Chester Theatre Company

Once again, Pittsfield-based Barrington Stage Company (BSC) was the big winner of the evening with their productions of Next to Normal, La Cage Aux Folles, Primary Trust, and Boeing, Boeing taking home many top prizes. The Mac-Haydn Theatre, in Chatham, NY, tied with BSC artists in the categories of Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Direction of a Musical, and with artists from the Berkshire Theatre Festival for Outstanding Sound Design.

Top honors at the Berkies were Outstanding Musical Production to Barrington Stage Company for their production of A Little Night Music. Barrington Stage shared the Outstanding Play Production award with Bridge Street Theatre, for productions of Waiting for Godot and A Long Day’s Journey Into Night respectively.

The purpose of the BTCA and the Berkshire Theatre Awards is to promote and celebrate the quality and diversity of theatre in the region. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on the evening of November 14 at Zion Lutheran Church in Pittsfield.

On a night that was colder than a witch's tit the faithful packed the pews of Zion Lutheran Church in Pittefield. We gathered for the fourth annual Berkshire Theatre Awards. Because the heating system failed baby it was cold inside. But an evening in honor of great theatre proved to be a stellar and heart warming occasion.

For the third annual Berkshire Theatre Awards, at the Zion Luteran Church in Pittsfield, it took two hours to present trophies in 21 categories. Some 27 critics voted on awards to companies in the Berkshires extending into New York, Connecticut and Vermont. The top honors went to Barrington Stage Company with nine awards and Williamstown Theatre Festival which took home five.

In his final months theatre critic, Larry Murray, founded Berkshire Theatre Critics Association. In its first annual presenttation of awards "The Berkies" he rallied to enjoy the occasion and to present the first award in his name, for service to the community. We were packed into Mr. Finn's Cabaret last year but last night the event occured before a capacity, attentive audience in the Mark St. Germain Stage of the Pittsfield company. Many more regional companies were nominated and participated in the awards evening. Next year three more companies will be eligible.

There has been extensive media coverage of the First Annual Berkshire Theatre Awards. The winners of The Berkies have been announced. There will be an awards celebration 5 pm on November 13 at Mr. Finn’s Cabaret in Pittsfield. In this first round of awards Barrington Stage Company and Shakespeare & Company dominated in most categories. The smash hit Pirates of Penzance ran the table. The Larry Murray Award, named for the founder, will be the only suprise of the gathering of critics, media and theater mavens.

For the first annual Berkshire Theatre Awards seven shows received more than five nominations each including 11 for The Pirates of Penzance and eight for Broadway Bounty Hunter, both produced by Barrington Stage Company. Seven nominations were received for Or, and six for The Merchant of Venice at Shakespeare & Company. Also popular with five nominations each are The Rose Tattoo (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Little Shop of Horrors (Berkshire Theatre Group), and American Son (Barrington Stage).

The premiere of Dr. Ruth, All the Way sold out its 36 performances at Barrington Stage's smaller St. Germain Stage. The theater in the former VFW Hall, now owned by Barrington, was named for the company's resident playwright and author of Dr. Ruth, Mark St. Germain. The one woman show stars Debra Jo Rupp. There will be changes and fine tuning for the run from September 18 through October 7.

Barrington Stage Company, the award-winning regional theatre in downtown Pittsfield, under the leadership of Julianne Boyd, Artistic Director, and Tristan Wilson, Managing Director, is proud to present the world premiere of Dr. Ruth, All The Way by Mark St. Germain, directed by Julianne Boyd.Starring stage, film and television actress Debra Jo Rupp (That 70s Show), Dr. Ruth, All the Way will now run from June 19 through July 21 at St. Germain Stage(formerly Stage 2) at the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center, 36 Linden Street, Pittsfield. Opening Night is Saturday, June 30 at 8pm.

The Berkshire Hills are very much alive this fall. Choose from the ridiculous or the sublime, from the Ballet Trockaderos with men in tutus and on pointe to the arrival of Irina Brook at Shakespeare & Company to wrest a play from Oscar Wilde's book, The Canterville Ghost. For a complete change of pace, the Cirque du Soleil is coming to Amherst and Boston.