Berkshire Theatre Group

The actors, Bill Bowers and Tom Hewitt, appears to have having as much if not more fun than the audience in a campy, over the top, drag farce the Charles Ludlam classic Irma Vep: A Penny Dreadul. It launches the season for the Berkshire Theatre Group in Stockbridge. It's a hoot if you like that sort of thing.

Berkshire Theatre Group announces Peter Schickele, Irish Rovers, and Classic Albums Live Performs Abbey Road for the summer season line up at the Colonial Theatre.

This week representatives of the Clark Art Institute, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown Theatre Festival and Mass MoCA met with the media to promote plans for a spectacular Northern Berkshires season. The Clark reopens following extensive expansion and renovation. Mass MoCA offers the first full season of its Anselm Kiefer building. Jenny Gersten has planned a blockbuster program for WTF. WCMA plans special events like a Think and Drink series. In high season it may be hard to book a hotel or dine at the best restaurants.

WAM Theatre’s Artistic Director Kristen van Ginhoven announces highlights of the 2014 season. The Berkshire-based professional theatre company will celebrate its fifth anniversary with plays readings, special events, panel discussions, and educational programs that focus on women artists and stories of women

"For our 86th Summer Season, we are producing a full schedule of musicals, plays, and special theatrical performances for another wonderful summer in the Berkshires with a splendid cast and crew of talented artists from across the nation,” said Kate Maguire. "Six extraordinary plays: The Mystery of Irma Vep: A Penny Dreadful, Benefactors, Design for Living, A Hatful of Rain, including two world premieres: Cedars and POE and two wonderful musicals: A Little Night Musicand Seussical highlight our schedule and make for an enjoyable mix of masterful and provocative classics and contemporary works. A special week-long performance of A Lover's Talespotlighting the works of Giuseppe Verdi, Charles Ludlam and Alexandre Dumas and performances by our summer apprentices, our 86th season will be memorable and entertaining for all.”

Yesterday there was a late afternoon media scramble when a Barrington Stage Company press conference announcing the 2014 season was followed within minutes by an unanticipated release by Williamstown Theatre Festival. It's taken some sorting but we now have an unusually early and clear picture of the summer season. We have a fairly complete clip and save rundown. Berkshire Theatre Group has yet to announce and WTF will soon post its program of the Nikos Stage.

In 1987 Clarence Fanto moved full time to the Berkshires joining the Berkshire Eagle as editor of its then new Sunday edition. He left the paper as its managing editor and several years ago rejoined as a reporter and has now slowed down as a freelancer and columnist. For the past several years he has compiled an annual summary of budgets, attendance and box office revenues of the major Berkshire arts organizations. We got together for lunch to connect the dots. There is no dispute over the accuracy of the data he compiles but we differ on its interpretation. Our occasional meetings and e mails are always lively and this is a chance to listen in.

With several major Berkshire arts organizations now closed until next year it's time to reflect on the intense and often remarkable 2013 high season. It's impossible to be everywhere, often with conflicts on any given night, but we offer highlights of what we managed to review. In addition to the Berkshires we covered five new plays at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The busy season included a number of interviews with artistic directors, actors and playwrights.

There has been considerable risk taking in the 2013 season programmed by Shakespeare & Company artistic director Tony Simotes. It has combined rarely produced Shakespeare plays as well as tough works by Stoppard and Brecht. The season ends on September 15 with arguably the most controversial play of the Berkshire season Martin McDonagh's brutal dark comedy The Beauty Queen of Leenane. This is part two of a discussion with its cast members Tina Packer, Elizabeth Aspenlieder, David Sedgwick and Edmund Donovan.

The Berkshire Theatre Group production of Eugene O'Neill's 1921 play Anna Christie has been given an extreme makeover by Pulitzer prize winning director David Auburn. The play has been condensed from four acts to two with the cast cut from ten to five characters. With these drastic reductions, while clear and cohesive, Auburn serves the steak without the sizzle.

For her third season as artistic director of the Williamstown Theater Festival Jenny Gersten produced an amazing three musicals in a program of seven productions. Bridges of Madison County opens on Broadway in January but Gersten insists her mandate is to create shows for Williamstown. We met to discuss the season which ends this weekend. This is part one of that dialogue.

The iconic 1943 Oklahoma, with the magnificent music of Rodgers and Hammerstein would seem to be a shoe in hit for the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfeld. While the production has stunning moments, caveat emptor, the whole is less than the sum of its parts. After five decades the jingoism and heart on the sleeve Americana which wowed audiences during World War II is hardly convincing today.

While thoroughly entertaining, particularly in a lively production by Berkshire Theatre Group, James Goldman's The Lion in Winter is a loose pastiche and confection of grim medieval history. These are meaty roles that great actors like Treat Williams and Jayne Atkinson love to sink their chops into. During the actual Middle Ages, unlike this witty comedy, there wasn't much to laugh about.

Since moving to Vermont film and television actor, Treat Williams, is getting more involved with theatre in the Berkshires. We spoke with him following opening night of The Lion in Williams, with Jayne Atkinson, for Berkshire Theatre Group in Stockbridge. With its star billing the play is sure to be a top draw for the 2013 season. He talked about working with South African playwright Athol Fugard.

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.

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.

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]

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.

Berkshire Theatre Group announces award-winning actress, Christine Lahti, and award-winning actor, Treat Williams, will join.the cast of The Lion in Winter at the Fitzpatrick Main Stage. The classic play runs June 25 to July 13

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.

With a diverse staff of contributors Berkshire Fine Arts strives for national theatre coverage. In this year end roundup we provide an overview with highlights rather than a top ten or best of list. There are numerous links to plays, features and interviews. Overal,l it was a great year that include a week in Chicago for the meeting of the American Theatre Critics Association as well as in depth coverage of the Berkshires and a taste of Broadway.

​Berkshires Jazz, Inc. has announced the final lineup for the 8th annual Pittsfield CityJazz Festival, which runs from Oct. 4-13 in various venues in downtown Pittsfield. The music spans the spectrum of jazz, and includes the New England Jazz Ensemble with guest soloists Giacomo Gates and Ali Ryerson; The Jazz Arts Trio; Jazz About Town (a "jazz crawl" that features local musicians in restaurants and lounges throughout downtown on Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 5-7); and a new entry in the Jazz Prodigy series, Adam O'Farrill, a trumpet player who is garnering accolades across the northeast.

Berkshire Theatre Group regular Randy Harrison was on hand to support his pals playwright/ actor Hunter Bell and members of the New York based theatre/ education collective Story Pirates. The mostly younger audience found this second ever performance of the workshopped musical Found just hilarious. While youth must be served it was a tad too raunchy for grownups.

The Berkshire Theatre Group is presenting the world premiere of Brace Yourself a family comedy set on Fire Island by David Epstein. In the face of an approaching hurricane Sunny (Jill Eikenberry) is planning the mega wedding that her daughter Nina (Tara Franklin) really doesn't want. While the comedy delighted the audience I found it as breezy as that storm that rode out to sea.

When Woodrow Wilson was recovering from a stroke by denying access to his bedroom and failing to publicly announce his condition, his wife, Edith, for a crucial period of six weeks was virtually President of the United States. This new play by Kelly Masterson conflates 75% fact and 25% fiction to present a benign, revisionist take on a love story with global implications.