All People Articles

Recently Ben Brantley of the New York Times posted a rave review of John Douglas Thompson as Richard III in a production at Shakespeare & Company. There are now only a few performances left of this summer long event. We engaged with Thompson is an extended dialogue about his radical interpretation of Richard III.

Next summer there are plans for Sidewalk Sam and an army of volunteers to create the world's largest sidewalk painting in the parking lot of Mass MoCA. To give the folks in North Adams a hint of the immensity of that project, and to assist with fund raising, during the Down Town celebration Sam and his wife Tina were on hand to help create an enormous Matisse on Holden Street. Everyone involved had a blast.

The all too brief two week run of the smash hit The Last Goodbye with the music of the cult rocker Jeff Buckley conflated with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet has come to an end on August 20. The world premiere at the Williamstown Theatre Festival was more like an extended workshop. Everyone agrees this show is Broadway bound. We met with the creative team of Michael Kimmel and Lauren Fitzgerald who insist on taking "their baby" through just one measured step at a time.

We caught up with Nicholas Martin for a hug and a kiss as he prepared for the first act of the sold out rock musical The Last Goodbye. Over the last three years we have shared both professional and personal ups and downs. In his three years as artistic director of Williamstown Theatre Festival he has put one of the nation's foremost regional theaters back on track.

This summer Campbell Scott has anchored a star studded cast in Nicholas Martin's production of Thornton Wilder's classic Our Town. This is his fifth season of participating in the Williamstown Theatre Festival. He has just wrapped shooting the upcoming season of the TV drama series Damages. In an in depth interview Scott discussed wanting to do more writing and directing. As well his productive and challenging life in theatre.

Dylan Baker has been nominated for an Emmy Award as Best Guest Actor in a Drama. He played a charming villain accused of murdering his wife in The Good Wife. The lawyer Alicia Florrick got him off. In the next episode he was arrested for murdering a mistress during kinky sex. He also appeared this year in several episodes of Ugly Betty and on Broadway in God of Carnage. He took a break from rehearsing Our Town, directed by Nicholas Martin, to discuss a career that includes thirteen seasons at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Meeting with Nicholas Martin the artistic director for the Williamstown Theatre Festival I assumed this was the last of our seasonal meetings. This is his third and final year of running WTF. But he surprised me by stating that he will be back next year. To direct a play. In an at times intense and emotional interview we discussed his legacy. As well as insights regarding Stephen Sondheim and his impact on musical theatre in America. Martin is directing Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" this summer. It will feature a cast of many of the WTF "Family."

On July 7, Ringo Starr's 70th birthday, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will inaugurate a special display of his gold-plated snare drum that will remain on view to the public through December 2010 in the Museum's second-floor Musical Instruments Galleries. On loan from Ringo Starr, it was originally presented to him by the Ludwig Drum Company during The Beatles' 1964 visit to Chicago when the legendary rock group, in which Mr. Starr was the drummer, was on its first tour of the United States.

It was a gorgeous summer day for the seasonal picnic of the Berkshire International Club. A group of some 70 members gathered around a cool and inviting pool. There was a fabulous spread of food to share including an array of sinful deserts. Many languages were spoken as friends exchanged tales of travel and adventure.

In 1980 while he was touring to promote a film he acted in and directed, Out of the Blue, I interviewed Dennis Hopper. He excused himself several times becoming more and more gonzo. It was after one of those line breaks that I shot the iconic image that accompanies this obituary. The exchange was so vivid it seems like yesterday. Hopper was an American original who never lived up to his full potential.

The Fifth Annual Richie duPont Award Benefit will take place at 8 pm Saturday, May 22, at Firefly on Church Street in Lenox. What began in 2006 as a memorial to Richie duPont, a promising young actor lost in his prime, will be a celebration of his life at a party to raise funds for awards for budding local thespians to attend Berkshire Theatre Festival’s summer and school vacation acting camps.

In just an eye blink we morphed from the last gasp of winter, two inches of snow on April 27, to a blast of Spring. The social season is heating up. On Wednesday night we attended Nancy Jane Fitzpatrick's Facebook party at Porches. Including a rare glimpse of Porches owner John S. Wadsworth, Jr. Thursday was ultra busy. We started with Mayor Dick Alcombright's spaghetti supper at the V.F.W. We moved on to several openings on Main Street. Ending with Martha Flood's new studio and shop on Eagle Street.

It was a busy weekend of vernissages in the Berkshires. On Friday night the Eclipse Mill Gallery presented sculpture by Len Poliandro, and paintings by Dawn Nelson. On Saturday Jeff Hudson opened a show of his landscapes at Hudson's an antiques store and gallery in Williamstown. On Friday, save the date, Greylock Arts in Adams will open a new exhibition.

Two years ago the Williamstown sculptor, Len Poliandro, showed his work for the first time in the annual Berkshire Salon that launches the season for the Eclipse Mill Gallery. On Friday, April 16 he opens a two person show with the painter Dawn Nelson that has been curated by the artist Julie Seitel. He discussed the work and what this exhibition means to him.

After a period of practising corporate law in New York Susan Wissler arrived at The Mount in 2001. When Stephanie Copeland resigned during the fiscal crisis of 2008 Wissler took over as executive director. Since then debt has been reduced from $8 million to $5.1 million with an annual operating budget of $2 million. The new season that starts on May 1 will entail expanded programming and the First Annual Literary Festival.

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) will celebrate its 111th Commencement exercises on Saturday, May 22, 2010, beginning at 11 a.m., in the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium.Anita F. Hill, Attorney and Brandeis University Professor of Law, Public Policy, and Women’s Studies, will deliver the keynote address. Among others honored with by Berkshire based and internationally renowned artist Stephen Hannock.

The occasion of a retrospective of 100 photographs at the Pierre Menard Gallery in Cambridge evoked a far ranging dialogue with the poet/ artist and archivist Gerard Malanga. The images range from intimate friends- poets, artists, musicians- to brief encounters. This is the first of three installments of an in depth interview conducted over several days.

"Photographing with film is a visual language for me and I'm constantly seeing new ways of playing with the light, whether it's a building facade or the human face. I want to stick with what I know and advance within that range. I find that just seeing the nature of a digital camera you've become tethered to a computer screen. All your stuff is in this one box. I like to hold a contactsheet in my hand and scrutinize it with a lupe. I like the process of doing that. It's more tactile."

Malanga has known, collaborated with and photographed many poets, writers and editors. In this installment he recalls an assignment to interview Charles Olson in Gloucester for the Paris Review. He also discusses being on the road reading his own work and presenting aspects of the Warhol legacy.

It started as a series of dinners in the homes of the artist, Jane Lund, and curator/ appraiser, E. Linda Poras. The annual gathering initially moved to the Lord Jeffrey Inn in Amherst. For the past two years it has been convened at the Deerfield Inn. Recently we joined some 60 others in the Pioneer Valley arts community of Western Mass. We also got to explore the fascinating history of the village and its Colonial era architecture.

With fresh snow on the ground there was the right ambiance for the annual Winterfest in North Adams. Artists carved ice sculptures and there was a chowder contest with local restaurants. Later we moved on to Greylock Arts in Adams where the artist Nathaniel Stern was busy installing.

Compared to other Berkshire theatre companies it seems that Barrington Stage plays it safe in running the hits. This season opening with Sweeney Todd. But Julianne Boyd in a recent interview responded that it just smart business in a tough economy. She takes pride in developing six productions that have moved on to New York. She is also excited by the cultural renaissance and economic development in Pittsfield.

Back in the day the Berkshire Museum, the oldest in the region, collected everything from soup to nuts. The museum's director, Stuart Chase, is challenged to find projects drawn from a vast collection of 30,000 objects. The interactive exhibitions are fun for families and instructive for 13,000 annual visiting students.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets. Starting 15 years ago, Tina Paker has been creating a cycle of five compilations which she calls Women of Will. There will be a preview on February 28. From the end of May through the fall she and Nigel Gore will perform the five parts at Shakespeare & Company. It is an undertaking of epic depth and historic importance.

Joe Finnegan, a former Wall Street floor trader, who evokes the heart-throb, Don, in TV's Mad Men, moved his family four years ago to Williamstown. He hooked up with boyhood friend Steve Lawson to become President of his Williamstown Film Festival. We talked with Finnegan about gearing up for his first season as General Manager of the prestigious but challenged Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Saturday January 30 at 7pm JavaJive hosts the "All Together Now" Haiti Benefit Concert and Dance Party at Mount Greylock Regional High School. This is an all-ages concert, with dancing encouraged, featuring local performers, young and old, professional and amateur, coming together as a community to support our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

Performance artist, musician and composer, Laurie Anderson, has been in residence at Mass MoCA working on Delusion a new work commissioned for the Vancouver Winter Olympics. She will return to the Berkshires performing February 27 at the 62 Center of Williams College.

In the art world equivalent of musical chairs Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art has snatched its new chief curator, Helen Molesworth, from Harvard. Not long ago the ICA lost a young curator, Jen Mergel, to the MFA. What next in these musical chairs with an empty seat at Harvard which has put on indefinite hold its plans for a new modern/ contemporary museum.

Patrick Sky was a prominent protest singer during the 60’s. His caustic wit, outspoken views and willingness to test the boundaries of good taste added to his reputation as angry young man, malcontent and practical joker. His musicianship and intuitive sense of traditional forms made him a natural as a producer of recordings by artists such as Mississippi John Hurt, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Paul Geremia as well as the many other artists he recorded for his Green Linnet label.. Underlying his career was a sensitivity and a passion for causes, political and artistic. So when he embraced Irish traditional music…

While on a tight deadline to complete the installation of "Gravity Is a Force to Be Reckoned With" in the vast Building Five at Mass MoCA Inigo Manglano-Ovalle took a break to discuss his work. He will simultaneously show "Juggernaut" at the Williams College Museum of Art. A Williams alumnus class of '83 in 2005 he received the college's Bicentennial Medal.

It is always a treat and a part of our visits to NY to have dinner in the Iiffany designed National Arts Club next to bucolic Grammery Park. It is fully booked during the Holidays when after dining we danced the night away to the old timey music of a dixieland band.

Patricia Racette shared insights into operatic performance and Puccini at the Morgan Library. The lecture on "Adventures in Italian Opera" was co-sponsored by the Morgan and the Casa Italiana of New York University. The evening's moderator was opera and Italian culture aficionado, Fred Plotkin.

Seminal New York Figurative Expressionist Irving Kriesberg passed away at the age of 90 at home in Manhattan. Irving started painting during the wave of Abstract Expressionism but never strayed from using the figure. A tribute to a great artist and friend.

The Boston artist/ illustrator David Omar White (1927-2009) died on June 26. He is fondly recalled by David Wilson, the publisher/ editor of Avatar, Broadside/Free Press, from their many collaborations during the turmoil of the underground press in the 1960s. Wilson started the White Rabbit comic strip which Omar took over. It later appeared in the Cambridge Phoenix, The Real Paper, and the Boston Globe. His last gallery affiliation was with Boston's former Genovese Sullivan Gallery.Though confined to a wheel chair he created and exhibited until the end.

The Fantasticks tells an age-old tale of a boy, a girl, two fathers, and a wall. Its stage is a wooden platform, its scenery a tattered cardboard moon. Using only these bare essentials, it has become the most performed musical in history. Its creator Tom Jones tells us why.

John Barrett, the "Dean of Massachusetts Mayors" is fighting to see his vision for North Adams fulfilled. In this, his 14th run for Mayor, he faces off against challenger Richard Alcombright. We asked him about the race and his hopes for the city he loves.

This summer John Douglas Thompson thrilled audiences at Shakespeare & Company as the lead in "Othello." He also worked with two other actors in a riveting production of John Patrick Shanley's "The Dreamer Examines His Pillow." This fall he moves to New York's Irish Repertory Theatre in Eugene O'Neill's rarely produced, 1920 play, "The Emperor Jones." NY Times calls production "magical."

At the age of 78, Olympia Dukakis could easily retire having earned the title of legendary actress and a mantle full of Oscars, Obies, Gabbys and Golden Globes. Instead the busiest actor of her generation makes a surprising decision - to return to Shakespeare & Company and work with her old friend and favorite student, Tony Simotes.

There were books strewn about in the libarary, ice on the floors and broken shutters when Tina Packer and Shakespeare & Company moved into Edith Wharton's The Mount 32 years ago. There was an increasingly contentious relationship with Edith Wharton Restoration Inc. In 2000 S&Co purchased and moved to its current Lenox campus.

In June, Tina Packer turned over the day to day operation of Shakespeare & Company to the new Artistic Director, Tony Simotes. Recently she discussed 32 years at S&Co. as well as plans this fall to perform at the Publick Theatre in Boston and the Mercury Theatre Company in Great Britain. She will return to S&Co. next season as its Designated Hitter.

The veteran actor Will LeBow performs as a piano playing ghost in the world premiere of the Melinda Lopez play "Caroline In Jersey" at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. We met to discuss the past 32 years in theatre with the last 17 years in the company of the American Repertory Theatre.

When Randy Harrison takes on a classic role like Oswald in Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, old plays become new again. He insists that he is but one small part of a BTF creative team that has reunited to overhaul this vintage play. But when this actor is involved, we know it could become the most talked about play of Summer 2009. We ask Harrison just what's going on inside that closed rehearsal studio.

There is a hive of activity surrounding Williamstown Theatre Festival's premiere of Caroline in Jersey, and a lot of the buzz surrounds actors Lea Thompson and Matt McGrath, and the return of Laika, the Russian Canine Cosmonaut. This new play sounds so strange that those involved won't reveal much about it. But dig we must, and they threw us a bone or two.

Last summer Justin Waldman directed the one man play 'The Atheist" which ran Off Broadway from September through January after two weeks at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. He sat with us to discuss "What Is the Sound of Thunder?" by Noah Haidle which he has directed in its world premiere at WTF.

Each summer, the Youth Theater at Barrington Stage presents a polished musical for some 40+ performances. These productions never fail to amaze and delight sold out audiences. They are full of energy and vitality that are a credit to both director Christine O'Grady and her young performers, and to Music Director Brian Usifer who is at the helm each night setting the tempo and intense pace that are their trademark.

Summer's abundance is all around us, and so is the Berkshire's annual bounty of music, theatre and dance choices. Here's another of our detailed guides to help you choose.

Tina Packer, after 32 years as Founding Dirctor of the Lenox based, Shakespeare & Company has stepped down. It was planned that Tony Simotes, now in his first season as Artistic Director, would be handed the reins of debt free company with a $10 million new facility including a second stage, The Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, and the start on an endowment. Then the economy fell off a cliff.

Last summer John Douglas Thompson received rave reviews, including Ben Brantley in the New York Times, for his performance in "Othello" at Shakespeare & Company. He earned an Obie Award for its Off Broadway production. He returns to Lenox with "Othello" as well as "The Dreamer Examines His Pillow" through September 6. There is a strong possibility he will perform "The Emperor Jones" Off Broadway this season.

The Tony and Drama Desk nominated (2007) actor, Brooks Ashmanskas, will be back on Broadway in January with Noel Coward's "Present Laughter" starring Victor Garber and directed by Nicholas Martin. Ashmanskas is currently starring in Martin's production of Jonathan Marc Sherman's "Knickerbocker" which premieres at Williamstown Theatre Festival. It brings together several Bennington College alumni.

Bebe Neuwirth takes to the Mahaiwe stage Saturday for an evening of songs and remembrances, but will she have time to check out the Berkshire antique shops she loves so dearly?

Nevertheless, BFA talks to Shirley Jones about posing nude for Playboy, why Frank Sinatra wasn't in Carousel, and what had been planned for the July 6 Pittsfield concert that never happened. A funny, heartwarming interview with one of the greats of stage, screen and tv.

Just a week before the start of the Williamstown Theatre Festival, which opens on July 1 and runs through August 23, the artistic director, Nicholas Martin, took time from rehearsals to discuss his second season in the Berkshires, cutbacks in the face of a tough economy, and an ongoing personal struggle to recover from a stroke he suffered in September.

In addition to working on a Tanglewood production of the opera "Don Giovanni" this summer the North Adams based artist and lighting designer, Julie Seitel, is also creating a series of light sculptures she refers to with the theatrical term "Practicals." They will be seen in a group show "Illuminati: Working in Light" which she is curating for the Eclipse Mill Gallery. She is a graduate of Williams College where she works for its 62 Center.

As part of the Tenth Anniversary celebrations the artist, Richard Criddle, who has been in charge of installations and fabrication for Mass MoCA gave a power point presentation of some of his most interesting and challenging collaborations with artists. The slide lecture was followed by a guided tour of the museum's efficient workshops. But Criddle's dog Winston had the day off.

To mark the launch of the 2009 Tanglewood Season the BSO is organizing a 150 mile cross state relay run starting at Symphony Hall on June 29 and ending at the Lenox campus, hopefully, a day later in time for the first rehearsal on July 1. Literally the season will be off and running.

Peter Schickele, a modern American composer, and PDQ Bach are the two personalities living inside one person. On June 30 he brings his Jeckyll and Hyde Tour to the Colonial Theatre. We asked the Professor what nonsense he has planned this time.

It takes a community to make something like the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center succeed, and in Great Barrington this local theatre is a success in every sense of the word. Executive Director Beryl Jolly tells us why.

When General Electric moved out in the late 1980s, with 10,000 lost jobs, Pittsfield fell on hard times. The recovery started in 2003 when the new Mayor, James M. Ruberto, mandated that arts and culture would be a focus for economic development. Megan Whilden disussed how she joined the team in 2005 and the remarkable progress since then that has reshaped the city as a cultural destination.

Over a Beer and Burger we learned a lot about the artist, Phil Sellers, who with his wife Gail runs River Hill Pottery in the Eclipse Mill. This year he is chairing the annual North Adams Open Studios slated for October 17 and 18.

Despite a drastic 20% budget cut Kate Maguire, the artistic director and CEO of Berkshire Theatre Festival is excitied about the coming season and the return of Randy Harrison in Ibsen's "Ghosts." During an upbeat interview she stated that "I'm not a director. I love directors. I'm married to one (Eric Hill). I love directing directors and I wanted to build a director's theatre."

Today marks the 33rd anniversary of the Greasepaint Treaty of 1976, signed in Pittsfield, which marked the end of the Clown Wars, the catastrophic conflict between clowns and mimes that began in the 1960s. A multi-faceted Fools Festival will be held April 1-5 throughout Pittsfield to mark the event.

Given a bad case of Berkshire Cabin Fever, as well as a recent wicked flu, we were thrilled by yet another Clark After Dark, this time with a Flamenco theme. Ole.

Henry Schwartz, a student of the Boston Expressionist, Karl Zerbe, was a connecting link to the current generation of figurative and expressionist artists. After a long illness and confinement since 1991, Schwartz passed away on February 16 at the age of 81. His work will be shown at the Danforth Museum this fall.

During the dead of winter in the Berkshires we always enjoy the fabulous series of parties The Clark After Dark. There is always an evocative theme and this time it is a night to click your heels and clap your hands for Viva Flamenco. Expect tapas and sangria for an affordable fun evening in Williamstown on Friday, February 20.

For some 40 years Cornelius Vermeule was the Curator of Classical Art of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In addition to being a distinguised scholar he was a renowned wit and merry prankster.

A native of the Bronx returns there to see his last game at Yankee Stadium before the legendary home of the New York Yankees since 1923 is torn down to make way for a new $1.3 billion stadium. With photos by Steve.

It was the kind of hot summer day when folks head for the beach. But for the tenth annual occasion the North Adams based artist, Eric Rudd, brought the beach to Eagle Street downtown.

It rained on the parade as the North Adams Carnival was a washout last weekend. We dropped by to capture the dampened spirits. But the sun came out over Memorial Day in Pittsfield.

On Memorial Day New Englanders plant and pray. Folks seem to take enormous pride as to who has he first ripe tomato. Each year we enjoy visits to Mt. Greylock Greenhouses in Adams, Mass.

Since the 2002 season and the new ownership took over, the author has been a design consultant to the Red Sox. The 86 year old Curse of the Bambino was broken and the Old Town Team has now won two World Series in the last four years. Is there cause and effect?

The Mod Squad took over the Clark for a British Invasion party. Even a nasty night couldn't dampen the festive spirit of fighting of the winter blues.

Since 1998 Richard Criddle has been the Director of Fabrication and Art Installation for the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. His own fantasy, figurative assemblages are currently on view in the museum's Kidspace.

If all goes according to plan in April gallerist Ralph Brill will light up a section of the Hoosic River between the Eclipse Mill and Mass MoCA in North Adams. He is involved in the development of a World War II Museum that would become the Northern Berkshires' "Fourth Museum."

When we visited the artist Stephen Hannock in his Berkshire studio several works were nearing completion including a view of the Oxbow for the Bowdoin College Museum of Art and a landscape for the 25th anniversary of the Sundance Institute.

On weekends between now and Halloween families come to Whitney's Farm for the annual Pumpkin Festival and petting zoo.

The Northern Berkshires arts community gathered at Mass MoCA to celebrate the life of Joe Conway who was killed in a head on collision with an alleged drunk driver which also injured his partner, gallerist, Kurt Kolok.

In 2001 Harry Bartnick won a Guggenheim Fellowship in painting but used some of the money to upgrade a scanner and large format digital printer. After a six year hiatus, this summer he plans to return to painting. Actually he wants to pursue both painting and digital photography because it is all about creating images.

Recently Arlette, a gallerist, and Gus Kayafas, head of Palm Press a fine art photography studio, jointly celebrated their 120th birdthday with 180 friends. They started collecting soon after they married at 20 and today own 13,000 works of which they have donated another thousand to major museums.

Contributor Mark Favermann turned the tables and took Charles Giuliano to his favorite pub for a face to face over a brew and burger. The discussion focused on a retrospective and retirement as well as relocation to the Berkshires. Their lives in the arts have overlapped since the 1970s.

In the past year Vico Fabbris has shown with Forum in their Los Angeles gallery and in four other venues in Boston, Provincetown and Italy where they have an apartment in Florence. La dolce vita.

Mixing art and antiques in a super sized space brings new life to retail in North Adams. A shot in the arm for Main Street traffic.

Rachel Perry Welty was one of four finalists for the biannual Foster Prize awarded by the Institute of Contemporary Art. The competition entailed one woman installations during the widely covered launch of the new ICA. Over a beer we discussed the hectic pace of the past several months and what comes next.

With David Zinn the video installation artist, Denise Marika, designed the set for the American Reportory Theatre production of "Orpheus" last summer. Over a beer and burger she discussed the use of her body as a constant in the work.

Linda Allen shows 'Territories', an exhibition of paintings and works on paper exploring complex organic and systematic relationships.

Beer and Burger with photographer, writer, and director of the Boston University graduate program in arts adminstration. For many years we were colleagues and columnists for Art New England.

During the holiday season Brian Jewett, who with his author wife, Leanne, relocated to the Berkshires last summer, is in high production of his popular "ticket bowls." Recently we visited the studio to chat with the basket maker.

In 1989 in Chicago Mary Sherman founded the TransCultural Exchange. During April it will host a "Conference on International Opportunities in the Arts" in Boston. Recently we met for a beer and burger.

Art dealer Stefan Stux recently discussed the personal and business issues that make him a unique "survivor."

An introduction to the world of antiques in the Northern Berkshires

In the studio in Victor, New York with native artist and director of the Ganondagon Historic Site, Peter Jamison

In the summer season little leaguers from all over America flock to Coopertown to suck up the history of legendary players and compete on the Field of Dreams.