Divas Return to Shakespeare & Company
Limited Run September 9 to 13
By: Charles Giuliano - Sep 02, 2009
The Diva Series of three one woman shows - "Shirley Valentine" with Tina Packer, Annette Miller in "Golda's Balcony", and Penelope Kreitzer in "The Actors Rehearse the Story of Charlotte Salomon" opened the season for Shakespeare & Company. Two of the three productions are returning for a limited run from September 9 through 13. Because of a scheduling conflict the plan to present "Charlotte Solomon" has been deleted.
The shows were well received by audiences and critics. These low cost, one person, bare pipe productions were are part of the strategy of founding artistic director, Tina Packer, to mount a record of 18 productions to work through a tough economy. Part of the problem of the Diva Series is that it came and went all too quickly. Even this encore is proving to be too brief as the shows are selling out quickly. Readers are urged to act quickly and not miss out on these stunning performances.
Some years ago Packer performed as "Shirley Valentine" in a four month run at the Charles Playhouse in Boston. It is one of her most popular roles and great fun. We just loved it. After these performances Packer will be on an extended sabbatical from S&Co. She will immediately start rehearsing the demanding role of Martha in Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf."
That production opens at Boston's Publick Theatre in October. From there she is on to her first British appearance since the 20th Century. Or a chunk of it. She will perform another Martha in Colchester. Her appearance in Boston is destined to be one of the most talked about events of the theatre season. This is the last chance for Berskhire audiences to wish her good luck and bon voyage.
Annette Miller is also no stranger to Lenox where she developed "Golda's Balcony" and built a loyal following. Her shows earlier in the season out sold a prior run at S&Co. The current performances are expected to sell out. Act fast.
The press release from S&Co.
The divas are back. Only days after the 15th Annual Studio Festival of Plays caps the summer season on September 7, and a week before The Hound of the Baskervilles leaps out of the gate for the beginning of its autumn run, two of the most popular modern plays in Shakespeare & Company's recent history return for an encore.
After playing to full houses in limited runs earlier in the season, Shirley Valentine starring Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer and Golda's Balcony starring audience favorite Annette Miller return for two performances each. The performance of Willy Russell's Shirley Valentine on September 11 is sold out; a second performance has just been added for Saturday, September 12 at 8:30pm.
Some seats still remain for the performance of William Gibson's Golda's Balcony on Sunday, September 13 at 3pm and another performance has been added, to kick off this encore of the Diva Series on Wednesday, September 9 at 2pm. (The previously scheduled performance of The Actors Rehearse The Story of Charlotte Salomon on September 12 has been removed from the calendar due to a scheduling conflict with the artist.)
The Diva Series takes place in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, and is dedicated to the theatre's namesake—someone who knows first hand what can be accomplished through the passion and dedication of one woman.
The Bernstein is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible. Tickets range from $16 to $48. For a complete listing of productions and schedules, to inquire about the 40% Berkshire Resident Discount, Youth Rush tickets, or other discounts, or to receive a brochure, please call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353 or visit www.shakespeare.org. For custom-designed group visits including options for artist talkbacks and catered events, contact the Group Sales office at (413) 637-1199 ext. 132.
Shirley Valentine warmed the hearts and tickled the funny bones of thousands of New England theatre goers when Packer performed the role to critical acclaim in Boston several times in the late 1980's, at Shakespeare & Company in 1991, and again in 1995.
Last year, Packer reprised the role in front of an invited audience for the opening performance of the Bernstein Theatre. Earlier this season, the show's run was one of the hottest tickets in the Berkshires. Shirley Valentine follows the poignant and often hysterically funny story of a dowdy working class British housewife, and her journey to self-discovery by way of the Greek islands.
Company artist and Associate Director of Education Jenna Ware directs. Shirley Valentine returns for two very special performances: September 11 and 12. (The September 11 performance is sold out.)
Golda's Balcony is the riveting story of a lioness who made history. This powerhouse, one-woman production features longtime Company actress Annette Miller in a reprise of the role that earned her both the Elliot Norton Award for "Outstanding Solo Performance" and the IRNE Award, after she originated it in the play's world premiere at Shakespeare & Company in 2002. Daniel Gidron directs. Portraying Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir over the course of a single, crucial night during the Yom Kippur War.
Miller was nominated for a second Elliot Norton Award this year for another role she originated at S&Co.: her passionate and moving portrayal of Martha Mitchell in Jodi Rothe 's searing Martha Mitchell Calling, directed by Daniela Varon.
In Golda's Balcony, Prime Minister Meir awaits word of military aid from the White House and dreads a potential Doomsday scenario. She reflects on her life and the difficult personal and political decisions that have led her to office, from her first memories of her father, a carpenter, nailing boards against a door in Kiev to prevent a pogrom's invasion; to her immigration to Palestine ; the establishment of Israel in 1948 and eventually the horrors of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
This story of a lioness who made history is as potently relevant today as when it was first performed. It is endlessly compelling, deeply riveting, and always powerful. With tickets to the return performance on September 13 going fast, another performance has been added for September 9.
BIOS
Tina Packer, one of the country's foremost experts on Shakespeare and theatre arts, created Shakespeare & Company in 1978, the goal of which is to be an American Shakespeare company of the highest standard that holds language at its center.
Born in England and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Tina was an associate artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company and performed in the West End and on BBC television. Recognized by more than 18 awards, honors and fellowships, she has twice received Boston's coveted Elliot Norton Award, as well as the state's highest cultural honor, The Commonwealth Award, and both Guggenheim and Bunting Fellowships. She has directed nearly every Shakespeare play. Her business book, Power Plays: Shakespeare's Lessons in Leadership was published in 2000 and Tales from Shakespeare, a re-telling of Shakespeare plays for young people, came out in 2004 and won the coveted Parents' Choice Award.
Packer's recent onstage roles at Shakespeare & Company include Queen Gertrude in Hamlet (2006, 2008 national tour, and 2009), Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (2007), and the title role in Shirley Valentine (2009), with acting engagements to come this fall with the Boston Publick Theatre's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and the Mercury Theatre in Colchester, England's Through The Leaves.
Annette Miller* twelfth season (Golda Meir in Golda's Balcony, Eddie's Grandmother in Ancestral Voices with A.R. Gurney) S&Co: The Ladies Man (Madame Aigreville), Martha Mitchell Calling (Martha)—toured at Stageworks Hudson (Best Actress, Independent News 2007) and at The Actors Playhouse in Coral Gables, FL, and in Oct ' 08 at the Nora Theater Co. (2009 Elliot Norton Award nominee); Full Gallop (Diana Vreeland); Golda ' s Balcony (Golda)—2003 IRNE and Eliot Norton Award for Best Solo Performance; Love Letters (with A.R. Gurney); Collected Stories (Ruth Steiner); Richard III (Margaret);Twelfth Night (Maria); Ethan Frome (Zenobia). B ' way: Odd Couple—female version (Sylvie). Off B ' way: The Primary English Class (Debbie Wastba). Boston : Nobody Dies on Friday at A.R.T. (Paula Strasberg) The Seagull (Arkadina); Hamlet (Gertrude); Glass Menagerie (Amanda). Film: Autumn Heart, Next Karate Kid, Night School, Boardwalk, the Company Men (upcoming). TV: As the World Turns (Smythe/Bettina) Brotherhood (Kate). Training: Stella Adler, Brandeis University (BA. & MFA).
AT A GLANCE: DIVA SERIES
PRODUCTION: Shirley Valentine
THEATRE: Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre
WRITTEN BY: Willy Russel
DIRECTOR: Jenna Ware
CAST: Tina Packer
SET DESIGN: Kiki Smith, Janet Kalas
COSTUME DESIGNER: Govane Lohbauer
SOUND DESIGNER: Michael Pfeiffer
LIGHTING DESIGNER: Greg Solomon
PERFORMING: Friday, September 11 at 8:30pm
Saturday, September 12 at 8:30pm
TICKETS: $16-$48
Phone: (413) 637-3353
Email: boxoffice@shakespeare.org
Web: www.shakespeare.org
Fax (credit card orders only): (413) 637-4274
PRODUCTION: Golda's Balcony
THEATRE: Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre
WRITTEN BY: William Gibson
DIRECTOR: Daniel Gidron
CAST: Annette Miller
SET DESIGN: Kiki Smith, Janet Kalas
COSTUME DESIGNER: Govanne Lohbauer
SOUND DESIGNER: Michael Pfeiffer, Jonathan Rest
LIGHTING DESIGNER: Greg Solomon
PERFORMING: Wednesday, September 9 at 2pm
Sunday, September 13 at 3pm
TICKETS: $16-$48
Phone: (413) 637-3353
Email: boxoffice@shakespeare.org
Web: www.shakespeare.org
Fax (credit card orders only): (413) 637-4274
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