Every summer, Berkshire Theatre Festival mounts one or two important and historic plays that I have never seen or read, and I am always grateful to BTF for filling in the gaps in my education. Nowadays, as large-cast musicals become prohibitively expensive to produce, we should rejoice whenever they are staged with verve, wit, and passion, which is exactly what director Ralph Petillo has done with Leonard Bernstein's Candide (through August 15). He has made the most of every comic moment in this high/low musical comedy with its bawdy jokes and transcendent score, and this production makes clear why this is such a beloved show. The cast is made up mostly of college students which gives the evening its classic summer-stock sensibility, and they sing without body mikes in the 99-seat Unicorn Theatre, which gives the evening its intimacy. The cast is obviously having a good time, and so is the audience. The all-too-innocent Candide (sung with great gusto by Julian Whitley) discovers that all is not for the best "in the best of all possible worlds," as he was taught by his master Dr. Pangloss. Candide loses his innocence as he travels the world in search of Cunegonde, his one-true love (played with self-assurance and cheeky attitude by McCaela Donovan.) When Donovan sings 'Glitter and Be Gay," she makes sure it fulfills its show-stopping potential. "She's sensational!" said Andrew Volkoff, the Barrington Stage director, who happened to be in the audience the night I saw the show. If this were the best of all possible worlds, there would be an orchestra instead of two pianos, but the times demand that not-for-profit theaters make the most of their resources, which is what BTF has done splendidly with Candide. It's exactly the sort of exhilarating entertainment you want on a summer's night, and I drove home happily, humming Bernstein's tunes and feeling—as I so often do as a full-time resident of our region—that I do live in the best of all possible worlds.
