Arts

Arts

Review: "Of Thee I Sing" at Bard

If friends call you this weekend and offer you their extra ticket to Of Thee I Sing, which has been sold out for weeks, say, "Yes!" The only disappointing thing about this revival of the 1931 Gershwins' musical comedy at Bard Summerscape is the brevity of its

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Arts

New Marlborough's Music & More

Even as hoards of the music enthusiasts descend on Tanglewood, elsewhere, in a quieter corner of Berkshire County, another series of concerts thrives.  Over the past 17 years, pianist Harold Lewin, with his series Music & More, has made the historic Meeting House in New Marlborough a favorite destination for

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Arts

Theatre: Why Noël Now?

Is it coincidence or harmonic convergence that  Barrington Stage Company and Berkshire Theatre Festival are both ending their main stage seasons with plays by Noël Coward, the most urbane of playwrights? According to the theater companies' artistic directors, it was the availability of key players that led them to

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Arts

Alonzo King's LINES Ballet Astonishes at Jacob's Pillow

Memo to organizers of Barack Obama's inauguration: Book Alonzo King's LINES Ballet. On Wednesday night at Jacob's Pillow, the San Francisco-based troupe opened a five-day run with two epic pieces Migration: The hierarchical migration of birds and mammals and Rasa, which is set to

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Arts

"The Violet Hour" Gets a Radiant Production at Barrington Stage Company

When Richard Greenberg's play The Violet Hour opened on Broadway at the newly refurbished Biltmore Theater in 2003, New York Times critic Ben Brantley wrote that it was an "example of the funk that descends when bad casting happens to good plays." Now, Barrington Stage has

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Arts

"Frozen River" Screens in Chatham

As usual on the last Sunday of the month, the Chatham Film Club will screen a movie at the Crandell Theater this week. But there's nothing "as usual" about this particular screening.  In fact, it’s safe to assume, there has never been a screening closer

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Arts

Summer Stock: Staying Alive (Part II)

The Mac-Haydn in Chatham is not the only barn in our region where you can see musical theater with high production values, vigor and pluck. TriArts at the Sharon Playhouse stages three musicals every summer with a unique formula that combines first-rate regional and community theater: a couple of professional

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Arts

Talking about China in the Berkshires; Simon Winchester at Home

Simon Winchester, the Oxford-trained geologist turned bestselling author, became renowned with his inspired much-touted The Professor And the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary, and almost equally praised for Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883. The latest of this

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Arts

What Will Tanglewood Be Like Without James Levine?

Tanglewood's quarterback has been sidelined for the season. It was announced on July 8 that James Levine, the musical director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, will undergo surgery this week to remove a kidney because of a cyst causing pressure and discomfort. The recuperation period is six weeks

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Arts

Whatever Happened to Summer Stock?

It's alive and well at the Mac-Haydn Theatre in Chatham, NY. Going to see a show at this 350-seat theater is like entering a time machine. It transports you to the Catskills of Marjorie Morningstar, where bright-eyed Broadway hopefuls would spend the summer at hotels or camps and

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Arts

"Look @ Us!" A Breath of Fresh Air at the Berkshire Museum

Until now, you had to be a mad dog or masochist to visit the Berkshire Museum in July or August. "It was ghastly here," admits executive director Stuart Chase. But now that the 105- year-old museum on South Street in Pittsfield has finally gotten central air conditioning, it

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Arts

Artists' Studio Tour to Benefit Sharon Historical Society

Eight accomplished artists who live in the area, including Ellen Griesedieck, Eric Forstmann, Richard Rothschild, Peter Steiner, Don Gummer, James Mayer, Ira Barkoff and Duncan Hannah, will open their studios this weekend to benefit the Sharon Historical Society. The artists will be on hand throughout the weekend to discuss their

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