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Berkshires
Summer 2007 Theater Schedules
Berkshires Summer 2007 Theater Schedules
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INDEX OF THEATERS
Editor's Note: Since summer theater productions run such a short time, we've decided to try something new this summer. Instead of retiring each show review after it makes way for the next production, we're combining details and reviews of shows at a particular theater on one page so that everything remains at your fingertips. This applies to Barrington Stage, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Chester Theater, Shakespeare & Co and Williamstown Theater Festival. Barrington Stage
Berkshire Opera
Berkshire Theatre Festival
1/2 TIX Summer Events Discount Booth
MacHaydn Theater
Chester Theatre Company
Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival
Old Castle Theater
Shakespeare & Co
Theater Barn
Williamstown Theatre Festival
Berkshire News Page
Main Page with links to reviews
Berkshire Review Archives
Send feedback to esommer@curtainup.com
1/2 TIX Summer Events Discount Booth This popular discount ticket program is back, enabling budget conscious theater lovers to buy same day tickets at 1/2 off on the day of the performance. Participants include the new Capitol Steps revue at Cranwell, Tanglewood, Barrington Stage, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Jacob's Pillow and more. Locations for ticket pickup: Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce Booth in Great Barrington; Pittsfied Visitor Center at 111A South Street; Adams Visitors Center at 3 House Street and Chatham Bookstore at 27 Main Street in Chatham. And new this season: You can call for Daily availability—443-9186 x322.
Barrington Stage Berkshire Music Hall, Union Street, Pittsfield, MA Website
Update: Check our all-in-one Summer Season Review page for cast and designer details: Barrington Stage Review page. MainStage
Performances: Tuesdays at 7 pm, Wednesdays at 2 pm & 7 pm, Thursdays at 8 pm, Fridays at 2 pm & 8 pm, Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 5 pm. Tickets are $34-$54; previews,. $20 (orchestra) $15 (mezzanine).
June 13 -- July 14.WEST SIDE STORY, Based on conception of Jerome Robbins. Book by Arthur Laurents Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Music by Leonard Bernstein. Directed by Julianne Boyd. Press opening 6/17, 5pm
July 19 -- August 4. BLACK COMEDY, a farce kicked off when a power outage disrupts an aspiring artist's plans to impress his girlfriend's father — by Peter Shaffer, the author of Amadeus and Equus comes one of the funniest farces of the twentieth century. A power outage disrupts an aspiring artist's plans to impress his girlfriend's father. Directed by Lou Jacob . Press Opening July 22nd 5pm.
August 9 — 26, Chekov's UNCLE VANYA directed by Julianne Boyd.
Opening August 12th at 5pm.
Barrington Stage II Berkshire Athenaeum, 1 Wendell Avenue, Pittsfield
Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 3 pm General admission. SeeBarrington Stage Review Page for final details and reviews..
May 16 - June 3, A Picasso by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Tyler Marchant Press opening May 19 at 8pm. Since it's opening in Philadelphia this two-hander has had numerous production, three of which were reviewed at CurtainUp: A Picasso in Philadelphia and New York and A Picasso in Los Angeles.
Musical Theater Lab, at Pittsfield Atheneum, under producing directorship of William Finn. Performances Tuesday through Friday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 4pm and 8pm. General Admission, $25 and $30; $15 in preview.
June 26 to July 14. Calvin Berger, with book, music & lyrics by Barry Wyner. Directed & Choreographed by Stephen Terrell. Re-imagines Cyrano de Bergerac in a comtemporary high school setting. Press opening Tuesday July 3 at 7:30pm.
July 31 to Aug. 11. Funked Up Fairy Tale by Kirsten Childs, who wrote the book, music and lyrics to musical The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin. To be directed by Kevin Del Aguila who wrote Altar Boyz which went from the NYMusic Theater Festival to New World Stages where it continues to be a hit. Opening August 2. July 31 to -Aug. 11. Stay Tuned.
Barrington Stage's Youth Theater at First Congregational Church, 27 East Street , Pittsfield. Wednesdays at 7 pm, Thursday at 2 pm & 7 pm, Fridays at 7 pm, Saturdays at 7 pm, Sundays at 2 pm & 7 pm General admission Tickets are $15-adults, $10-students. Preview tickets on July 18 and 19 are $8. July 18 -- August 19 DISNEY'S HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, the pop culture phenomenon . Book by David Simpatico. Songs by various composers. Directed and choreographed by Christine O'Grady.
Berkshire Opera
Berkshire Opera Company, 297 North Street, Pittsfield, 413/442-0099; www.berkshireopera.org.
Performances June 22, 2007 and , June 23, 2007 at 7:00 PM, June 24, 2007 at 2:30 PM, at Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, PSYCHE. Music by Jean Baptiste Lully. Libretto by Thomas Corneille. Opera in prologue and five acts Sung in French and Italian with English supertitles. A collaboration with Boston Early Music Festival. One of Lully's most extravagant and popular operas, Psyché depicts the mythic saga of power and passion in true Baroque fashion. Psyché is the most beautiful woman in the world and has begun to be treated as a new goddess, angering Venus who's temples have been abandoned. Venus enlists the aid of her son Amour to wreak a terrible revenge on Psyché. Instead, the son falls hopelessly in love with Psyché. After many heart-wrenching adventures, pursued by the wrath of Venus, the couple is finally united in a grand wedding celebration attended by a throng of reveling deities, singers, and dancers amidst lavish sets and dazzling stage machinery.
July 5 at 8:00 PM. Moonlight at the Mahaiwe, a one night only concert of opera's favorite arias at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center.
August 17, 22, 24 at 8:00 PM; August 20, 26 at 2:00 PM La Boheme, at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Music by Giacomo Puccini. Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. With BOC favorites Maureen O'Flynn, Sari Gruber and Troy Cook.
The Berkshire Theatre Festival Berkshire Theatre Festival–– POBox 797, Stockbridge, MA 01262 (413/298–5536) Main Stage performances are Monday through Saturday evenings at 8pm with matinees at 2pm on Thursdays and Saturdays. Tickets range from $37-$64. Unicorn performances are Monday through Saturday evenings at 8pm with matinees at 2pm on Saturdays for most shows. Update: Check our all-in-one Summer Season Review page for cast and designer details: Berkshire Theatre Festival Review page.
BTF Main Stage:
Love! Valour! Compassion! by Terrence McNally, directed by Anders Cato . June 19-21 to July 7th, opening June 22. The Tony winning play and movie. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Dale Wasserman, based on the novel by Ken Kesey, directed by Eric Hill . July 10 to July 28; opening July 13. McMurphy and Nurse Ratchett were the focal figures in the Oscar-winning film but Dale Wasserman's stage adaptation spotlight the Native American "Chief" at the heart of the Ken Kesey novel.
Mornings at Seven by Paul Osborn, directed by Vivian Matalon. July 31 to August 11th, opening , August 3 A golden oldie that pays humorous tribute to an all-American dysfunctional family, circa 1930, and the love that binds them together.
Mrs. Warren's Profession by George Bernard Shaw, directed by Anders Cato. From : August 14 to September 1; opening August 17. Shaw's portrait of women working in the world's oldest profession and an emotional portrayal of the relationship between a street-savvy mother and her educated, independent daughter.
Unicorn Stage
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, directed by Eric Hill. From May 24 to June 30th opening May 25. Tennessee Williams' first major success about past her prime Amanda Wingfield, her dreamer son, Tom and painfully shy Laura who retreats into a world as fragile as her glass animals. Cast: Aya Cash, Greg Keller, Kate Maguire, and Tom Story
My Pal George written and performed by Rick Cleveland, directed by Eric Simonson. From July 3 to July 21; opening July 4th. This is a workshop production not open for reviews. Cleveland of Six Feet Under and The West Wing fame returns to Stockbridge to develop the sequel to his 2005 BTF solo, My Buddy Bill.
Two-Headed by Julie Jensen, directed by Marc Geller. From July 25 to August 18; opening July 26. The title is the playwright's phrase for keeping secrets and denying truths . Her play depicts forty years in the lives of two Utah women in the late 1800's.
Educating Rita by Willy Russell. Director TBA. From August 21 to October 20; opening August 22. You may remember the movie version of this bittersweet comedy that brings a disillusioned, middle-aged English professor together with Rita, an irreverent, working class, Liverpool hair-dresser.
BTF FAMILY PLAYS!
Cinderella adapted by E. Gray Simons III (who also directs) from the Brother's Grimm fairytale, from June 27 through July 28 at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield . . .AESOP's NETWORK: Broadcasting Theatrical Fables, again adapted and directed by E. Gray Simons III, from August 1 to 18 at the Unicorn Theatre. . .Alice in Wonderland adapted for the stage by Eva Le Gallienne and Florida Friebus from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, directed by E. Gray Simons III. September 7 at 7:30pm and September 8 at 2pm and 7:30pm at the BTF Main Stage. . . Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted by Eric Hill. Directed by Eric Hill and E. Gray Simons III, from December 8 to 23 at the Unicorn Theatre
The Mac–Haydn Theater musical theater in the round on Rte. 203 in Chatham, NY.. 518/ 392-9292 for or check their website. The 2007 schedule below.
May 24-27, May 30 - June 3, 110 In The Shade (The Rainmaker) Story of the Rainmaker, whose magical gift ends the drought and shows Lizzie she can be loved
June 7-10, 13-17, Oklahoma. Rodgers & Hammerstein's favorite Americana classic about the folks who settle in a brand-new state
June 21-24, June 27 - July 1, The Pajama Game. A feisty gal and handsome guy look for love and workers look for "7 1.2 Cents" raise.
July 5-8, 11-15, Thoroughly Modern Millie. Disappearing girls, speedy office romance, a smitten boss, tap-dancing typists, and a scheming villainess.
July 19-22, 25-29, August 1-5, White Christmas. Area premiere based on movie classic
. August 9-12, 15-19, Singin' in the Rain —the most requested show of the season. August 23-26, August 29 - September 2, The Music Man. Professor Hill, Marian The Librarian and more.
The ChesterTheatre Company, an Actors’ Equity Association company, at the Chester Town Hall, on Middlefield Street off Route 20. (413 - 354 -7771) web site. The former Miniature Theater of Chester's 2007 season will be as follows ( Check all-in-one Summer Season Review page for cast and designer details here): THE BULLY PULPIT Written and Performed by Michael O. Smith July 4-15
THE INTERVIEW by Faye Sholiton July 18-29
MERCY OF A STORM by Jeff Hatcher August 1-12
GRACE by Craig Wright August 15-26
Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival Beckett, MA Website
The pristine setting of the venerable dance festival now in its 75th season is a must stop for every visitor to the Berkshire area. In addition to a program in two theaters there are many free events for "just stopping by" to spend a few hours on the 163-acre campus. These include performances on the Inside/Out stage (an ideal way to introduce children to the art of movement), Exhibits, PillowTalks, Community Day, walking tours, and Pre- and Post-Show Talks moderated by Scholars-in-Residence. The website, besides listing details about this seasons very full schedule has some wonderful images.
Old Castle Theatre, Vermont Route 9 at Gypsy Lane P.O. Box 260, Bennington, Vermont O5201 (802–447–0564 Box Office, 802–447–1267 Office, 802–442–3704 Fax) Website . Bennington, Vt., is a bit too far north for me to get there often. However, when I've gone I've seen some worthwhile shows and they have a long season. Following are the plays they have lined up this year.
BRILLIANT TRACES - by Cindy Lou Johnson March 16 & 18 REVOLUTIONARY WIZARD, BEN FRANKLIN by Eric Peterson April 6 - 8 TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Jeffrey Hatcher & Albom May 4 - 20 THREE DAYS OF RAIN by Richard Greenberg June 8 - 24 ON GOLDEN POND by Ernest Thompson July 13 - 29 THE FANTASTICKS by - Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt August 17- September 2 A BODY OF WATER by Lee Blessing September 21 - October 7 JACOB MARLEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL by Tom Mula December 13 - 16
Shakespeare & CompanyShakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble St., Lenox, (413) 637–1199 Web Site
Shakespeare Company is still in the planning stages for a small second stage to replace the beautiful Springlawn mansion it sold in the interest of its bottom line, the 30th season will have plenty of offerings, so they will, as in the past, do their ingenious juggling act of putting on a full season at its Founders'Theatre. Update: Check our all-in-one Summer Season Review page for cast and designer details: Shakespeare & Co. l Review page.
May 25 to September 2. Rough Crossing by Tom Stoppard; directed by Kevin G. Coleman. Set on an ocean liner bound for New York, this is actually an adaptation of Ference Molnar's Play at the Castle and P. G. Wodehouse's The Play's the Thing.
July 5 - September 2 Blue/Orange by British author Joe Penhall, Founder Theater. Opening Saturday, July 14 @ 8pm June 8 to September 1. Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Eleanor Holdridge.
July 27 to September 2. Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra; directed by Michael Hammond, with Tina Packer and Nigel Gore reprising theire one-night Tanglewood concert performances in a full production.
September 28 to October 28. The Secret of Sherlock Holmes by Jeremy Paul. Michael Hammond and David Demke star as the famous detective and his sidekick.
At the Rose Footprint
June 27 to September 1. Scapin by Bill Irwin and Mark O'Donnell, adapted from Moliere.
Back to Index
Theater Barn, 654 Route 20 New Lebanon, NY (518) 794–8989 info@theaterbarn.com–web site. Lots of antiques shops and restaurants en route. Schedule Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 5pm and 8:30pm, Sundays at 2pm. Tickets $20, $18 at Sunday matinees. This year's line-up:
June 15-24: Breaking Legs. Tom Dulack's flavorful comedy about an academic whose play is commissioned by a Mafia family.
June 28-July 8: Tales of the Allergists Wife. Charles Busch's outrageous comedy about a woman facing zany family crisis.
July 12-22: Boy Gets Girl. Rebecca Gilman's dark contemporary urban chiller about a woman facing a creepy stalker.
July 21-August 5: Johnny Guitar, The Musical. Award-winning musical spoof based on cult western film featuring Joan Crawford. August 9-19: Violet. Serious contemporary musical about a disfigured girl on a journey.
August 23-September 2: Little Shop of Horrors. Howard Ashman/Alan Menken musical based on Roger Corman's botanical horror film, about a Mean Green Mother from Outer Space.
September 7-16: Stones in His Pockets. Marie Jones' comedy about two Irish guys who encounter Hollywood in their backyard.
September 21-October 7: Almost, Maine John Cariani's rural tribute to humanity and love, tracing the goings on in a Maine town at 9 p.m. on a Friday night. (We loved this little show when it premiered off-Broadway last year. To read that review — go here.
Williamstown Theatre Festival
1000 Main Street, Williamstown, MA (413/597-3400) Tickets can be purchased on line, 24 hours a day, with full access to what's available and seat location: web address. Performance schedule for all venues is Tues. to Fri. at 8:00, Sat. at 8:30 with matinees Thurs. at 3:00, Sat. at 4:00 and Sun. at 2:00. For The Physicists on the Center Stage the schedule is Tues to Fri at 8:15, Thurs at 3:15, Sat at 1 and 5:30 and Sun at 2:15. The seasonal offerings are scheduled for the Festival's 3 venues--with the lineup organized by dates. Update: Check our all-in-one Summer Season Review page for cast and designer details: Williamstown Theatre Festival Review page.
June 14 - 24, Center Stage. B. D. Wong in HERRINGBONE, a one man musical that recounts the childhood of vaudeville wunderkind George after he is possessed by the angry spirit of a toe-tapping midget. Book by Tom Cone, Music by Skip Kennon, Lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh. Directed by Roger Rees. Master costumer William Ivey Long will design the costumes.
Jun 27 to July 8 , Nikos Stage, DISSONANCE a world premiere about members of the Bradley String Quartet who have their artistic differences. Penned by Damian Lanigan, directed by Amanda Charlton. Cast features Daniel Gerroll and Alicia Witt Other cast members TBA.
July 4 - 15 Main Stage, THE FRONT PAGE by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. Director: Ron Daniels. Richard Kind will play Walter Burns. More casting TBA. This much done comedy set in a Chicago newsroom follows concocted criminal charges, wily politicians, love nests and the daily grind of creating and selling newspapers
July 11 - 22 Nikos Stage, VILLA AMERICA, a world premiere written and directed by Crispin Whittell. What it's about: Gerald and Sara Murphy, who were at the center of the circle of artists, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso, who migrated to France in the 1920s. Set on the sun-soaked coast of the French Riviera, this play commissioned by the Festival explores the lives, loves and losses of what Gertrude Stein called "the Lost Generation." In a happy scheduling coincidence, the Murphys and their circle will also be celebrated in an exhibition at the Williams College Museum of Art right before the play premieres. The Colleges exhibits are never anything less than spectacular
July 18 - 29 Main Stage, BLITHE SPIRIT by Noel Coward, directed by Maria Mileaf. Jessica Hecht will play Ruth. Other cast members TBA. While researching background information for a new book, author Charles Condomine and his second wife Ruth light-heartedly arrange for the eccentric local mystic, Madame Arcati, to hold a séance. When Charles' first wife Elvira is summoned from beyond the grave, however, all the powers of heaven and hell are summoned upon the winsome couple, causing calamity - and hilarity to ensue.
July 25 - August 5 Nikos Stage, PARTY COME HERE a world premiere musical comedy with Book by Daniel Goldfarb, Music and Lyrics by David Kirshenbaum. Directed by Christopher Ashley. Kaitlin Hopkins will Play Liberty. Malcolm Gets plays Orlando. Kate Reinders plays Kate. Hunter Fosterplays Jack. What it's about: A nervous groom, a statue of Christ and a 500 year-old Jewish caveman converge to make miracles happen during a tropical storm on one magical night in Rio.
Aug. 8 to 29 Nikos Stage, CRIMES OF THE HEART by Beth Henley. Directed by Kathleen Turner. Turner turns her talents as a director to the Pulitzer Prize winning comedy about the Magrath sisters. Sarah Paulson plays Meg Magrath and Lily Rabe plays Babe Motrello. What it's about: Past resentments bubble to the surface as they are forced to deal with assorted relatives and past relationships while coping with the latest incident to disrupt their lives.
Aug. 1 - 12 Main Stage, Kate Burton in THE CORN IS GREEN by Emlyn Williams. Directed by Nicholas Martin. Burton seems like a good fit for the role Ethel Barrymore famously played on stage, Bette Davis on film, and Katherine Hepburn in the made-for-TV movie — a Welsh schoolteacher working in a small poverty-stricken coal mining town under whose . Under her guidance, an illiterate teenager from bully to brilliant student. Adding to the immediacy of the teacher-student relationship Miss Burton's son, Morgan Ritchie, plays the role of Morgan Evans.
Aug. 7 - 18 Center Stage, THE PHYSICISTS by Friedrich Dûrrenmatt translated by James Kirkup and directed by Kevin O'Rourke In Association with the Williams College Summer Theatre Lab. WTF artistic director Roger Rees plays Sir Isaac Newton. Three inmates at the Cherry Trees Sanatorium believe themselves to be world famous physicists: Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, and Johann Mobius. But are they indeed insane? And what are their actual identities: madmen, murderers or scientists? Dürrenmatt's 1962 comedy is a provocative examination of the impact of nuclear science on global power and the moral tolls of sanity.
Aug. 15 - 26 Main Stage. THE AUTUMN GARDEN by Lillian Hellman. Directed by David Jones. Hellman seems to be having a renaissance (see our review of the recent Toys in the Attic). The setting here is a summer resort on the Gulf of Mexico in 1949 and seven friends confronting middle age assess the choices they have made and are about to make. Allison Janney will play Constance Tuckerman. Elizabeth Franz plays Mary Ellis. Mamie Gummer plays Sophie Tuckerman. Maryann Plunkett plays Rose Griggs. Jay O. Sanders plays General Benjamin Griggs.
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