preserving the legacy of America's oldest art colony and building for future generations.


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The Mount's Season Highlights

Sculpture, Theatre, Film, Music, Literature

Music
By: Mount - 04/30/2013
Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Tom Reiss, Shakespeare & Company, SculptureNow, BIFF and Lift E'vry Voice have something in common: they are all part of The Mount's 2013 summer season.


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Provincetown Launches Season

Life is a Beach

Travel
By: Charles Giuliano - 05/02/2013
Now that it is May beach resorts are launching the summer season. We got a jump by visiting Myrtle Beach and Tybee Island in February and a week on the Cape in April. We offer a preview of Truro and Provincetown with plans to return in the fall.


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P'Town's Christine McCarthy Part Four

Acquisitions, Endowment, and Education

Fine Arts
By: Christine McCarthy and Charles Giuliano - 05/01/2013
To fill gaps in the collection there are plans for 100 major acquisitions during the Centennial of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum in 2014. In addition to the $8 million raised for expansion and renovation there is a need to raise the current endowment of $3 million with another $8 million in pledges. In this final installment of an extensive dialogue McCarthy discusses progress and plans for announcements during the Centennial.


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Provincetown's Historic Dune Shacks. Going, Going….

Preserving a Remarkable Legacy

Architecture
By: Daniel Ranalli - 05/02/2013
This article on Provincetown's historic dune shacks was originally posted in 2007. It continues to attract readers through Google searches. With another season about to begin we are refreshing this article as a service to readers. They have spent time in the dune shacks several times since this article was written.


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Remembering Sir Colin Davis

Renowned Counductor was 85

Music
By: Gerald Elias - 05/03/2013
As Principal Guest Conductor of the Boston Symphony from 1972 to 1984, Sir Colin Davis not only conducted the orchestra four or five weeks a year, he also led some of the orchestra’s great recording projects: the complete Sibelius symphonies (some say the best set ever recorded), and music by Schubert, Mendelssohn and Berlioz. He also was a leading interpreter of Handel, Haydn and Edward Elgar.


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The Genius of Everyday Things At MIT

Practical Simplicity Married to Functional Elegance

Design
By: Mark Favermann - 05/03/2013
Hidden Heroes is a design exhibition that includes cases of objects, patent drawings, movies and advertising posters. Showcasing the importance of elegant design of seemingly simple but highly useful objects, this array of 36 classic items embodies ideals of modernism that are both relevant and popular. Here function literally follows form. In basic terms, this is the underlying story of the marriage of creativity, industry and invention.


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Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra

Performing a Great Work

Music
By: Gerald Elias - 05/03/2013
The first time I performed the Concerto for Orchestra I was moonlighting on last stand of the second violins in the New Haven Symphony. The New Haven Symphony has a long and respectable history as a semi-professional orchestra with many fine musicians. The gig also enabled me to pick up a few bucks for my Yale tuition.


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Dumbarton Oaks in the Spring

Gardens by Edith Wharton's Niece and Pre-Columbian Art

Fine Arts
By: Susan Hall - 05/05/2013
Dumbarton Oaks, the famous estate built on the highest point of the Georgetown section of Washington, DC, is a special treat in the spring.


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The Cape Cod Theater Coalition

Total Membership Now 22 Organizations

Theatre
By: CCTC - 05/07/2013
The Cape & Islands Theater Coalition is a collaboration of live performance theaters from Woods Hole to Provincetown and the Islands. Best known for its annual Theater Guide and Schedule which this year will be distributed to over 70,000 households and visitors throughout the Northeast, the Coalition also provides the latest theater performance calendars and news through its website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed.


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50th Theatre Festival in Berlin

Plays and Events Until May 20th

Theatre
By: Angelika Jansen - 05/09/2013
The current Theatertreffen in Berlin is presenting German language plays, classics and modern classics from Medea, War and Peace, to Orpheus Descending, as well as other theatre events and panel discussions. For non German speakers, Berlin will offer again the Berliner Festspiele in June and July of this year; more reasons for a trip to Berlin!


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Far From Heaven at Playwrights Horizons

Williamstown Production Transfers to New York

Theatre
By: TPH - 05/13/2013
Last summer the musical based on a film with the same title Far From Heaven was developed by the Williamstown Theatre Festival. With the original cast leads Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale from Williamstown it opens at New York's Playwrights Horizons on June 2 with a limited run through June 30.


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The Glass House: Philip Johnson's Masterpiece

From Its Inception A 20th Century Architectural Icon

Architecture
By: Mark Favermann - 07/08/2012
Conceptualized in 1945 and completed in 1949, architect Philip Johnson's Glass House almost immediately became a 20th Century architecture icon. Used by Johnson as a weekend retreat for 58 years, it is now shared with the public as part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is a pilgrimage mecca for architecture buffs to see the eccentric outer structures and contemporary art collection of Johnson and his longtime partner art curator/critic David Whitney. This is a visually-compelling experience of an architectural masterpiece.


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Saratoga: A Day At The Races

And Behind the Scenes

Word
By: Astrid Hiemer - 08/19/2012
We spent a fabulous day at the Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, New York, with our guide Don George, who has lived half of his life with horses as owner and trainer. 50 plus photos accompany the article, a visual story.


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Rita Coolidge Discusses Her Cherokee Heritage

Part One of a Dialogue with the Renowned Singer

Music
By: Charles Giuliano - 11/28/2012
Prior to a Christmas gig at the Clark Art Institute on Friday, November 30 we spoke at length by phone from her home north of San Diego. Now a grandmother of three by a daughter with former husband, Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson, we delved deeply into her Cherokee heritage. That led to rewarding collaborations exploring Native music with Robbie Robertson. This is part one of a dialogue.


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Two Time Grammy Winner Rita Coolidge

Delta Lady on Surviving Mad Dogs and Englishmen

Music
By: Charles Giuliano - 11/28/2012
Growing up the daughter of a Baptist preacher in Tennessee, as a kid, Rita Collidge listed to R&B broadcast by WLAC out of Gallatin.Hearing Little Richard for the first time she was shaking all over. After Florida State and a year in Memphis she drove to California with Leon Russell in his Thunderbird. She recorded with Delaney and Bonnie before heading out solo which she has been doing ever since. There was a stint as a duo with Kris Kristofferson the father of her daughter. Then the epic tour of Mad Dogs and Englishmen with Joe Cocker who remains a close friend. Through it all she remained level headed while true to her faith and values.


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Rita Coolidge at the Clark

Heart Warming Holiday Concert

Music
By: Charles Giuliano - 12/01/2012
Last night at the Clark Art Institute in ever sense there were chestnuts roasting on the fire as Rita Coolidge, backed by the Williamstown Gospel Choir, delivered a heart warming program of Christmas music. Between songs she chatted intimately with the audience sharing insights to her Cherokee heritage, comments about her one and only ex husband, Kris Kristofferson, and life on the road. The set of carols was peppered with top forty hits gleaned from two Grammy awards and a life on the road that started on tour with Delaney and Bonnie in the early 1970s.


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Ai Weiwei at Mary Boone and the Hirshorn Museum

Forge Evokes 5,200 Lost Schoolchildren

Fine Arts
By: Charles Giuliano - 12/15/2012
Americans are shocked and devastated by the slaughter yesterday of schoolchildren and teachers in Connecticut. The conceptual art installation Forge on view at New York's Mary Boone Gallery by Chinese dissident Ai Weiwie evokes the memory of 5,200 schoolchildren. They were killed when the Beichuan Middle School collapsed during a 2008 earthquake through shoddy, cost cutting, "tofu" construction. The Communist regime tried to bury the incident along with the victims. With dire consequences the artist strives to keep their memory alive against all odds.


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Xu Bing Language Lost

Mass College of Art 1995

Fine Arts
By: Charles Giuliano - 12/24/2012
Currently two massive sculptures comprising Phoenix by the Chinese artist, Xu Bing, are installed in the vast space of Building Five at Mass MoCA. We first were introduced to the work of the artist through a 1995 exhibition Language Lost at Mass College of Art. It was our first exposure to contemporary Chinese art which has since moved to the critical mainstream. This is a portfolio of vintage images of that earlier project.


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Xu Bing Phoenix at Mass MoCA

Mythical Birds Evoke Contemporary Issues

Fine Arts
By: Charles Giuliano - 12/26/2012
There were many daunting impediments in presenting Phoenix a vast sculptural installation by the leading Chinese artist, Xu Bing, at Mass MoCA. This third major project with contemporary Chinese artists remains on view in North Adams for the coming year.


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The Good Lovelies CD

Live At The Revolution

The Good Lovelies - Live At The Revolution
Music
By: David Wilson - 01/05/2013
Live At Revolution is the best CD that The Good Lovelies have yet produced. It satisfies completely. If it does not win industry notice, nominations and awards I will be amazed.


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John Hodgman Leads Solid Sound Comics

Wilco's Mass MoCA Festival June 21-23

Comedian John Hodgman will return to Mass MoCA’s Solid Sound Festival.
Music
By: Wilco - 01/30/2013
Comedian, author, television personality and historian John Hodgman returns to Solid Sound 2013 to present another hand-picked line-up of comedic talent on Saturday, June 22. The Solid Sound Festival, brainchild of the Chicago-based musical innovators Wilco, returns to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) in North Adams on June 21-23.


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The Solid Sound 2013 Update

Wilco at Mass MoCA June 21 to 23

Music
By: Wilco - 02/16/2013
Joining the three-day Wilco celebration at Mass MoCA will be the acclaimed singer and songwriter Neko Case, indie-rock heroes Yo La Tengo, jazz adventurists Medeski, Martin and Wood, Duluth's low-fi darlings Low and a reunited Dream Syndicate whose Solid Sound performance will mark the full band's first North American concert in 25 years.


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Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center Spring

Programming in Great Barrington

Theatre
By: Mahaiwe - 02/11/2013
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington announces spring 2013. Highlights include a talk by author and illustrator Brian Selznick followed by a screening of Hugo, Masters of the Fiddle with Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, humorist David Sedaris , singer/mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile and jazz pianist Brad Mehldau , Cirque Shanghai: Bai Xi, Paul Taylor Dance Company , "Live in HD" broadcasts by the Metropolitan Opera, London's National Theatre, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me!, as well as classic movies.


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New York City Ballet July 9 to 13

Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC)

Dance
By: SPAC - 02/18/2013
New York City Ballet brings to its summer stage at SPAC, a world-class program of astonishing breadth and brilliance. From iconic Balanchine gems like Serenade and Stravinsky Violin Concerto, to favorite works by Jerome Robbins including West Side Story Suite and Dances at a Gathering, to exciting new ballets by Peter Martins, Christopher Wheeldon and Justin Peck, the interplay of tradition and innovation in this season is exceptiona


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The Eccentric Barnes Foundation

Following Litigation Relocated to Philadelphia

Fine Arts
By: Charles Giuliano - 02/18/2013
After lengthy law suits breaking the iron clad will of Dr. Albert Barnes, his foundation relocated from its inaccessible suburban home in Marion to downtown Philadelphia in 2012. In 1992, The Barnes Foundation received court approval to send 80 works on tour to generate funds for needed renovations. The Foundation continued to struggle financially, hampered by poor management for a time, the isolation of its location, and local restrictions on parking which reduced the number of visitors. From its inception, the Barnes Foundation has been the focus of ridicule and controversy. Today the collection of 2,500 works is valued at between 20 and 30 billion dollars.


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Il Pane Degliangeli, Offering of the Angels: Paintings and Tapestries of the Uffizi Gallery

On View at Savannah’s Telfair Museums Through March 31

Fine Arts
By: Charles Giuliano - 03/07/2013
The venerable Ufizzi Museum in Florence has tarnished its reputation by packaging works from storage and sending them to four out of the mainstream American museums. We viewed the final destination of the revenue generating tour at the Jepson Center for the Arts in Savannah, Georgia.


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British Rocker Alvin Lee Dead at 68

Inspired Birth of Gonzo Journalism

Music
By: Charles Giuliano - 03/07/2013
A 1970 concert at Harvard Stadium by Ten Years After inspired the first published use of the word gonzo. We recall the birth of Gonzo Journalism on the occasion of the passing of British rock star Alvin Lee at 68.


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Wilco By Request June 22

Will Perform Songs That Stump the Band

Music
By: Wilco - 03/08/2013
On Friday, June 21 at the Solid Sound Festival at MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA, Wilco will perform a unique concert comprised exclusively of fan-requested songs, including covers. The band will take song submissions in advance and promises to learn fifty of those songs for the festival.


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Ai Weiwei: According to What?

Traveling Exhibition Tours Five Museums

Fine Arts
By: Charles Giuliano - 03/11/2013
We visited Ai Weiwei: According to What? at the Hirshhorn in DC mid February. The five museum tour or work by the dissident, iconoclast Chinese artist will be on view at the Indianapolis Museum of Art from April 5 through July 28. Ai who remains under house arrest in China is one of the world's most influential and controversial artists.


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Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival

Program for June 29 and 30

Music
By: SPAC - 03/12/2013
Following the successful celebration of the festival’s 35th anniversary in 2012, this year’s festival headliners include Tony Bennett, Buddy Guy, David Sanborn & Bob James, McCoy Tyner Quartet featuring special guest John Scofield, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Kevin Eubanks, Gregory Porter, and Rudresh Mahanthappa among others.


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Terence Blanchard at Tanglewood June 28

Performed in 2008 Tanglewood Jazz Festival

Music
By: BSO - 03/26/2013
The Terence Blanchard Group, featuring New Orleans’ jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard, joins the 2013 Tanglewood season line-up with a performance in Ozawa Hall on Friday, June 28, at 8 p.m. Mr. Blanchard first performed at Tanglewood during Jazz Fest on August 31, 2008.


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Mass MoCA's FreshGrass Festival

Performers Announced for September 20 to 23

Music
By: MoCA - 03/28/2013
Del McCoury, Leftover Salmon, The Infamous Stringdusters, Sam Bush, The Lone Bellow, and Dr. Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys are part of the first wave of performers announced for the FreshGrass festival. Bill Evans, Jerry Douglas, Alison Brown, Edgar Meyer and Mike Marshall, The Wood Brothers, Dan Zanes, Elizabeth Mitchell, Lake Street Dive, The Gibson Brothers, Noam Pikelny and Friends, John Reischman and the Jaybirds, Elephant Revival, Darol Anger, and Mandolin Orange are also confirmed.


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Dance Kaleidoscope of Indianapolis

A Program Set To Jacques Brel and Edith Piaf

Dance
By: Charles Giuliano - 03/28/2013
The performance of Piaf Plus which we attended in Indianapolis by the 41-year-old Dance Kaleidoscope was a compelling conflation of narrative inflected American Modernism with a decidedly French accent. The choreography was created by the company's 22-year-long artistic director and former member of the Martha Graham company, David Hochoy. While elegant and conservative the dance had spectacular elements evked by lead dancers Jilian Godwin and Zach Young.


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Indianapolis Museum of Art

Ai Weiwei: According to What Through July 28

Fine Arts
By: Charles Giuliano - 04/04/2013
Although Indiana is a staunchly conservative red state the Indianapolis Museum Art is currently hosting a survey of work by the world's most radical living artist. Ai Weiwei: According to What? will be on view through July 28. There is an encylopedic collection of some 54,000 works. We also visited the nearby 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park which opened in 2010.


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MASS MoCA’s Timely Reboot

Closes Oh, Canada and Opens Three Exhibitions

Fine Arts
By: Charles Giuliano - 04/07/2013
Set aside, a day, week, month or year to fully absorb and comprehend the obsessive/ compulsive details of a troika of new special exhibitions at Mass MoCA. The sprawling contemporary art museum in North Adams has just launched Mark Dion: The Octagon Room, One Minute Film Festival: 10 Years, and Life’s Work: Tom Phillips and Johnny Carrera. During a gala celebration we caught just a tantalizing glimpse of dauntingly dense and complex work.


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Williamstown Theatre Festival Updates

Adds Blood Play and Lewis Black

Theatre
By: WTF - 04/09/2013
Outrageous stand-up comic Lewis Black loves the Williamstown Theatre Festival. He returns this summer July 22, with My Fair Lewis. The festival has also added another play to the Nikos stage. Blood Play will run August 7 to 18. It is Written by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen. Directed and developed by Oliver Butler and made by The Debate Society. Here is the final complete schedule for the 2013 season.


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Winslow Homer: Making Art, Making History

On View at Clark Art Institute June 9 to September 8

Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910), West Point, Prout’s Neck, 1900. Oil on canvas, 30 1/16 x 48 1/8 in. (76.4 x 122.2 cm). Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1955.7
Fine Arts
By: Clark - 04/11/2013
On view June 9 through September 8, 2013, Winslow Homer: Making Art, Making History showcases some sixty oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and etchings, as well as approximately 120 rarely seen wood engravings. Drawing upon the resources of the Clark’s own holdings of nearly 250 works by Homer (dating from 1857 to 1904), the exhibition provides a variety of distinctive perspectives on this important American artist.


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ArtsEmerson Announces 2013-2014 Program

Fourth Season Starts September 17

Theatre
By: Emerson - 04/12/2013
ArtsEmerson announces the first half of its fourth theatre season, beginning in the fall of 2013. This announcement covers productions into January of 2014, with more winter/spring productions to be announced later. Tickets for these productions go on sale to ArtsEmerson members on April 12, and to the general public on May 3.


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Berkshire Theatre Group Adds Shows

Peter Pan, Just So Stories and Hunter Bell,

Theatre
By: BTG - 04/15/2013
Berkshire Theatre Group announces three additions to its 85th summer season: the 8th Annual Children's Theatre Production, Peter Pan, at The Colonial Theatre, Just So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling, at The Neil Ellenoff Stage and a special writers workshop with Hunter Bell, of the Tony nominated show, [title of show]


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Imagine Beethoven's Fifth As It Premiered

Interpretation: A Case for Broad Perspective

Music
By: Gerald Elias - 05/04/2013
How wonderful it would be to be able to hear Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony exactly as it was heard at its premiere! Or would it? The classical violinist, conductor and author Gerald Elias discuses how great masterpieces evolve over time.


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Huntington Theatre Co Gets 2013 Tony

Regional Tony Award Goes to Huntington for Body of Work

Theatre
By: Rebecca Curtiss - 04/30/2013
One of the most prestigious and coveted honors in the entertainment industry, the Regional Theatre Tony Award is presented each year to honor a nonprofit professional regional theatre company in the United States that has displayed a continuous level of artistic achievement contributing to the growth of theatre nationally. It is awarded by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing based upon a recommendation by the American Theatre Critics Association. This year it was awarded to Boston's Huntington Theatre Company.


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Williamstown Theatre Festival and the Tonys

32 Nominations for Current and Past Artists

Theatre
By: WTF - 04/30/2013
The 2013 Tony Award nominees were announced this morning and 32 members of the Williamstown Theatre Festival family have been nominated - including six that will visit this summer!


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The Birds of James Audubon

New York Historical Society Exhibits Watercolors

Fine Arts
By: Richard Friswell - 05/04/2013
John James Audubon (1785-1851) was not the first person to attempt to paint and describe all the birds of America, but for half-a-century he was the young country’s dominant wildlife artist. His seminal Birds of America (1827-39), a collection of 435 life-size prints, quickly eclipsed others’ work and remains a standard against which ornithological renditions that followed are measured.


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Oberon Is A.R.T.'s Cutting Edge Second Stage

Programming for May

Theatre
By: A.R.T. - 05/07/2013
OBERON, the American Repertory Theater’s second stage and club theater venue, continues its mission to bring exciting and original programming. A destination for theater and nightlife on the fringe of Harvard Square, OBERON is the home of the A.R.T.’s hit productions of Beowulf, The Lily’s Revenge, Futurity, The Donkey Show, Cabaret, and Prometheus Bound and Ryan Landry’s Rocky Horror Show,OBERON is also a thriving incubator for local and visiting talent.


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Charles Giuliano Romanian Photo Exhibition

Festivalul International de Jazz Garana, Romania July 21-24

Photography
By: Charles Giuliano - 07/04/2011
Jazz on a Summer's Day. The German/ Romanian artist, Elisabeth Ochsenfeld, has curated an exhibition of vintage, black and white photographs of leading American musicians by Charles Giuliano. The portraits have been enlarged and laminated for outdoor display during the Festivalul International de Jazz Garana, Romania July 21-24. Following the event the images will be donated to a museum in Garana.


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Tanglewood 2013

Five Pops But No James Taylor

Music
By: Charles Giuliano - 11/27/2012
Because three Pops concerts last summer drew audiences of 10,000 each the number is upped with two more this coming season. The kickoff on June 23 will feature comic and banjo player Steve Martin. On the all important and yet to be fully announced July 4th weekend Keith Lockahrt will conduct Pops with guest artist, the Country singer, Vince Gill. Michael Feinstein and Audra MacDonald are also penciled in for Pops as well as the perennial John Williams Film Night and the epic Tanglewood on Parade.


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Newport Jazz Festival 2013

Wayne Shorter's Birthday Celebration

Music
By: Newport - 01/15/2013
One year away from celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival, George Wein, Producer and Chairman of the Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc., announces the program for the 2013 Newport Jazz Festival presented by Natixis Global Asset Management, which will be held in Newport, RI, August 2 - 4.


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Renee Fleming and Susan Graham Sing French Songs

Two Reigning Divas Reduce Symphony Hall To Their Personal Salon,

Music
By: David Bonetti - 02/04/2013
In a program of French salon music, Renée Fleming and Susan Graham give the vocal recital a shot of adrenalin. Both Fleming and Graham are endowed with big warm voices, creamy or buttery or honeyed - whatever comparison you prefer. They sing together like a hand in a glove, their voices intertwining so that you can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.


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The Flying Dutchman at Boston Lyric Opera

Closes Season With American Premiere of 1841 Critical Edition

Music
By: David Bonetti - 05/07/2013
The Boston Lyric Opera assembled a sterling company of singers adept at Wagnerian style while music director David Angus conducted a white-hot orchestra. Its presentation of Richard Wagner’s early work, “The Flying Dutchman,” his first mature success, to commemorate the bicentennial of the composer’s birth, was not only one of the largest productions in its history, but it was the U.S. premiere of a newly prepared critical edition of the work.


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Chicago Shakespeare Theatre 2013

Four New World Stage Presentations

Theatre
By: Bard - 11/21/2012
Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces four new World’s Stage presentations in 2013—bold theatrical events from across the globe, each in its own voice, provoking discussion on issues of international significance. On the heels of celebrating the Year of Creative Scotland with two critically acclaimed National Theatre of Scotland productions this fall, Chicago Shakespeare Theater continues to demonstrate its commitment to engage audiences in global issues.


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Melissa Ethridge at Tanglewood June 21

Pops Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration June 22

Music
By: Tanglewood - 01/16/2013
Tanglewood is filling out its dance card with pop bookings. Singer-songwriter Melissa Etthridge will be featured in the Shed on June 22 with Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration the following night. Good times will be had by all.


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Williamstown Theatre Festival 2013

Third Season for Artistic Director Jenny Gersten

Theatre
By: Charles Giuliano - 02/25/2013
Highlights of the 2013 season include: Animal Crackers, Pygmalion, and a new musical adaption of Bridges of Madison Country on the Main Stage. The smaller Nikos Stage will feature American Hero, Hapgood, and Johnny Baseball. The Free Theatre will stage a version of Dracula by Steve Lawson.


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Kate Burton and Nicholas Martin

Return to Huntingon for the 2013-2014 Season

Theatre
By: Huntington - 03/05/2013
The complete 2013-2014 Season will include four plays at the Boston University Theatre on the Avenue of the Arts, three plays at the Wimberly Theatre in the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, and one play in the Roberts Studio Theatre in the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA.


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Indiana Repertory Theatre

Announces 2013/2014 Season

Theatre
By: Rep - 04/11/2013
The Indiana Repertory Theatre will launch its season with Arthur Miller's The Crucible. This will be followed by eight productions for a full and diverse program.


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Festival International de Jazz de Montréal

34th Festival from June 28 to July 7.

Music
By: Jazz - 04/30/2013
Featured artists in this year's Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, June 28 to July 7, includes Aretha Franklin, Wayne Shorter, Chucho Valdés, George Benson, Oliver Jones; the absolutely essential Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, John Abercrombie, Ravi Coltrane, Bill Frisell Holly Cole and Boz Scaggs as well as many more.


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MASS MoCA Launches 14th Season

Wide Range of Programming Begins Memorial Day

Opinion
By: Charles Giuliano - 05/02/2013
MASS MoCA's summer will include music from seasoned performers like Bettye LaVette and rising stars like Gabriel Kahane with Rob Moose, the annual Bang on a Can Festival of Contemporary Music, Wilco's Solid Sound Festival, and "circus punk marching band" Mucca Pazza.


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The American Repertory Theater

Announces Its 2013/14 Season,

Theatre
By: A.R.T. - 05/03/2013
The 2013/14 Season, includes the previously announced Robert Schenkkan’s play All the Way and the world premiere of the musical Witness Uganda. Also: All the Way – by Robert Schenkkan, The Heart of Robin Hood – by David Farr, The Light Princess – a family show for the holidays, The Shape She Makes – conceived by Susan Misner and Jonathan Bernstein, choreographed by Susan Misner; written and directed by Jonathan Bernstein and The Tempest – adapted and directed by Aaron Posner and Teller (of Penn & Teller).


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Mad Jacks BBQ in Pittsfield

Launching the Barbecue Project

Food
By: The Pit Bulls - 05/11/2011
This is the launch of the Barbecue Project. The mandate is to seek out, taste, and report on ever restaurant and pit in the Berkshires. Of which there are now quite a few. We will focus on ribs and pulled pork as well as evaluate sides and the all important variety of sauces. We got off to a great start with Mad Jacks in Pittsfield. With a promise to return to JackJack's Soul Food, also in Pittsfield, when Terrell serves barbecue on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.


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JackJack’s Soul Food in Pittsfield

Searching for Elusive Barbecue

Food
By: The Pit Bulls - 08/04/2011
Both together and separately the Pitt Bulls (Cisco and Pancho) have visited JackJack's Soul Food in Pittsfield. The one man operation of chef Terrell Ortiz has demonstrated flashes of brilliance and inspiration. But without extra help for prep a general lack of consistency. The full menu has not been available during our several visits. This is the second in an ongoing series surveying barbecue and soul food in the Berkshires.


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Barbecue in the Berkshires

Asian Ribs at Flavours in Pittsfield

Food
By: Pit Bulls - 08/22/2011
Flavours, a basement restaurant at 75 North Street in Pittsfield is not what comes to mind when seeking out neighborhood rib joints. It is just an aspect of the diverse menu of the Malaysian born chef Sabrina Tan. Not just in the Berkshires, however, her Asian style barbecue is in a class by itself.


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99 in Pittsfield

Not Exactly a Rib Joint

Food
By: Pit Bulls - 09/28/2011
For a chain the barbecue at 99 was surprisingly good. The full rack of St. Louis style rubs was cooked perfectly. But finished with a generic barbecue sauce. No matter how they are done the steak tips at 99 are always terrific.


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Bounti Fare BBQ

All You Can Eat in Adams

Food
By: Pit Bulls - 09/30/2011
Pancho took a pass on the BBQ buffet at Bounti Fare in Adams. He didn't miss much. If you are looking for a bargain and tons of food then check it out. But if you really deeply care about BBQ, well, that's another matter.


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La Fogata in Pittsfield

Miguel Gomez Serves the Taste of Colombia

Food
By: Pit Bulls - 11/12/2011
For those seeking authentic Colombian cuisine La Fogata in Pittsfield has become an essential destination. It is readily accessible on a main route into the downtown. It has been a favorite restaurant of Pancho's for several years. We compared notes of multiple visits to give an in depth report on the full range of an extensive menu. The chef and owner Miguel Gomez brings family food of the other to the starving Berkshires.


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Panchos Mexican Restaurant in Pittsfield

Numbingly Mediocre Tex Mex

Food
By: Pit Bulls - 01/19/2012
In the heart of Pittsfield driving or walking by Panchos Mexican Restaurant looks lively and enticing for those hungry for flavorful, affordable ethnic food. The cuisine however did not match the colorful decor.


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Desperados in North Adams

Lunch with Los Amigos

Food
By: Pit Bulls - 01/21/2012
Hands down, Desperados is the best Mexican restaurant in North Adams. Since it opened a year or so ago it has been a popular destination with a combo of affordable, not very spicy food, in a tight space that makes for noisy evenings.


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Easy Ersatz Paella

Spanish Saffron and Seafood Essential

Food
By: Cisco - 02/25/2012
For a recent dinner party we made a deep dish version of seafood paella. While not exactly like what we have enjoyed in Spain it was a great success. It is easy and quick to prepare. But not cheap as it calls for the essential ingredient saffron. Definitely do try this at home.


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Mission Bar and Tapas

A Hot Spot in Pittsfield

Food
By: Pit Bulls - 02/04/2012
The Mission Bar and Tapas in Pittsfield has become a popular destination for live music and light dining. It will participate in 10x10 on North Street from February 16 to 26. Recently the Pit Bulls stopped by for lunch.


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Coyote Flaco in Williamstown

Mexican Food for a Winter Night

Food
By: Pit Bulls - 02/14/2012
On Route 7 between Williamstown and Pittsfield Coyote Flaco is one of several restaurants clustered not far from Williamstown. It is one of seven restaurants in a chain. Overall the food is good for the price. On a busy Saturday night we were lucky to be seated promptly without a reservation.


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Sweet Cheeks Serves Designer Barbecue

Top Chef Finalist Tiffani Faison Opens Hot Boston Eatery

Food
By: Pit Bulls - 03/22/2012
In Sweet Cheeks Boston touts a contender for first team, All American Barbecue. At a price. This is an upscale designer rib joint pretending to have rustic charm in a densely seated noisy ambiance. The meat is awesome but some of the sides just suck big time. Former Top Chef finalist Tiffani Faison needs to step up her game.


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Mad Jack's Barbecue in Pittsfield

Move to North Street a Culinary Setback

Food
By: Pit Bulls - 10/03/2012
A year ago the Pit Bulls rated the hole in the wall rib joint Mad Jack's the best in the Berkshires for barbecue. Since then, there has been a move from a small space on Frenn Street to a major venue next to the upscale Spice Dragon on North Street. The change to a larger venue with increased overhead has resulted in a loss of focus on the quality of food and service. This review was the result of several disappointing visits.


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Koto Steak House and Sushi Bar

The Hot New Berkshires Asian Restaurant

Food
By: Pit Bulls - 10/11/2012
Since it opened just three months ago Koto in the Pittsfield Malls is a popular destination for dramatic Asian dining. It’s mobbed on weekends including long waits even with reservations. The Pit Bulls dropped by for a delicious, entertaining, and leisurely lunch.


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Top Chef Tom Colicchio Off Camera

Dissing Michelin While Touting American Cuisine

Food
By: Charles Giuliano - 10/26/2012
​Top Chef Tom Colicchio attended the premiere of Dreamscapes, a Wolfgang Hissen documentary profiling Berkshire artist Stephen Hannock. His works hang in Colicchio and Sons and overall a dozen New York restaurants developed by the chef and Andy Meyer. During the recent the Williamstown Film Festival we engaged Colicchio in a lively and revealing dialogue.


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Renowned Chef Gerhard Schmid of Haflinger Haus

Berkshire International Club Celebrates Octoberfest

Food
By: Charles Giuliano - 10/27/2012
Many recall the fine cuisine of Chef Gerhard Schmid from his Gateways Inn in Lenox in the late ‘70s and ‘80s, and the Devonfield Inn, formerly known as Haus Andreas in Lee, from 1980-1994. He is now presiding over the kitchen of Haflinger Haus an elegant mansion in Adams, Mass. Some 40 members of the Berkshire International Club gathered there to enjoy his special Octoberfest menu.


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Olde Forge Restaurant in Lanesboro

Winging It

Food
By: Pit Bulls - 11/14/2012
There are 18 rotating taps for beers including imports and regional seasonals. With more than 200 bottled beers including high end Belgian brews. Add to that state of the art, famous wings. Bottom line The Old Forge in Lansboro, a short drive from Pittsfield, is a Best in the Berkshires destination. Expect long waits on weekends and a boisterous full house. For affordable comfort food the menu is diverse and ambitious.


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Olde Forge’s Kirk Grippo

Chef/ Owner of Popular Berkshire Hangout

Food
By: Pit Bulls - 11/15/2012
Chef Kirk Grippo has owned and managed the popular Berkshire pub Olde Forge Restaurant, in Lanesboro on Route 7, for the past fifteen years. He was setting up for a party but paused long enough to chat with us. The annual Festival of Trees at the Berkshire Museum is among the events which he caters. He discussed how it takes a staff of 60 to keep up with the busy restaurant.


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Atlantic Spice

Cape Cod’s Culinary Mecca

Food
By: Charles Giuliano - 04/21/2013
No trip to lower Cape Cod is complete without a visit to the deliciously fragrant Atlantic Spice Co.. We talked with the owner, Eleanora, who with her husband Mark Irving, established the wholesale/ retail business in North Truro twenty years ago.


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