Winter doldrums, be gone! You have no chance against two upcoming stage productions in the Berkshires. On February 24, Barrington Stage Company opens its annual 10x10 New Play Festival, and on March 4, MASS MoCA unveils the world premiere of “Yemandja: A Story of Africa,” a musical theater work conjured by and featuring international superstar Angélique Kidjo along with a full cast, band, choreography and sets. The 10x10 play fest has become one of the Berkshires’ most popular winter attractions — its two-week run often sells out. And Kidjo’s popularity plus the quality of MASS MoCA’s programming — and its two-day run — predisposes that it will sell well. Bottom line: Reserve your tickets now.

10x10 New Play Festival at Barrington Stage Company

The company’s 10x10 New Play Festival featuring ten, ten-minute plays has become a not-to-be-missed winter tradition among local audiences. Every year, the call goes out to playwrights for submissions, and hundreds of entries come piling in — so many, in fact, that Barrington Stage now hires readers to help screen the scripts for Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and staff. The ten they choose rarely miss the mark.

There’s always a nice mix of the hilarious, the serious and the touching, and often, unintentionally, a theme emerges. This year, its eleventh, the floating zeitgeist centers around honesty and lying, says Boyd. “There are a lot of scenes about people saying things you find out later aren’t true." Among the ten: “Liars Anonymous,” in which two members of Liars Anonymous meeting have a conversation; “Misfortune,” where a couple gets some disturbing news from a fortune cookie, and “An Awkward Conversation in the Shadow of Mount Moriah,” involving the tension between Abraham and Isaac after the almost-sacrifice. And then, Boyd continues, “We always include pieces that are out of left field, because they’re a surprise.”

Conceived originally as Barrington Stage’s winter gift to local audiences (and also as the organization’s entry in Pittsfield’s 10x10 Upstreet Arts Festival), the short play roundup has always packed people into the 132-seat St. Germain Stage. Last year, the company was forced to produce a streaming version, but the festival is back in person this year, moving to the main stage to allow for socially distanced seating. And you can bet that, despite the pandemic, people will come. (The production will again be streamed on demand  from March 31 through April 3.)

“We wanted to do something for locals in the winter,” Boyd says — and nothing stops the loyal audiences. “We’ve done the show through blizzards, and only two to four tickets would be cancelled. We keep the tickets inexpensive. And it’s an opportunity for Barrington Stage regulars to see the returning actors — Peggy Pharr, Robert Zuckerman and Matt Neely.”

Several months ago Boyd, who founded Barrington Stage in 1995, announced her retirement after this summer’s season. Although she hopes to come back and do some directing, she says another person’s vision will be welcome. Note to new director: Please continue the 10x10 New Play Festival.

BSC’s 2022 10x10 New Play Festival
Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield, MA
Feb. 24-March 13
Tickets: $25-$35

“Yemandja,” A World Premiere at MASS MoCA

Considered one of the great artists in international music, four-time Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo has collaborated with a team of creatives to bring to life her vision of a theatrical work based on her ancestors, her family and the deity Yemandja. Created in residency at MASS MoCA, "Yemandja," with music by Kidjo and her husband, Jean Hebrail, was written by her daughter, Naima Hebrail Kidjo, directed by Cheryl Lynn Bruce, with visual design by artist Kerry James Marshall. A cast of 10 performers plus 4 musicians create an atmosphere of magical realism that fuses real history with the spiritual world of West African gods and goddesses.

Kidjo says she has long wanted to bring her Yoruban culture and family history to the world through song and drama. The story is set in 19th-century Dahomey, the West African kingdom where the world of the gods is close to that of men. Yemandja ‚ a deity of water and fertility — played by Kidjo —has given her protegee Omolola the power of song to change the course of history. But there is one caveat: the power only works if one’s heart is pure, and De Salta, a Brazilian slave trader, controls the city, and kills or enslaves those around Omolola, who struggles to access her song.

A cast of storytellers enacts the themes of love, betrayal, honor and free will, guided by Yemandja. A leading theme is the complex story of slavery from an African perspective. The history of Africans’ own involvement in the slave trade — not a well-known fact — is a difficult concept that cast members struggle with. An intimacy and sensitivity coach was brought in to help the actors emotionally navigate the action, says Cheryl Lynn Bruce, the director. “There is a part where the slave trader whips a character, and we have to be attentive to the emotional valance of the actors in some of those scenes.”

The production held a two-week workshop at MASS MoCA in October, and the NYC-based cast and crew will be in residence next week to complete the rehearsal process. A group of co-commissioners that includes The Broad Stage at Santa Monica College and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts along with MASS MoCA supports the production, but North Adams gets the world premiere, a privilege frequently awarded to the contemporary art museum.

“MASS MoCA is one of the best places to work,” says Rachel Chanoff, founder/director of THE OFFICE and the museum’s curator of performing arts. “It has an embarrassment of real estate and an extraordinary crew that helps artists create work. We’ve had 75 residencies over 26 years. MASS MoCA takes people out of their everyday life and inspires them to make art where they’re surrounded by great art.”

The general admission performance on March 4 will be followed on March 5 with a benefit and performance, cocktail hour, and a dinner with the cast.

“There is such nuance in life, right now especially, when truth is hanging by a thread, and history has become this fearful thing,” says Chanoff. “To have this particular set of artists be able to investigate a certain truth is crucial right now.”

Naima Kidjo says that to honor the story and the traditions of Angelique Kidjo’s (and her own) lineage, the production, needs to make sure the music feels authentic, and that the costumes, lighting and projection transports the viewers.

Indeed, says Bruce, “We will be making magic in front of the audience.”

"Yemandja," A World Premiere
MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA
General admission performance Friday, March 4, 8 p.m. Tickets start at $20
MASS MoCA 2022 Benefit and Performance, Saturday, March 5, 4 p.m.
Tickets start at $250

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