Parties & Openings
 Pittsfield - March 6IS 183’s “Radioactive Bodega” Dance Party at the East Coast Refinishing warehouse. |
 Pittsfield - March 7The Berkshire International Film Festival threw an Oscar-watching party at the Beacon. |
Pittsfield - March 12 |
Home of the Brave: A Photographer Honors Berkshire Veterans
Cultural correspondent Bess J. M. Hochstein reports from Pittsfield: The stars aligned for photographer Bill Wright about six weeks ago, when he approached Megan Whilden, Director of Pittsfield’s Office of Cultural Development, about mounting an exhibition of portraits of local military veterans in the city’s Lichtenstein Center for the Arts. A previously scheduled show failed to materialize, and Wright’s proposal fit right in with Pittsfield’s Big Read community bookreading project, which is focused on Tim O’Brien’s Vietnam War novel, The Things They Carried. So the gallery made an exception to its group-show orientation and helped put out the call to local men and women who have served in all branches of the military to participate in Wright’s Berkshire Veterans Photography Project, including George Moran (left) who served in Navy during the Vietnam War. Twenty-one of Wright’s powerful, larger-than-life portraits hung on the gallery walls as subjects and their families gathered for the show’s opening on Friday, March 12. Among the guests was Wright’s oldest subject, Margaret Haggerty, who served in the Army during World War II; she turns 100 this month. Wright, who served in the Air Force during the Gulf War, continues to work on his Berkshire Veterans Photography Project, which he hopes to turn into a book. He asks that local veterans contact him for a free portrait sitting: brkvets@gmail.com.
World War II Army nurse Margaret Haggerty, who turns 100 later this month, surrounded by Pittsfield’s Veteran’s Services Director Rosanne Frieri of the Air National Guard; Melissa Mazzeo, At-Large City Councilor; and Navy veteran Terry Probst, who chauffered Haggerty to the opening; Vietnam veterans Henry Morris of the Army and John Harding of the Marines, a retired Pittsfield schoolteacher and deejay.
Graphic designer Joe Wilk, business partner of photographer Bill Wright, with Carly Beery, a surgical technologist at Fairview Hospital.
Laura Roudabush, Barrington Stage Company’s director of marketing, with Jess Conzo, program coordinator for MCLA’s Berkshire Cultural Resource Center; Jernee Edgerton, Youth Coordinator for the City of Pittsfield, with Ryan Weightman, Cultural Pittsfield Program Coordinator and Gallery Manager.
Bart Dery, who served in the Navy from 1987 - 1995, with his portrait.
Printmaker and art teacher Michael Bushy and Becca Bushy with Aaron Wood and artist Stephanie Gravalese-Wood, the new communication and education coordinator for The Colonial Theatre; Photographer Bill Wright, an Air Force Desert Storm veteran who pans to publish a book based on his Berkshire Veterans Photography Project, with friend and fellow photographer Adam Kurtz, who printed and framed Wright’s portraits in record time.
Cultural Pittsfield’s Megan Whilden with Shirley Edgerton, program director for the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services in Berkshire County and executive director of Youth Alive!
Teacher Jack Curletti with Carrie Wright, the photographer’s wife, who owns Emporium on North Street; artist Jazu Stine with Connecticut College senior Thomas Winstanley.
Paige Wright, 7, daughter of the photographer and star of “Manic Mondays with Paige,” with her aunt Christine “Murray” Duhancik; Eric, Liam, and Dana Michele Seddon, an optician and flight engineer with the Air Force whose portrait is in the show.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 03/14/10 at 08:14 PM • Permalink
Parties: BIFF Goes to the Oscars
Cultural correspondent Bess J.M. Hochstein reports from Pittsfield: No one gushed about who they were wearing, and no one volunteered that they had to return their jewels to Harry Winston, but guests at the Berkshire International Film Festival’s Oscar night party at the Beacon Cinema had been asked to wear red-carpet-worthy attire, and, for the most part, they complied. There was indeed a red carpet leading to an interview/photo opportunity platform. After passing through that gauntlet, guests ascended an escalator to the second floor, where an Academy-Award-inspired buffet, prepared by clever caterer Kate Baldwin, awaited. Attendees sipped the evening’s special champagne cocktail, the Red Carpet Fizz, while nibbling on Vegetables Julienne & Julia, Jeff Bridges Mix, Steak Ava-Tartar, The Hurt Locker Habanero Hummus, The Blind Sliders, and The Lovely Boneless Buffalo Wings, plus desserts such as Inglorious Custerds and Coco Before Chanel cocoa-dusted beignets. The crowd filled out ballots with their best guesses for the top award winners, then filled the theaters broadcasting the 82nd Academy Awards Ceremony live via satellite, sneaking out for snacks during the commercial breaks. Next up for the BIFF is the announcement of the festival’s fifth anniversary program; the expanded schedule runs June 3 - 6 on screens in both Great Barrington and Pittsfield.
David Schecker, BIFF founder and director Kelley Vickery, and Vicki Bonnington; Lisa Newman on the red carpet with her mother, Leni Aronson.
Lisa Newman of Cookiehead Cookies with Jackie Gentile of the Provost’s Office at Simon’s Rock; Mary Parkman with artist and Berkshire Bank graphic designer Mark Tomasi.
Artist/designer Karen Beckwith and BIFF programmer Lillian Lennox; Matt Larkin and Aaron Dunn of Black Barn Farm.
Seven Salon & Spa’s Maurice Peterson and Mark Johnson flank BIFF administrative assistant Lauren Ferin.
Barbara Newman, who is presently working on a film about cowgirls, with Diane Pearlman, executive director of the Berkshire Film & Media Commission; BIFF designer Amanda Bettis and Carrie Saldo.
Lauren Zivyak and Lincoln Russell; Lou Boxer, Emily Cohen and Molly Boxer.
Albany attorneys Samuel and Molly Breslin with Phil and Emily Cohen.
Anthony James Madrid, who tended bar at the event, with his mother Fedlina Madrid, VP of marketing at Berkshire Bank, a sponsor of the BIFF; Doug Schufelt and Nancy Kalodner.
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Posted by Marilyn Bethany on 03/09/10 at 08:14 AM • Permalink
Radioactive Bodega: IS 183’s Post-Apocolytpic Dance Party
Ever wonder what fashion look would rise from the ashes of a nuclear catastrophe? No? Actually, neither have we, but enthusiastic supporters of IS 183 clearly gave the matter a lot of serious thought when they assembled their costumes for the art school’s Radioactive Bodega fundraiser in Pittsfield on Saturday, March 6. They shopped. They pulled it together. They worked it in front of mirrors the length and breadth of Berkshire County and beyond. In the end, everyone glowed, especially when they smiled, except for the Mad Max manqués who preferred to glower. Best survival tip: the colander as the protective headgear. So handy.
Alice Keegan, Jim Armstrong, Jeanne Baccoli, and Patty Mangano; Arthur Cape, Didier Steven, Lauren Fitts, and David Slick
Ellen Kelly, Maggie Welch, Sheila Irvin, Shannon Nichols; Jay & Bill Tobin
John Thier; Alan Bauman, IS 183 board member Mary Garnish, Seth Rogovoy
Melissa Lillie, Danielle Steinmann and Mary Garnish; Ryan Weightman, Petria May, and Hilton Hollis
Michelle Quigley, Heather Pictrowski, Chris Connell, Dawn Connell, and Matthew Pictrowski
Nancy Fitzpatrick and Lincoln Russell; Tom Werman
Reid White; Lisa Cavender and Nick Kiersted
Mary Nash and Kelley Vickery; Matthew & Catherine Mendel
Kerry Wrenn; Eric & Carol Haythorne
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Posted by Marilyn Bethany on 03/07/10 at 07:12 AM • Permalink
Hudson Valley LGBTQ Center Toasts “Falsettos” in Rhinebeck
It’s the rare community theater company that has the chutzpah to put on William Finn’s landmark Tony-winning musical comedy about neurotic New York Jews at the dawn of the AIDS crisis. But the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck is a rarity—a gutsy community theater that does everything with the polish of a serious regional theater and its razor-sharp production of Falsettos (which runs through February 28) made me laugh and cry just as it did when I saw it on Broadway in 1992. The audience on Saturday, February 20, was especially enthusiastic because the performance was a benefit for the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center, which hosted an after party in the lobby (where the guests included, above, AnnChris Warren with Victoria Howland, who plays the kosher caterer in Falsettos.) At the curtain—an inspired homage to the AIDS Memorial Quilt—actor Bill Ross, who played Marvin, told the audience that the Center had gotten some local criticism for staging this show, and he hoped that everyone would spread the word to help fill every seat for the final weekend and prove that there is community support for theater that tackles difficult subjects. In fact, the Center’s next production is another powerful exploration of the AIDS crisis: Rent, the 1996 rock musical, will run at the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck from March 12 - 28.
Lance Ringel, president of the board of the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center which hosted the after-show party, with Bill Ross, the actor, who plays Marvin in Falsettos; stage manager Donna Betts with Andrew Weintraub, the president of the board of the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck.
Thomas Netter, age 12, who plays Jason whose bar mitzvah is a major plot point in Falsettos, flanked by Anita & Faith Otey.
Stagehand Bryan Mechtly with director Kevin Archambault; Jim Nurre, who plays Whizzer, with Molly Parker-Myers, who plays Dr. Charlotte in Falsettos.
Maria Hickey, who plays Trina and sings the show-stopping number “I’m Breaking Down,” with Lisa Lynd, who runs The Center’s Kids on Stage Theater Program.
Actor Donald Corren and set designer Richard Prouse; writer Jay Blotcher and social work student Scott Jeune.
J.R. Cassidy, Chris Coad, Brian Lange, who’s on the board of nearby Wilderstein, and literary agent Matthew Carnicelli.
Sue Brooks and vocal coach Tony Regina; Cheryl DelVecchio with Frank Fasano.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 02/20/10 at 11:44 PM • Permalink
A Picture Perfect Opening for Boldini at The Clark
Cultural correspondent Bess J.M. Hochstein reports from Williamstown:
To open its winter exhibition, Giovanni Boldini in Impressionist Paris, on February 13, The Clark threw a somewhat French-accented party—largely by dint of the food: fondue (both cheese and chocolate) served in the café; classic Gallic dishes, such as croque monsieur, coquilles St. Jacques, and saucisson-en-croute, passed as hors d’oeuvres; plus large framed-mirror platters of morbier, brie, and other fromages and patés. The party’s theme, “Picture Yourself at The Clark,” referenced Boldini’s renown for society portraiture. The theme was well integrated into party activities; guests queued up to have artists Julia Dixon and Michael Rousseau sketch their portraits and to slip into a photo booth, and photographs taken throughout the evening were projected on a lobby wall. Of course the Boldini show was the main event, and these romantic paintings surely helped guests get in the mood on the eve of Valentine’s Day.
Carol Palmer of Boston and Ghetta Hirsch of Williamstown.
Williamstown Theatre Festival trustee Jid Sprague with Dr. Keith Edwards and his wife, Judy Edwards.; artist Rebecca Weinmann & stilt walker Abigail Elwood.
The Clark’s executive director, Michael Conforti, with Kelly Pask, director of exhibitions and curator of decorative arts, Kathy Morris and Julie Chase, director of special projects for The Clark.
Peter Hansen and his wife, Petra Krauledat, chairman of the board of Hancock Shaker Village; Williams College student Sara Ahmed & Ayla Butt.
Artists Jeff & Jane Hudson, who run the Hudsons boutiques at MASS MoCA and on Spring Street in Williamstown.
Hancock Shaker Village CEO Ellen Spear and her husband, Brad Spear, the classical music radio commentator; Rus Peotter, general manager of WGBY, and his wife, Jennifer.
Tony Patterson of Iredale Mineral Cosmetics, and Carolann Patterson of Williamstown Theatre Festival; lovebirds N. Richard Gershon & Monique Gershon of Canaan, NY.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 02/16/10 at 01:00 PM • Permalink
Art! Beer! Wings! The Radioactive Bodega Preview Party
It was, appropriately, an evening of cultural dissonance. Supporters of IS 183 Art School of the Berkshires (including Karen Lee and Jeremy Goodwin, left) gathered at the boozy Brick House Pub in Housatonic, MA, to preview some of the fine art that will be part of the silent auction at the school’s annual masquerade fundraiser on March 6. The festive dance party’s counterintuitive theme—“Radioactive Bodega”— inspired the organizers to show fine art in an improbable frat house setting, a saloon where the light fixtures over the pool tables say “Budweiser” and the specialty of the house is Buffalo chicken wings.
Sandy Cleary-Wade and her childhood friend, photographer Kevin Sprague; Marnie Barris & Jeanet Ingalls
Berkshire Living‘s Mary Garnish with law student Alex Sohn & Cassandra Sohn, who teaches at IS 183.
Leslie Milton & David Rosenthal; IS 183 stalwarts Vicki Bonnington & David Schecker.
IS 183 executive director Hope Sullivan with Radioactive Bodega silent auction co-chairs Robin Seeley & Orit Kadosh.
Williamstown Theatre Festival’s Carolann Patterson with Katie Johnson of Barrington Stage Company and Reed White; Albert Halpern of SoMA Catering with Debbie Guhl.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 02/13/10 at 07:37 PM • Permalink
Welcoming A Royal Gardener to the Berkshires
You rarely see men wearing ties in the Berkshires, but then you rarely see a royal gardener in our neck of the woods. The trustees of the Berkshire Botanical Garden had a cocktail party on February 12 to welcome Debs Goodenough, Head Gardener to HRH Prince Charles, who would be speaking the next day at BBG’s sold-out winter lecture in the auditorium at Monument Mountain Regional High School. Everyone who met Ms. Goodenough (left with BBG trustee Ian Hooper) agreed she was delightfully down to earth.
BBG trustee Honey Sharp with builder Lou Boxer; BBG executive director Molly Boxer with artist Betsy Dovydenas.
Bob Hyland of Loomis Creek Nursery in Hudson, NY, with BBG vice-chair Madeline Hooper
Connecticut gardener and volunteer fireman Scott Robinson and farmer Roberto Flores; BBG trustee Judie Owens and BBG director of horticulture Dorthe Hviid.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 02/13/10 at 07:03 PM • Permalink
Barrington Stage Company’s Carnivale at Jae’s Spice
Nicole Garzino reports from Pittsfield: Why fly south when you can enjoy a red-hot, rock-n-roll salsain Pittsfield? More than 100 masked revelers did just that on Saturday, February 6, dancing the night away to the Latin groove of Los Sugar Kings at last weekend’s benefit Carnivale for Barrington Stage Company’s upcoming summer season. Hosted in the baubled and bedazzled Upstairs at Jae’s Spice, this caliente dance party came complete with Latin-inspired treats, including Brazilian BBQ, handmade guacamole and the freshest fruit-laden sangria. The party-goers included William Finn, the Tony Award-winning creator of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, state senator Benjamin Downing, the event’s honorary chair, and masked maidens such as (above, from left to right) Jessica Ridgley, Andrea Lewis and Tina DaFonde
Leslie Milton, director of major gifts for New York’s Tenement Museum, and David Rosenthal; Mary Ann Quinson, president of Barrington Stage Company’s board or trustees, and Elaine Grant.
Renee DeRagon of Berkshire Shenanigans, Rachel Plaine, and Paul Dodds.
Barrington Stage board member Reba Evenchik and Tony Award winning composer William Finn; Liz Wedge, Mike Clary and Barrington Stage capital campaign manager Manisha Tanzman-Rivas.
Photographer Keith Emerling, Orit Kadosh, and Kris Anderson.
Mark Siegars and Fran Steiner; Dr. Norman Boyd and Barrington Stage artistic director Julianne Boyd.
Ada Flores, Mario Flores, Dr. Michelle Monnin, Dr. Boris Murillo, Alfredo Najera and Clara Najera.
Molly Paluilis and Aleah Kozlowski; one of Los Sugar Kings.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 02/10/10 at 08:22 AM • Permalink
Williamstown Theatre Festival Brings ‘ART’ to The Clark
The venerable Wililiamstown Theatre Festival is making an effort to have more of a year-round presence in the Berkshires. Now that it has a Williamstown-based general manager, Joe Finnegan (left with Kristen Johanson), it’s reaching out to full-time residents and a staged reading of Yasmina Reza’s ART at the the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute attracted some 300 people to see John Bedford Lloyd, Campbell Scott and James Waterston, who headed to Mezze for drinks after the show.
David Wohabe, WTF board president Matt Harris, Denise Wohabe.
WTF artistic associate Justin Waldman and actor Campbell Scott; Molly Kerns & Rebecca Rice.
David & Wendy Horton with Fran & Ira Lapidus, a WTF trustee.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 02/10/10 at 08:21 AM • Permalink
The “Radioactive Bodega” Pre-Party
The IS 183 Art School of the Berkshires annual costume ball has become a cult even that attracts more than 400 partygoers of all ages. The theme of the party is always playful—Sushi-a-Go-Go in 2007, Rock the Opera in 2008, the Hair Ball in 2009—and is open to a wide variety of interpretations. But this year’s theme, Radioactive Bodega, has even some of the most creative minds around stumped. Some people associate “radioactive” with movies like Mad Max and Blade Runner, while others think immediately of Three Mile Island. As for “bodega,” if you’ve ever lived in New York City, a bodega evokes brightly colored cans of Cafe Bustelo, mouse traps and shelves of patron saint candles. To help guests figure out what to wear to the party on March 6 in Pittsfield, IS 183 supporters held a fashion show at the Lenox Athenaeum on January 31 to share costume ideas; you can find more inspiration at the Radioactive Bodega website.
Photographs courtesy of Kevin Sprague.
The ever-inventive and wacky David Schecker & Vicki Bonnington.
Caity Delphia and Evan Moriarty model their high-concept outfits.
The group all plan to attend the silent auction fine art preview party on February 12 at the Brick House Pub in Housatonic, though they may not be in costume.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 02/03/10 at 03:20 PM • Permalink
Jason Houston’s Solo Exhibit Opens at the Ferrin Gallery
Cultural correspondent Bess J.M. Hochstein reports from Pittsfield: Thursday, January 21 was something of a double-header for Jason Houston (near left with gallery owners Donald Clark and Leslie Ferrin.) The evening began with the reception for his solo photography show, Family of Mine, at Ferrin Gallery, and continued at the Alchemy Initiative with The Widow Wears Red Pajamas, Billie Best’s moving monologue/memoir about dealing with the death of her husband and her life without him, which was illuminated by photos from the book Dying Beautifully, a collaboration between Houston and Best. Houston is celebrated in this area for his grittily beautiful photographs of farmland and farm hands, his globetrotting documentation of environmentally delicate ecosystems, and his work as photo editor of Orion Magazine. Over the span of five years, Houston turned the lens on his own family during holidays and other gatherings of the clan. The eleven large-scale, color-saturated prints in this new show—the antithesis of family snapshots—served as both focal point and backdrop during the reception to celebrate his work.
Marion Gilliam, founder and publisher of Orion Magazine with Catharine Deely; Petra Krauledat, chair of the Hancock Shaker Village board, with Jonathan Secor, director of MCLA’s Gallery 51.
Allison Sinkler and Valley Advocate blogger Sarah Werthan Buttenwieser; Minc House marketing director Carrie Saldo and Suky Werman of Stonover Farm in Lenox.
Gladys Montgomery with Berkshire Living’s Mary Garnish and photographer Sue Geller.
North Adams artists Ven Voisey and Thor Wickstrom; artists Gerit Grimm and Michael Boroniec.
Stuart Chase and Maria Mingalone of the Berkshire Museum; Elba Passerini with artist Paul Graubard in front of one of his works.
Jason & Kim Houston in front of the exhibit Family of Mine.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 01/25/10 at 05:15 PM • Permalink
Pittsfield Photographers Keep the Focus Local
It wasn’t too long ago when “Pittsfield, snow and January” all mixed up together pretty much guaranteed quiet. No longer. Last Friday, more than 200 people showed up at the Lichtenstein Gallery for the opening reception of BerkshireCity: Pittsfield on Film, which proves that Pittsfield is pulsing with creative energy, even through the dark days of winter. Revelers (including, from left, Berkshire International Film Festival founder Kelley Vickery, actress/singer Lauren Ambrose and her mother, Anne Garland) came from as far away as New York City to take in the juried exhibit, a collection of Pittsfield images by some 26 contemporary photographers. The artistically and thematically diverse works detail the surprising beauty found in empty lots, neighborhoods after dark, and pop-culture carnivals. Created in partnership with the Berkshire Film and Media Commission (BFMAC), the exhibit will live beyond its time on the walls (the show runs through March 6.) Pittsfield’s Office of Cultural Development is building a film database, hoping to attract film location scouts. Megan Whilden, director of cultural development, plans to make the exhibit an annual showcase of Pittsfield’s beauty and brawn. “We envision different themes each year,” says Whilden, “in order to highlight the diversity that is found in the Pittsfield landscape and to fill in the gaps in our film location database.” —Nicole Garzino
Musician and performer Autumn Doyle, artist Rebecca Weinmann, and Kristen Luttinen; photographer Jay Hathaway, Justin Larimore and Jennifer Lopez.
Photographer Heather Cachat and Tamara Gardner; Pittsfield Mayor James Ruberto and cultural development director Megan Whilden.
Diane Pearlman, executive director of the Berkshire Film & Media Commission, photographer Sue Geller, and Michelle Green, the new director of the Storefront Artist Project; Tammy MacKinnon, photographer Karl Volkman and photographer Kelly Lee.
Pittsfield city councilor Mike Ward, artist Grier Horner, and city councilor Pete White.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 01/19/10 at 05:13 PM • Permalink
Stars Align at Biskind Book Signing
Friends and cinephiles gathered on Saturday evening at The Chatham Bookstore to hear Peter Biskind read from his new book, Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America, an authorized (the subject’s attorney’s posturing notwithstanding) biography. Biskind’s first selection illustrates why Beatty is worthy of the serious consideration as a filmmaker. The second, and all of the hilarious off-the-cuff anecdotes that followed, show just how infuriatingly manipulative the actor/producer/director is, toward no one more than his biographer. Asked his favorite moment in the five-year process of writing the book, Biskind replied, “When it was done.”
Ross Levi, Peter Biskind, Sesame Campbell, and Sheila Sable
Writers Barbara Weisberg, Roselle Chartock, and David Black; Clellie Lynch and Rob McKeever
Calliope Nicholas; Dr. Ilze Butners, graphic novel author/illustrator Barbara Slate and Evalds Butners
Jan Moseman and Mary Busch; Jerry Berger and author Elizabeth Hess, Biskind’s wife.
Joanna Peters and James Raimes; Chatham Wines & Liquor’s owner Karen Kazmar and Spencertown Academy Executive Director Mary Anne Lee
Author Ruth Reichl and Ann Raimes; author Wesley Brown and architect Ben Puccio
Children’s book author and illustrator Emily McCully and Nation Magazine Editor and Publisher (retired) Victor Navasky; Clellie Lynch and Danny Lynch
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Posted by Marilyn Bethany on 01/17/10 at 08:05 AM • Permalink
Dressed for Chill at the Stockbridge Sleigh Rally
It was 8 degrees at 11 a.m. on Sunday, January 10, at Orleton Farm in Stockbridge, where the spectators huddled around a huge bonfire (which was stoked by shipping pallets) and sipped hot cider and hot cocoa to stay warm. Host Harvey Waller, the president of the Colonial Carriage & Driving Society, had promised a Currier & Ives day, and he produced a picture-postcard event. Many women wore their furriest and fuzziest winter clothing, but even the best dressed were chilled after an hour or so of standing outside and many guests took advantage of Waller’s offer to go into his barns and view his stellar collection of exquisitely restored antique carriages.
Marylee Wagner draped sleighbells over her coat; Tjasa Sprague in one of her trademark long skirts.
Heather Pictrowski of Pittsfield-based Rosacea Care; Hilary Deely in an heirloom coat.
A two-horse carriage was part of the opening Parade of Sleighs.
Elizabeth Petty and Valerie Fagan
Sue Ryan and Chris Trombley
One of the most Currier & Ives competitors wore a top hat.
Musician Vicki Richards; Evangela Terpak with Scarlett, her Newfoundland.
Guests gathered around the bonfire stoked with discarded shipping pallets.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 01/10/10 at 05:37 PM • Permalink
A Magical Midwinter’s Night of Music at The Mahaiwe
Before the Mahaiwe Center for the Performing Arts opened in 2005, you had to wait for summer to hear the superstars of classical music perform in the Berkshires. So it was appropriate that Emanuel Ax volunteered to play a tribute concert on January 2 in honor of Lola Jaffe, who spearheaded the $9 million renovation of the Great Barrington theater, where the stage has been named for her. The surprise of the night was that Ax had asked Yo-Yo Ma to join him, and the two world-famous and community-minded musicians serenaded Jaffe with pieces by Chopin and Schumann. The not-for-profit Mahaiwe sold so many premium tickets—raising more than $100,000— that the after party had to be split in two with receptions on stage at the Mahaiwe and around the corner at Allium.
The incomparables: Emanuel Ax, Lola Jaffe and Yo-Yo Ma photographed by Michael Lavin Flower.
Philanthropic consultant Philip Deely and actress Hilary Somers Deely; photographer Lincoln Russell & the Red Lion’s Nancy Fitzpatrick
Designer Nicholas Xatzís & blogger Athina Fliakos; Catherine Gevers of the Silk Road Project & Jill Hornor Ma.
Actor Andrew Belcher and Marilee Herring.
Bob Jaffe, the son of Lola and co-artistic director of the Berkshire Playwrights Lab and Emanuel Ax; Dru Graham and Patty Warble.
Tea expert John Harney and real-estate powerhouse Elyse Harney; Ben Laufer with his mother, psychiatrist Evelyn Attia, and Gabe Schneier.
MCLA president Mary Grant with Lola Jaffe and Nancy Fitzpatrick.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 01/03/10 at 08:26 PM • Permalink
A Night of Art to Be Reckoned With in North Adams & Pittsfield
MASS MoCA is the North Pole of the Rural Intelligence region, and you never know what the elves in North Adams will produce next. On Saturday December 12, in the football-field sized gallery known as Building 5, the museum unveiled an installation called Gravity Is A Force To Be Reckoned With (left) by Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, which is an upside down version of a glass house by Mies van der Rohe . “Emotion and science are simultaneously inverted and logic therefore challenged,” says curator Denise Markonish of the modernist house with furniture hanging from the ceiling. On the same evening, everything was hanging right side up in Pittsfield, where the Storefront Artist Project had its version of a Secret Santa party—12x12 on 12/12—where every $25 ticket you bought (and smart folks bought more than one) entitled you to choose a 12 x 12 inch work of art by a local artist as your ticket number was pulled out of a hat. “This is the best party—and best deal—of the year,” said writer/real-estate agent Gladys Montgomery.
Artist Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, who created Gravity Is A Force To Be Reckoned With for MASS MoCA, with his son Gabriel; furniture designer Brian Lee with MASS MoCA junior graphic designer Liz Plahn.
Artist Pasha Radetzki and MASS MoCA curator Denise Markonish
Jennifer Trainer Thompson and Dante Burch, MASS MoCA’s production manager for visual arts, on crutches after being injured during the installation of Gravity Is A Force To Be Reckoned With; Maria Siskind, Danielle Steinmann, Natasha Becker.
Williams College art professor Ed Epping with MASS MoCA director Joe Thompson.
Red Lion owner and MASS MoCA trustee Nancy Fitzpatrick with Seth & Mary Nash of BlueQ; Denise Markonish and MASS MoCA’s Katherine Myers.
MASS MoCA intern Maggie Church and Ann Clarke, dean of the Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts; blogger Sarah Buttenwieser, Pittsfield gallery owner Leslie Ferrin and artist Tom Patti.
Photographer Timothy Nazzaro and MASS MoCA’s Jason Wilcox who fabricated Gravity Is A Force To Be Reckoned With.
At the 12 x 12 sale, Catharine Deely hid behind her registration form; one wall of the art for sale at the Storefront Artist Project.
Real estate brokers Gladys Montogmery and Karl Volkman; artist Michael Boroniec and Berkshire Museum executive director Stuart Chase.
Photographer Jay Elling with artist Rebecca Weinmann; Pittsfield’s director of cultural development Megan Whilden and Igor Greenwald
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 12/14/09 at 01:54 PM • Permalink
The Wandering Eye: Clermont Christmas
The Wandering Eye, aka Carey Maloney, wandered into our Parties section from his usual perch in Style, to report on the goings on this season at Clermont, the Livingston property that is now a New York State historic site.
Beginning in 1728 (281 years and seven generations ago…), there have been holiday celebrations at Clermont In our neck of the woods, the Christmas Party at Clermont marks the kick off for the season.
Saturday evening, with a theme “Bounty of the Hudson”, the Friends of Clermont pitched in, decked the halls, and laid out a homemade spread that truly felt like a party that Honoria McVitty, the last Livingston to live at Clermont, might have thrown. Lots of laughter and good cheer lit up one of the Hudson Valley’s greatest houses.
Next Saturday, December 19, the Christmas at Clermont Open House will be your last chance to visit the house until it reopens on March 31. During the Winter, the Clermont State Historic Site continues its outdoor programming. Mark your calendars for the Sledding Party on January 25 and ‘Track and Traces: Looking for Signs of Winter Wildlife’ walk on February 21. See ya there! —Carey Maloney
Wint Aldrich and Tracie Rohzon; Matthew Carnicelli and Susan Boudreau
David Sharpe and Bruce Chilton; Marianne Thorsen and Frances Gaddipati
Clermont president Rick Griner, Hermes Mallea, Matthew Carnicelli, Brian Lange, and Carey Maloney
Barbara Coffey, Carolyn Coffey, Brian Venerus, and John Coffey; Ginny Sibbison and Fayal Greene
Dennis Nesel, Clermont director of education Kjirsten Gustavson, and Clermont president Rick Griner; Jane Lehmuller, Dziugas Grybauskas, Peter Sweeny, and Donna Matthews.
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Posted by Marilyn Bethany on 12/13/09 at 08:16 AM • Permalink
Hollywood on the Housatonic
Cultural correspondent Bess J. M. Hochstein reports from Lenox: When it comes to luring film productions to the area, the Berkshire Film and Media Commission (BFMC) takes its cue from real estate agents in citing the three most important factors: location, location, location. That was the message delivered to the crowd of more than 100 directors, actors, producers, crew members, film festival organizers, cineastes (including filmmaker John Whalan and BFMC executive director Diane Pearlman, left) and other interested parties who gathered in the lobby of the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre at Shakespeare & Company as the curtains rose on the BFMC. The launch party reinforced the image of the Berkshires as a potential center for filmmaking, rich in scenic landscapes, diverse architecture ranging from Gilded-Age mansions to falling-down barns, and experienced film professionals suitable for any role behind or in front of a camera. Add to these resources a soon-to-be developed soundstage conveniently located in the very building where the launch party was held—about 35,000 square feet of raw space in Shakespeare & Company’s Production and Performing Arts Center—and it’s clear that the Berkshires has the potential to be Hollywood on the Housatonic.
Actress and Great Barrington shopkeeper Karen Allen with actors Michel Gill and Jayne Atkinson.
Tony & Lucy Simotes of Shakespeare & Company; artists Colleen Surprise Jones and Meryl Joseph.
Photographer Kevin Sprague and Berkshire Visitors Bureau chief Laurie Klefos; Shakespeare & Company actors David Michael Joseph & Elizabeth Aspenlieder.
Publicist David Carriere, Berkshire International Film Festival founder Kelley Vickery and Gundula Brattke; Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson, Maggie Leonard and Vicki Bonnington.
Party plannner Amy Rudnick with her daughter, Maizy Hillman.
Bill Beautyman of Limelight Productions in Lee with legendary special effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull; Amy Lynn and Tim Lovett of Berkshire Property Agents.
Colin Rand with Kira Murdoch and Marc Maurino; film developer Audrey Davis and artist Jeanet Ingalls.
Body painter Bria Aponte and the Edna St. Vincent Millay Society’s Peter Bergman; Mary & Seth Nash of BlueQ.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 12/09/09 at 02:56 PM • Permalink
The Berkshire Creative Community Sparkles Together
Cultural correspondent Bess J. M. Hochstein reports from Lenox: Hundreds of members of the Berkshire “creative class” converged on the Seven Hills Inn on Thursday, December 3, for the second annual SPARKLE, the holiday edition of Berkshire Creative‘s signature SPARK networking event. As befits the season, deal-making took a back seat to merry-making as guests compared holiday plans, bellied up to endless platters of delectables from Haven Café and Bakery, Brix Wine Bar, and Chocolate Springs, and helped themselves to swag donated by BlueQ. Both the silent auction and the chance auction found a captive audience quite literally, because chance auction winners were required to be to there to hear if their tickets were pulled from a bag and claim their prizes. Among the winners was Nancy Fitzpatrick (above with Creative Pittsfield’s Megan Whilden), Berkshire Creative’s chair, who was delighted to win back an item she had donated and then wished she hadn’t—a funky canister that had long been part of the decor at her now-defunct Jack’s Grill. As the SPARK faded, many partygoers migrated across town to Haven Café & Bakery, where owner Shelly Williams was throwing a party in appreciation of her loyal clientele. A few still had spark enough in them to get in a dance before the evening ended.
Artist Rebecca Weinmann with Berkshire Creative’s Helena Fruscio; Caity Delphia and Evan Moriarty.
Catharine Deely and Jeff Klesier; Stephanie Iverson and MASS MoCA’s Katherine Myers;
Photographers Kevin Sprague and Scott Barrow.
Susan Geller and Diane Pearlman of the Berkshire Film & Media Commission; Tonio Palmer and David Crane of Excelsior Printing.
Singer Abia Tapia and Scott Edward Cole of Cafe Pomo d’Oro; Berkshire Museum’s Stuart Chase and The Clark’s Julie Chase.
Mission Bar + Tapas’s Carrie Saldo with Nicole Garzino, president-elect of the Junior League of Berkshire County.
Shakespeare & Company’s Elizabeth Aspenlieder, John Toole, and Mary Garnish of Berkshire Living; personal trainer Joanna Ezinga and Coco Black.
Haven owner Shelly Williams, who hosted the de facto after party, and her husband, Randal Williams, a yoga educator, flank Stephen Kramek.
Costume designer Arthur Oliver and interior designer Karen Beckwith; Joshua Needleman of Chocolate Springs and Annie Whalen of Bella Flora.
Bookish brothers: Simon’s Rock lit professor Brendan Mathews and his brother Colin Mathews of readMedia; culinary sisters: Daire Rooney of Brix and Caitrin Rooney of Nudel.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 12/07/09 at 09:51 AM • Permalink
MASS MoCA Takes Manhattan
One of the amazing things about MASS MoCA is that a cutting-edge museum with an international reputation thrives in rural, northern Berkshire County. As community-oriented as MASS MoCA is, it can not depend on locals to sustain it financially, which is why the museum holds an annual fundraiser in Manhattan. The guest list for the party on Monday, November 23, included art world heavy hitters such as Max Protech, Carol LeWitt, Carrie Mae Weems, Gregory Crewdson, and Doug & Mike Starn. Many of MASS MoCA’s patrons straddle the city and country, such as Meryl Streep and her husband, sculptor, Don Gummer, who have long had a house in Salisbury, CT, and the collectors Melva Bucksbaum & Ray Learsey of Sharon, CT. Like its north county neighbor the Williamstown Theatre Festival, which had its NYC benefit the week before, MASS MoCA choose a funky but glamorous location—the Angel Orensanz Foundation on the Lower East Side—so it could have its own hometown caterer, Nancy Thomas of Mezze and Allium, serve the dinner. What could be cooler than the folks from North Adams putting on a party that impresses even jaded Manhattanites?
(Photographs courtesy of MASS MoCA and Kalika Farmer.)
Meryl Streep, a member of MASS MoCA Director’s Advisory Council, and Chuck Close.
MASS MoCA trustees Nancy Fitzpatrick and Bobbie Crosby; Perri Petricca and Madline McKelvey
Christopher Jones with Taryn & Mark Leavitt.
Artists Steve Hannock and Don Gummer; MASS MoCA trustee Bridget Fawcett with art dealer Pip Deely.
Artist Vita Zaman and curator Nikki Columbus.
Chris Doyle, an artist in the Elegies exhibit at MASS MoCA, with Elegies curator Denise Markonish and Tim Hoolihan.; Susan Brown, Gary & Peggy Shilling and Duncan Brown, chairman of the MASS MoCA board.
George Bolster, an artist in MASS MoCA’s Elegies show, with artist Jane Philbrick, and curator Stephen Hepworth
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 12/02/09 at 08:18 PM • Permalink
The Beacon Cinema Says “Thank You” and “Welcome”
Cultural correspondent Bess J. M. Hochstein reports from Pittsfield: The brand new Beacon Cinema officially opened on November 19 with a raucous North Street block party and midnight screening of New Moon. But the very next Monday, November 23, the cinema closed its doors to the public to throw another party to thank the business community for its support of the six-screen complex, which is expected to be the linchpin for Pittsfield’s economic revitalization. A festive throng of politicians, public servants, educators, entrepreneurs, bankers, and culturati filled the lobby, enjoying copious platters of food from local favorites such as Patrick’s Pub, Pittsfield Brew Works, and The Dancing Vegan. After developer Richard Stanley expressed his gratitude to all who helped bring the Beacon to fruition, local literary lion Kevin O’Hara took to the podium to tell a few tales, and then the crowd donned 3-D glasses for a screening of Disney’s A Christmas Carol. Berkshire International Film Festival founder Kelley Vickery (above with Pittsfield Mayor James Ruberto), served as the evening’s unofficial hostess, even popping behind the counter to serve wine and let it be known that BIFF will use two of the Beacon’s screens (in addition to the Triplex and Mahaiwe in Great Barrington) for the festival come June.
David Comalli of Comalli Electric with The Colonial’s executive director David Fleming and his wife, Kathy; Fairview Hospital president Gene Dellea, Beacon Cinema owner Richard Stanley, and Bill Dunleavy, chairman of Legacy Banks.
Angelo Stracuzzi, president of Greylock Federal Credit Union, with Allison Johnson Krol, a staffer for state senator Ben Downing, and Pittsfield city councilor-elect John Krol, the host of Good Morning Pittsfield.
Susan Cowan and Norma Probst, director of marketing at Cranwell; Will Laidlaw of Pine Cone Hill with Lillian Lennox of the Berkshire International Film Festival.
Pittsfield’s director of cultural development Megan Whilden with Mayor James Ruberto.
BIFF’s Lauren Ferrin & Kelley Vickery with Carrie Saldo of Mission and Minc House; gallery owner Leslie Ferrin with photographer Jay Elling
A classical trio played in a quiet corner of the sparkling, jam-packed lobby.
Suky & Tom Werman of Stonover Farm in Lenox
Michael & Joan Haley with Kevin & Bellita O’Hara; Peter Lafayette of the Berkshire Bank Foundation and Berkshire Bank vice president Bill Davis.
Congressional candidate Andrea F. Nuciforo Jr. and Deanna Ruffer, Pittsfield director of community development; Pittsfield schools superintendent Jake Eberwein & Tricia Farley-Bouvier, executive director of Literacy Network of South Berkshire.
Assistant projectionist Dave Sandrini sports the 3-D glasses guests wore to watch A Christmas Carol.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 11/30/09 at 10:43 AM • Permalink
Night of 100 Plates: A Feast to Help Feed the Hungry
Cultural correspondent Bess J.M. Hochstein reports from Pittsfield: Art dealers Leslie Ferrin and Donald Clark were thinking of ways to give back to the community during the holidays, so they decided to host a festive dinner to benefit St. Stephen’s Table on November 21. The meal followed the opening reception for Ferrin’s annual, gift-oriented “Small Works” exhibition as well as a show called “Paper-or-Pottery-not Plastic”, which includes artist-designed paper plates ($100) and pottery plates ($35 -$100.) At one long banquet table that ran the length of the gallery, 60 guests dined on a Thai feast prepared by sculptor Joe Wheaton, who has mastered the cuisine of coconut curries & peanut sauce, lemongrass & galangal, mango & papaya, and sticky rice & chilis on frequent travels to Southeast Asia with his partner, Dick Lipez (aka novelist Richard Stevenson, above). A longtime volunteer at St. Stephen’s Table, Wheaton cooked the entire multi-course meal, though many others—including St. Stephen’s Table coordinator Dan Moon, a culinary instructor at Taconic High School—helped dish it out. The evening raised more than $2,500 which will provide 50 nights of meals for those who would otherwise go hungry.
The evening was the Ferrin Gallery debut of North Adams artists Laura Christensen and her husband, Gregory Scheckler, who sold five of his landscapes at the opening; social worker Alba Passerini with the Ferrin Gallery’s Donald Clark
Mitch & Caitlin Nash of Pittsfield-based Blue Q; Ken & Suzanne Nash.
Photographer Evan Soldinger with wife, metalsmith/jeweler Linda Kaye-Moses, author of Pure Silver Metal Clay Beads
Carrie Saldo of Minc House with Leslie Ferrin; interior designer Sarah Thorne and West Stockbridge woodworker Peter Thorne.
Writer and real estate broker Gladys Montgomery with Berkshire Eagle art critic Keith Shaw.
Artists Paul Graubard and Karen Chase; artist Colleen Quinn with the Berkshire Museum’s director of interpretation, Maria Mingalone.
Serving crew Dan Moon, Margot Paddock, Joe Wheaton, Ingrid MacGillis, and Dick Lipez getting ready to dish it out.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 11/23/09 at 05:07 PM • Permalink
“The French Blue” Book Party at The Mount
Cultural Correspondent Bess J.M. Hochstein reports from Lenox: It should come as no surprise that self-taught goldsmith and gemologist Richard W. Wise gets things done with a certain flair. Rather than hold the typical author’s reading and signing to launch his new book, The French Blue, Wise engaged actor George Bergen (left) to embody Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, a true-life 17th century adventurer and trader of precious gems, jewels, and pearls, whose life, loves, and escapades form the basis of Wise’s first novel. (His 2003 book, Secrets of the Gem Trade: The Connoisseur’s Guide to Precious Gemstones, has sold over 30,000 copies.) On Thursday November 19, at The Mount, Bergen-as-Tavernier swept out in feathered cap and period costume and engaged the standing-room-only audience in Edith Wharton’s drawing room with a dramatic reading from the would-be autobiography. Then Wise took the podium to answer questions from the crowd, many of which concerned the French Blue, the legendary 116-carat diamond, which survived centuries of recutting and other indignities until it landed in collection of The Smithsonian as the world-famous Hope Diamond. It seems as if everyone in the enthusiastic audience left with a signed copy of The French Blue in hand, and, perhaps dreams of precious stones that they might receive as gifts this holiday season.
Evan Anthony with The Mount’s executive director Susan Wissler; Richard W.Wise with his wife, Rebekah.
Martie & David Ekstrom of Resort Maps with Dara Kaufman, director of of member services for the Berkshire Visitors Bureau; Leslie Beck of Berkshire Living with Ethan Berg of the Winthrop Estate.
Celia Kittredge and Gordon Travers, chairman of the board of Edith Wharton Restoration, which operates The Mount.
Sara Hunter Hudson, the Mount¹s new chief development officer, with Susan Wissler; Kit Clucas with book publicist David Carriere.
Michael Ulick of the Church Street Gallery with Barbara Greenberg; goldsmith and designer Michael Corneau and diamond aficionado Stephen Hofer.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 11/23/09 at 01:44 PM • Permalink
Urban Renewal! Williamstown Theatre Festival’s NYC Benefit
It wasn’t surprising that many of the Williamstown Theatre Festival‘s hometown trustees made the trek from the Berkshires to New York City for the company’s fall benefit at the baroque Prince George Ballroom (left) on November 16. What was surprising—and gratifying—was to see Nancy Thomas and a crew from Mezze Catering, who made the journey from Williamstown to Manhattan to provide dinner for the 260 guests with a menu featuring foodstuffs from High Lawn Farm, Maplebrook Farm, Mighty Food Farm, and Peace Valley Farm. Honoring Tom Fontana, a writer and producer who got his start at Williamstown, the evening featured heartfelt toasts, songs by WTF stalwarts Kate Burton and Katie Finneran, and a star-turn by WTF’s new general manager, Joe Finnegan, as the evening’s auctioneer.
Actors Rightor Doyle, Wendie Malick, and Adam Lerman.
WTF trustee Jid Sprague with WTF artistic assistant Stephen Sanders; WTF board president Matthew Harris and general manager Joe Finnegan.
The traveling trustees: Polly Birrell & Steve Birrell from Williamstown; Cindy Elizter & Chip Elitzer from Great Barrington.
Composer Barry Wyner, actress Emily Shoolin, and producer Scott Delman.
