Season Preview 2023: Theater
Variety is the name of the theater output this season. Here are 10 shows we wouldn't want you to miss.
The 2023 Festival Stage at Williamstown Theatre Festival
Another summer, another embarrassment of riches when it comes to theater in the Rural Intelligence region. What’s even better is that we’re not seeing caveats or protocols or the need to switch to tented productions anymore. Whether or not you consider the pandemic to be over, it’s definitely not the leading factor in how theater presenters are programming this summer. As always, it’s no easy feat to pick out a handful of must-see shows, but these will give you an idea of the variety of theatrical productions planned for area stages.
1. “This season is going to feel very different,” says Interim Artistic Director Jenny Gersten. As it takes the year to consider how to transition from a summer stock tradition to a more contemporary, sustainable format, WTF will be presenting shorter runs of solo performances (comedian Hasan Minhaj, July 13-15, and Broadway legend Laura Benanti, July 16), a return of the WTF Cabaret on weekends, the Main Stage Reading series featuring popular plays and Festival artists, and Fridays@3 Reading Series. Also different: Artists and audiences will be sharing the stage in a newly created environment they’re calling the 2023 Festival Stage. Finally, the company is co-producing “A New Brain” with the Barrington Stage Company, a musical by William Finn. We look forward to experiencing this reimagined way of programming —perhaps temporary, perhaps not —a summer season.
2. “Cabaret.” Alan Paul aims to make a splash in his debut as BSC’s new artistic director. For his first show in his premiere season, he chose to direct Kander and Ebb’s “Cabaret” — not just because it’s one of his favorite musicals, but also because its subject matter bears an eerie prescience to current affairs Krysta Rodriguez (NBC’s “Smash,” Broadway’s “Into the Woods” revival) will lead as Sally Bowles. Tickets for BSC’s opening musicals go fast, so we suggest you reserve yours now. June 14-July 8
3. "A New Brain.” As mentioned above, "A New Brain" is being produced in with Williamstown Theatre Festival. It has a local connection: its author is Tony Award winner and Berkshires resident William Finn (of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” fame). He wrote the music and lyrics, and co-wrote the book with Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner James Lapine. It’s a deeply personal story about a writer coming to terms with his harrowing illness and the healing power of art. (August 16-Sptember 9)
"Illinois" at Bard Summerscape
4. “Illinois” Three imaginative artists — Justin Peck, Sufjan Stevens, and Jackie Sibblies Drury — unite to create a pageant of storytelling, theater, dance, and live music. The 2005 concept album — a cult hit that includes everything from John Wayne Gacy and the 1893 World’s Fair to Mary Todd Lincoln — has been transformed into a full-length theatrical performance with a cast of dancers, singers, and musicians. June 23-July 2
5. “Fences.” A Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama and Tony Award winner for Best Play, “Fences” is part of August Wilson’s acclaimed American Century Cycle, a series of ten plays that charts the African American experience throughout the 20th century. Those of us who weren’t lucky enough to see it on Broadway now have the chance to see this acclaimed drama as interpreted by S&Co in the Tina Packer Playhouse. July 22-August 27
6. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Shakespeare’s dreamy comedy will seem even more magical when it’s set outdoors at The New Spruce Theatre, where nature becomes another character among the forest fairies. August 1-September 10
7. “The Smile of Her.” A world premiere, written and performed by Christine Lahti is enough to pique our interest, but it’s the actor’s own story, so…doubly intrigued. It’s based on her memoir of growing up in the 1950s amid her “perfect” suburban family and the “patriarchy” on steroids. At The Unicorn Theatre. July 12-29
Great Barrington Public Theater
8. “Off Peak.” After a brief run on off-Broadway, where it got positive notice, “Off Peak” chugs its way into the Berkshires — it involves a couple on the Metro North. “It’s a cleverly disguised life lesson that invites us to eavesdrop, for a fast-moving 80 minutes, on a man and woman who were once intimately connected and who now find themselves the only two passengers in a Metro North train car,” says Artistic Director Jim Frangione. “It’s lots of fun, with incisive writing about the difference between love and relationships, the opportunity for second chances, and of course, improbable coincidence and happenstance that make and break relationships.” July 6-23
9. “Representation and How to Get It.” Inspired by Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” this solo show finds Julia Howe rehearsing a talk she’s about to give to the Boston Radical Club. It’s being produced in partnership with The Mount, which is where it’s being presented, for three performances only. Speaking truth to power always makes for good theater. August 24-26
10. “Our Town.” The Playhouse’s two musicals — “Something Rotten!” and “Oliver!,” will be followed by Thornton Wilder’s classic, described as “the greatest American play ever written” by Edward Albee. An autumnal visit back to Grover’s Corners seems like a fine way to transition from summer to fall. September 15-24.
