Howards End, the stunning new production by Remy Bumppo Theatre, weaves together strands of three families. The wealthy and elite Wilcoxes—father, sons and daughter—the Schlegel sisters, who belong to the intellectual gentry, and poverty-stricken Leonard Bast and his wife. The script by Douglas Post, adapted from E.M. Forster’s 1910 novel, is directed by Nick Sandys.

HERE and Opera on Tap are presenting Kamala Sankaram's Looking at You, an opera which takes a provocative approach to the end of privacy. We wittingly and unwittingly allow cyber companies to strip us. Rob Handel's brilliant libretto is in the tradition of Experiments in Opera productions. Its narrative arc and apt language combine with thick orchestration using whatever style brings us face to face with issues in a story.

The visiting artist CenterSeries brings professional artists to campus for residencies at Williams College that culminate in performances at the ’62 Center. The Series kicks off with the return of Dancers from New York City Ballet on Friday, October 18th. Also returning to Williams is the SITI Company. Founded in 1992 by Anne Bogart and Tadashi Suzuki, SITI will perform a “spellbinding modern update” of The Bacchae by Aaron Poochigian, on Saturday, November 2nd. (Los Angeles Times).

The Clark Art Institute will air the complete 2019–20 season of ten live performances from The Metropolitan Opera, held on select Saturdays beginning in October 12 and concluding in May 2020, in high definition from the Clark’s state-of-the-art auditorium. A special holiday encore presentation of The Magic Flute will be held on Sunday, December 8.

Special concerts do not happen too often in one's lifetime. Fortunately, the double bill of Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals paired with Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, fit the bill as one of the most exciting musical shows that I have witnessed.

Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook are treated like royalty. They are often referred to as prolific composers like Lennon & McCartney. They have been working together for forty years-churning out hit after hit. Their genius was shared with a jubilent and dancing in the aisles audience at Tanglewood.

In the shadow of mystical Mt Greylock there will be a gathering of elves and wizzards for the fourth annual Berkshire Mountains Faerie Festival. The event, which is fun for kids of all ages, will occur on Saturday, June 15, 2019, 10 am – 10 pm at Bowe Field, 371 Old Columbia Rd., Adams, MA.

Across the street from our loft in North Adams is the breakfast and lunch joint Linda's Cafe. When out and about doing errands it's an option for cheap grub. Joe and Jodi urged me to do more local restaurant reviews. On my own dime this is what I came up with. If you're a tourist don't bother to read this. Locals come for the awesome blueberry pancakes.

Check out the summer long lobster festival at Mingo's Sports Bar in North Adams.

Tanglewood would like to offer ticket buyers the opportunity to exchange into any concert at Tanglewood this summer, with the exception of the James Taylor performances on July 3 and 4, which are sold out. Patrons who choose to exchange their Brian Wilson ticket(s) for another Tanglewood performance (see list below) will receive an additional bonus, an undated Tanglewood lawn ticket—a $24 value—for each ticket exchanged, valid for any Boston Symphony or Boston Pops concert throughout the season (not valid for Popular Artists Series concerts).

Prosecco seems like a new phenomenon. Surprisingly, it is not. The Nino Franco winery, from northern Italy has been peoducing Posecco for one hundred years. Who knew?

I was intrigued when I read the story about a Texas woman who was riding an electric shopping cart in the Walmart parking lot at six in the morning. Not only was she riding the electric cart, she was drinking wine from a Pringles potato chip canister. That intrigued me and I had to try it out.

Don't wait too long to find Sera Imports 2015 Saint-Joseph 'La Source' Rhone Valley wine. The wine delivers well above its $30 price point and will be one of those special wines to splurge on. It has a long finish, is spicy and shows you what a 100% Syrah wine can do.

Playwright Michael McKeever has created a feminist, modern take on the classic Bram Stoker novel. The World Premiere production runs through Oct. 28 at Downtown Miami's Zoetic Stage. A fine cast and crew are mounting a production that is suspenseful and scary but not too graphic. The sound effects work well in enhancing dramatic, tension-filled moments.

Young award-winning Playwright Will Power (he’s 37), has made a bold decision to roll the dice of ‘reinterpretation’ with his brassy new play “Seize the King”, directed by Jaime Castaneda, now on stage of the La Jolla Playhouses’ Potiker Theatre.

Gary Gulman was a finalist on NBCs’ “Last Comic Standing” and regular on late night shows and other vaunted venues. The former Boston College football player and high school teacher combines bruising punchlines with intelligent humor as he tours the world. He appears at Comedy at the Carlson in Rochester, New York, September 6 to 8.

In Guillermo Calderón’s interesting and offbeat play, Kiss, we find a kiss is not a kiss. For those expecting traditional narrative, this play might not satisfy. In addition to the script, which is highly original, the production is excellent.

A Shayna Maidel (Yiddish for a pretty girl) is skillfully directed by Vanessa Stalling, The tension-filled history play by Barbara Lebow is the timely story of a family torn apart by the Holocaust and war in Europe, meeting again in 1946 New York.

Combining mystery, surprise and old-fashioned storytelling in a compelling evening of theater, Proof, by David Auburn has won both the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize. It is presented at Oldcastle Theatre Company in Bennington, Vermont.

Richard Tashjian was the founder of the Armenian Artists Association of America a group of mostly New England artists of Armenian extraction that banded together to bring their work to the attention of the larger Boston community. With my Armenian heritage I qualified as a member and joined the group.

Musica Marin Festival runs September 21-23, 2018. Main performing venues are St. Stephen’s Church in Belvedere, Old St. Hillary’s Church in Tiburon, and the exclusive private 9-acre estate in Tiburon.

I read a lot of short stories, of varied styles and themes. I like the stories of George Saunders, Shirley Jackson, Philip K. Dick and Hilary Mantel, among others. But I have never read stories by John Collier. I’m correcting that gap right now because Black Button Eyes Productions’ world premiere of Nightmares and Nightcaps: The Stories of John Collier is a strange and spooky delight.

Initially, Attorney General Maura Healey opposed the fire sale of Berkshire Museum treasures proposed by now long gone and hardly missed director Van Shields. Those who protested gutting the collection were shocked and dismayed that Healey folded. Commentator Steve Nelson suggests that you send the AG a message. He suggests Norman Rockwell as a write in candidate during the primary on Tuesday, September 4. Nelson is an Op Ed contributor to the Berkhire Eagle.

In his latest film, Lee explores the many aspects of the black experience in America since the Civil War. Lee has mellowed since his earlier “controversial, verbal, and incendiary rhetoric” days that some complained about in his movies. But there have never been stronger or more talented chroniclers of the black experience in America than Lee and the great black American playwright August Wilson.

There are a series of reviews written on BFA by Charles Giuliano this summer about the many magnificent dance companies who were in residence at Jacob's Pillow in 2018. Here are my memories of some of their performances as poetry.