Berkshire Eagle

On a sultry summer evening Beck charmed some 5,000 fans crammed into Joe Thompson Field on the campus of Mass MoCA. While Wilco's Solid Sound weekend festival is taking a break this season, on a Tuesday night in June, Beck put up Wilco numbers. It strongly indicates that MoCA is in the rock concert business as a viable alternative to Tanglewood with far more imaginative programming.

Eagle eyed columnist, John Seven, observed that 67-year-old Liza Minnelli didn't wear panties under her blue pantsuit at the Oscars. Seems he never thought much of her anyway. Her mother, Judy Garland, makes him break out in hives. Stating that he never watches the Oscars or even knows what films are nominated he wrote about it anyway. This from the columnist who urges readers to boycott artistic creeps like Woody Allen. It must have sent him to the emergency room that Cate Blanchett won an Oscar for one of Woody's films.

For decades actor Alec Baldwin has opted to duke it out with paparazzis and the gossip media. Now like Roberto Duran tossing in the towel stating "No Mas" Baldwin, in a screed in New York Magazine titled "I Give Up," is withdrawing from public life. For celebrities of his stature, who have tried it in the past, this is more easily said than done. As Martha and the Vandellas sang "Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide."

"For our 86th Summer Season, we are producing a full schedule of musicals, plays, and special theatrical performances for another wonderful summer in the Berkshires with a splendid cast and crew of talented artists from across the nation,” said Kate Maguire. "Six extraordinary plays: The Mystery of Irma Vep: A Penny Dreadful, Benefactors, Design for Living, A Hatful of Rain, including two world premieres: Cedars and POE and two wonderful musicals: A Little Night Musicand Seussical highlight our schedule and make for an enjoyable mix of masterful and provocative classics and contemporary works. A special week-long performance of A Lover's Talespotlighting the works of Giuseppe Verdi, Charles Ludlam and Alexandre Dumas and performances by our summer apprentices, our 86th season will be memorable and entertaining for all.”

Dishing the dirt on celebrities has become a billion dollar industry for muckraking supermarket tabloids, talk radio, and TV entertainment and gossip shows. But we were shocked and distressed when Berkshire Eagle columnist John Seven unloaded a mud slinging screed against Woody Allen and other "artistic creeps." Seven seems surprised and offended to realize that great artists are not always great people. Duh.

Given negative trends in media it comes as no surprise that The North Adams Transcript will merge with the Berkshire Eagle as of January 20. The weekly Adovcate, which has been in freefall for the past few years, will cease publication. As a part of the transition the Eagle will exand its weekly arts tabloid insert from summer to year round. Given the importance of the economy based on cultural tourism, and coverage of issues and politics in the still depressed Northern Berkshire County, despite attempts at positive spin this is really bad news.

Not long after he took over as Artistic Director of Shakespeare & Company in 2009 Tony Simotes had to deal with near extinction caused by some $10 million in debt. With the board and managing director, Nicholas J. Puma, great strides were accomplished to reduce and restructure debt bringing stablity to the company which Tina Packer founded in 1979. In a major change the board has created the new position of Executive Director, Jerry Bilik, whom Simotes and Puma will report to. Those close to the company see this as a long term step foward.

In 1987 Clarence Fanto moved full time to the Berkshires joining the Berkshire Eagle as editor of its then new Sunday edition. He left the paper as its managing editor and several years ago rejoined as a reporter and has now slowed down as a freelancer and columnist. For the past several years he has compiled an annual summary of budgets, attendance and box office revenues of the major Berkshire arts organizations. We got together for lunch to connect the dots. There is no dispute over the accuracy of the data he compiles but we differ on its interpretation. Our occasional meetings and e mails are always lively and this is a chance to listen in.

The September/ October edition of Art New England includes a section devoted to the Berkshires. To celebrate there was a reception hosted by the Eclipse Mill Gallery in North Adams. We got a chance to catch up with publisher Tim Montgomery whom we knew back in the day when he was in sales for the legendary Rock of Boston the pioneering WBCN. Several years ago he acquired the publication and continues its mandate as the foremost publication covering New England.

For its gala 2012, 75th anniversary Tanglewood logged its third best attendance at 375,776. This year, despite generally favorable weather, attendance declined by 9%. Non classical programming was off by 14% largely attributed to the absence of James Taylor whose three concerts last season sold 54, 385 tickets (minus comps). Even with deep pockets and a broad base of support it has been a year of red ink for Mark Volpe and the BSO. There is no need for panic but it's time to bring in consultants to book non classical programming.

The jazz weekend kicks off at 6pm on Thursday, July 25 with the screening of “A Life in E Flat,” a biographical profile of the legendary alto saxophonist, NEA Jazz Master and 4-time Grammy winner Phil Woods. Through a special arrangement with Jazzed Media, producers of jazz films and CDs, the screening at the Lee Library on Main Street is free and open to the public.

The Williamstown Theatre Festival (WTF) season is in high gear. We attended the first WTF press conference to cover the next two productions of 'Pygmalion' by George Bernard Shaw and Johnny Baseball, the Boston Red Sox story, now a musical. It turned out to be a lively event!

Julianne Boyd, the artistic director of Barrington Stage in Pittsfield called for a morning chin wag about the upcoming season. That led to a lively discussion of the current state of theatre and impact of criticism. Now in its 8th season the company has just completed raising $7 million. This is part one of an extended dialogue.

We return from an intensive visit of the American Theatre Critics Association in Indianapolis with more questions than answers. Mostly about the state of the arts in America's heartland. A busman's holiday evokes taking the pulse.

The 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival returns to downtown Pittsfield for the second year from February 14-24, 2013, and features music, theatre, dance, film, visual art, spoken word, comedy and more, including BSC’s 10×10 New Play Festival.

For the second season in a row Williamstown Theatre Festival will premiere a film transformed into a musical. Last summer Kelli O'Hara starred in "Far From Heaven." She returns to the Berkshires in "The Bridges of Madison County." The film paired Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood,. A co star for O'Hara is yet to be announced.

With a diverse staff of contributors Berkshire Fine Arts strives for national theatre coverage. In this year end roundup we provide an overview with highlights rather than a top ten or best of list. There are numerous links to plays, features and interviews. Overal,l it was a great year that include a week in Chicago for the meeting of the American Theatre Critics Association as well as in depth coverage of the Berkshires and a taste of Broadway.

Chef Kirk Grippo has owned and managed the popular Berkshire pub Olde Forge Restaurant, in Lanesboro on Route 7, for the past fifteen years. He was setting up for a party but paused long enough to chat with us. The annual Festival of Trees at the Berkshire Museum is among the events which he caters. He discussed how it takes a staff of 60 to keep up with the busy restaurant.

Ian Grey's hummingbird project started soon after he and glass artist Isabella Raven moved to a wooded property in Florida a mountain hamlet on Route Two a short distance from North Adams. Over the course of seasons he developed an ever more refined strategy for capturing the birds which hover in space while drawing nectar from plants. From an average of 15,000 images per season he culls that down to a handful of keepers to print and exhibit.

Single ticket sales exceeded $1M for the second time in BSC’s 18-year history, even breaking last year’s total (the first time was in 2011). Total season pass sales for 2012 are 30% greater than 2011 season pass sales. St. Germain Stage passes alone increased 44% from 2011 to 2012 (after nearly doubling from 2010 to 2011) – representing an all-time record number of season passes. 2012 attendance is more than 51,000, representing a 6% increase over 2011.

During a film premiere in Bradley Cooper was heard to say “We’re going to try to do it on Broadway next fall. We’re going to try to nail it down and do a limited run.” That was told to someone who told someone. It went viral on Facebook. That was originally slated for 2013. Now it has been moved forward to Fall 2014. The play was produced by Williamstown Theatre Festival under artistic director Jenny Gersten who has resigned but has programmed the 2014 season.

While in Williamstown this summer Bradley Cooper discussed his Elephant Man production co starring Patricia Clarkson. It proved to be a sold out run and the most sought after ticket of the Berkshire season. Here is what he said about a play that has obsessed him since it was his graduate thesis.

After the opening night of Ethel on Thursday we continue coverage, Friday through Saturday, of the seventh annual Berkshire International Film Festival. Yet again there was a stunning mix of features and unique documentary films.

Train is back on track for Friday, August 31. Followed by Pops, on Saturday, and then a hard rock tandem of Evanescence and Chevelle rounding out a solid Labor Day Weekend in the Shed. This is a dramatic change of policy for Tanglewood making for a weekend with broad audience appeal second only to the Fourth of July. This last blast of summer will surely draw large audiences to Lenox. Then its back to work and school.

For the past twenty years photojournalist Gillian Jones has covered the Berkshires as a staff member of the North Adams Transcript. Her images have also appeared in the Berkshire Eagle and other publications. A survey of her work opens at Gallery 51 in North Adams on May 27 and remains on view through June 24.