Pipe Dream is an obscure, rarely produced musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II based on novels by John Steinbeck. Berkshire Theatre Group is making a strong and risky case for why we should take another look at a musical with a flawed book but richly compelling music.

Superstar dancer, choreographer, and Tony nominated director, Camille A. Brown, has a long history with Jacob’s Pillow. Funded by the Hunter Foundation this past winter the company was in residence developing a major new work. It is based on themes from the “I Am” episode of the HBO series Lovecraft Country. Jacob's Pillow was honored to host the world premiere of a game changing work.

The Prom is not a great musical, but it is an entertaining show that goes way above what is sometimes created.

In four operas and over 15 hours of running time, Richard Wagner's epic Ring Cycle spins historic Germanic legends embellished by the composer's own fancy. David Seaman edited the compendium into a 3 1/2hour condensation. The flavor of Wagner's rich romantic music is retained, but while the general plotline is honored, it is jumpy and loses some continuity. Nonetheless, this piece gives a strong flavor of the highly respected yet controversial body of work.

The artists were brought together by the work of Doris Prouty, an African American quilter who made Gloucester her home for nearly 50 years, when her work was exhibited posthumously at the Cape Ann Museum in 2022.  

Mario Correa’s play N/A is thoroughly entertaining. The two-hander is at the Mitzi Newhouse in New York through September 1.  Holland Taylor and Ana Villafane star. Diane Paulus directs.

Inspired by a newspaper article, Forgiveness is set in Minnesota where prisoners are allowed to plead their case in front of the Governor, in a bid to be returned to society. In this interactive production, audiences help determine who is worthy of forgiveness.

A black female foundling with a gift for telepathy is becoming a woman. Her world of isolation in a white, northern California town is pierced by the arrival of another young black woman from Alabama. Multiple conflicts ensue among the diverse characters. The lush music appeals and performances are first rate.

Building on the generous support of the Museum’s Board, donors, and supporters amid growing momentum for general Museum operations, Director Oliver Barker and Henrietta Gates, Board Chair, announced that the institution has generated over $18 million in campaign commitments. This significant support will fund renovations to its Downtown facility, provide upgrades to the CAM Green campus, enhance programming, and augment the Museum’s endowment.

Carey Crim has written a slow, intricate two-hander that takes patience to absorb us into the incremental pace of the Island. Director Reggie Life and a superb cast (Michelle Mountain and "ranney") have meticulously involved us in their struggle for meaning and endurance.

Jacob’s Pillow  presents American dancer and choreographer Roderick George with the Jacob’s Pillow Men Dancers Award. George will accept the award at the outdoor performance by his New York City-based company, kNonAme Artist.

The Norton Gallery has been enlarged with a design by Lord Norman Foster. The collection has grown to 8,200 works with five curatorial departments. It took us two days to tour the collection and special exhibitions. The must see Norton is an elite regional museum. It's come a long way from when I visited annually during the 1980s.

The deformed hunchback Quasimodo has suffered a life of abuse and isolation as the cathedral bell ringer. When he has the chance to interact with other people, he endures scorn from many, but the beautiful Roma girl Esméralda is kind. Quasimodo's cruel guardian Frollo, the Deacon of the Cathedral, who despises the Roma but is smitten by Esméralda, intercedes with unhappy consequences.

The Prom is worthwhile seeing because of the fine performances and choreography.

The highlight of a scaled back Williamstowm Theatre Festival season was the world premiere Pamela Palmer by the renowned playwright David Ives. With a noir approach he would have us accept the improbable. His tale of class struggle is set in the mansion of the unhappy housewife who has hired a detective.

In their first appearance at Jacob’s Pillow since 2019, Dance Theatre of Harlem is celebrating their 55th Anniversary, as well as the 90th birthday of their legendary founder Arthur Mitchell (1934-2018).

Now retired Julianne Boyd returns to Barrington Stage Company to direct the comedy/ farce Boeing Boeing. She has selected a dream team of BSC frequent flyers, Christopher Innvar as the  scheming bachelor, Bernard, the nubile Mark H. Dold a visiting long lost friend Robert, and Debra Jo Rupp, a comedic national treasure as Bernard’s maid, Berthe.

The plot is simple; a Broadway theater is about to be demolished while in the basement, a company of mice rehearses their own “musical.”

New City Players' current professional production of "A Streetcar Named Desire" sizzles. The production runs through Aug. 4 in Island City Stage's blackbox theater. The company uses space and budget limitations to the production's advantage.

Film at Lincoln Center and the Locarno Film Festival present “Spectacle Every Day: Mexican Popular Cinema,” a retrospective of Mexican cinema from the 1940s through the 1960s, to be from July 26 through August 8. With new restorations of many works rarely screened or some never before seen theatrically in the United States, and standout performances from the biggest stars.

The vaunted Chicago-based troupe performs sketches, quick-hitters, and enough improvisation to display their fast reaction chops. Old skits are updated, and enough local references are integrated for the production to feel home grown. The cast of six operates black-box fashion, effectively and entertainingly employing mime to represent invisible props.

Week 8 of this summer’s Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival will feature beloved New York-based flamenco artists Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca, who will perform at the Festival for the first time since 2002. Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca will appear for five days in the historic Ted Shawn Theatre, from Wednesday, August 14 through Sunday, August 18. The program is a showcase for the work of Martín Santangelo and Bessie-award winning dancer and choreographer Soledad Barrio, and will feature their newest work, Searching for Goya (2023).

Bert Stern’s children, Trista and Bret, comment on the exhibition, “We are thrilled to bring our father’s iconic 1962 shoot with Marilyn Monroe back to vivid life at the beautiful Sohn Fine Art Gallery. Marilyn was our dad’s dream girl, a unique mix of actress, model and ‘American goddess’ (as he called her) that he never encountered before or after. He told us, ‘Stars die, but light goes on forever.’ Through the magic of photography, Marilyn Monroe is still reaching us with her light today.”

At the age of 65,MIchael McGrath ascended a mountain China with a request to study Daoism at an ancient temple. The Abbott accepted him with skepticism predicting that he wold wash out in a month. He stuck it out for a year and after holidays with his family on Cape Cod, returned to the mountain several times. He has published 'An Adventure Story About My Temple Life What I learned, and What I Now Live.' It's a life affirming page turner.

London is under threat. One woman has been murdered and another killed in a bombing, with anarchists being implicated. Three intrepid female sleuths find evidence that suggests otherwise. Patricia Milton's script is literate and replete with revelations about social and political issues of the day.