Theatre: Bad Dates Opening at Shakespeare & Company
Comic actress extraordinaire Elizabeth Aspenlieder; photo by Kevin Sprague
Everybody loves Lizzie. On stage and off, Elizabeth Aspenlieder just may be the most popular actress in the Berkshires. As a longtime actor/manager at Shakespeare & Company she has run the PR department for more than a decade while appearing in everything from Othello and Much Ado About Nothing to Tom Stoppard’s Rough Crossing. But, until now, she’s never done a one-woman show, and she begins previews on January 9 of the comedy Bad Dates, which runs in Lenox through March 8. “Every performance is going to be like a first date,“ she says.
Colder & Wiser: 10 Lessons From the Ice Storm
Mona Mark
If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you strong, they say. Maybe. Or maybe “it” just smartens you up a little bit. December’s ice storm was a veritable Everest of a learning curve, at least for some of us neuvo-rural types. We learned how to cook in the fireplace, how to keep a generator going, how to flush a toilet long after the well pump had ceased to do whatever it normally does. Useful stuff. So fellow greenhorns gather ‘round; we’re about to impart a little hard-won wisdom, lest ice strike again. Lesson number one: Choose your neighbors wisely
Philip Glass at MASS MoCANext Thursday evening, MASS MoCA screens Scott Hicks 2007 documentary, Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts, a multi-faceted picture of the composer as artist, father, and friend. Then the following night, Glass himself will be present for a live, mixed-media performance that includes discussion (with Boston Phoenix film critic Jerry Peary), selected clips from the many notable features films and shorts he has scored, and a little explanatory playing. |
Road Trips: Indoor Ice Skating RinksGoing ice skating takes planning, unless, of course, you are lucky enough to know about a frozen pond that’s as smooth as glass and strong as steel. While hockey games, private lessons and competitive figure skaters get priority when it comes to ice time in our region, there are regularly scheduled public sessions at indoor rinks in Lakeville, North Adams, Pittsfield, Poughkeepsie and Sheffield. |
Recipes: A Pesto Made with Broccoli RabeIt’s the time of year when we crave anything green, which is why Paige Orloff (between posts at The Sister Project) came up with a variation on pesto made from broccoli rabe, a bitter green that is a mainstay of southern Italian cooking. Paige’s recipe calls for capers and anchovies, and she serves her Rapini Pesto with grilled chicken and fish, on crackers as an appetizer, or mixed with pasta and some ricotta cheese. |
Dan's Diary: Totally, Absolutely DeliciousAfter several visits to Pho Saigon, a Vietnamese restaurant on a side street in downtown Lee, it has become clear that the kitchen never fails when it makes Banh Xeo, a traditional rice crepe stuffed with shrimp, pork and bean sprouts. It would be hard to find a dish anywhere that’s as savory and delicious. |
Parties: Storefront Artist's Post-Holiday Open HousePittsfield’s arts community has more than its share of die-hard partyers. Many came out on the first Sunday night of 2009 to toast two young artists who’d been given residencies by the Storefront Artist Project. Next week, on Saturday, January 17, from 6 - 8 PM, the Mentor Exhibit opens with work by high school students who have been mentored by professional artists. |
Movies: This Week's Rankings & SchedulesIt seems like a long time since two serious movies—Milk starring Sean Penn and Slumdog Millionaire—generated so much good conversation. If you haven’t seem them yet, find out when and where they are playing in our region, and what the critics are saying, too. |
